At noon, Arnold, who hadn't visited for a long time, brought Hana to Pleca Park. As soon as Arnold entered the yard, he ran over and plopped down beside me. "Hey! Have you missed me?"I glanced at Hana, who was already being sweetly attended to but not far away, and scoffed. "You're so distracted. Why would I miss you?"Arnold laughed uproariously and lay back on the lounge chair, looking at Hana. "She's your sister, after all. I've always said if you have a sister, I won't miss the opportunity."It seemed their relationship was becoming more stable.My eyes narrowed, and I asked him, "When did you find out she was my sister?"Arnold glanced at me. "When she was on vacation."I stared at Arnold, feeling resentment bubbling up inside me."I heard she was on vacation, so I checked where she went. I wanted to follow her, but found out that she went to Yare, back to the Avila family! I told Atlas, and we confirmed that she was part of the Avila family, a princess of Yare."Arnold
We were both drawn by a loud exclamation not far away, where Ivanna was with Lauren.She rushed over to me, excitement written all over her face. "Chloe, the cat's out of the bag!"Hurrying to my side, she handed me her phone. "Take a look."I took her phone screen, where some headlines caught my eye."Old Bourdamun attracts new investments, creating a new chapter in commercial development.""Good news after the explosion case, with Old and New Bourdamun entering a new era."There was also a large photo of Ernest shaking hands with Noah.I was petrified. This news was a bombshell to me.A brand-new resort? Attracting investment? Rebuilding Old Bourdamun?I locked eyes with Lauren. Damn! This was a dirty move to take advantage of our crisis."What do we do?" Lauren looked anxious. She knew how obsessed I was with the Old Bourdamun project."How despicable!" I gritted my teeth, spitting out the words.Arnold snatched the phone from my hand to read the news report."Looks lik
I snorted confidently. "Otherwise? I refuse to believe it. Our project proposal underwent nearly a year of scrutiny, deliberation, field research, and data analysis before it was finalized."It was also polished by top-notch economic planners. A plan like that cannot be discarded. I'll definitely grill Noah about this, so it’s crucial for us to get hold of their proposal.""But can't they come up with one as well?" Lauren looked at me with some skepticism.I retorted coldly, "If their proposal resembles ours, that’ll be a different story altogether. I have absolute confidence in our plan.""But they’re from the Morgan family!" Lauren hesitated."So what?" I countered, glancing at Lauren. "I won't back down. Don't forget, I've put nearly a year of effort into this. I can't just give up now."Taking a leaf out of Atlas's book, I added with determination, "After all, I'm a businessman. Besides, the Morgan family’s just trying to steal my project. They're acting like vultures."Laur
I was taken aback and glanced at my phone. It showed an unfamiliar number. I answered, asking, "Who is this?""Looks like you’re really busy, Mrs. Chloe. This is Lance," came the warm and gentle voice from the other end.I focused immediately. "Mr. Lance, do you... have something to say?""Forgive the intrusion, Mrs. Chloe." The voice sounded pleasantly amused. "Could we meet? I'd like to discuss a collaboration with you.""What kind of collaboration are you talking about?" I asked calmly.After recent events, my impression of the Sunny family had hit rock bottom.His approach immediately reminded me of his brother."The project in Solaris," Lance stated bluntly, sounding confident and assured."The project in Solaris?" I repeated with skepticism as my heart tightened suddenly."I believe you might not be able to proceed with the Solaris project, given your current situation. I wonder if you have any other ideas," Lance added, perhaps sensing my hesitation over the phone. "The
The tranquil and serene atmosphere of Pleca Park was suddenly disrupted by a horde of frenzied reporters, disturbing the peace.They surged forward incessantly, snapping photos and causing a commotion, while the security guards tried to keep them at bay. The noisy chaos alarmed everyone.Security at the Pleca Park had always been top-notch, with strong confidentiality measures in place. Outsiders usually couldn't approach us. How did those people manage to get in?When Ardie saw the situation, he stood up and commanded, "Let's head to the backyard."At his command, we all rose and headed toward the garden.Ivanna, who had been sitting quietly in the courtyard, suddenly called out timidly, "Lauren."Both Lauren and I turned to look at her, noticing that her expression seemed off. She was cradling her stomach carefully.Lauren also noticed something was amiss and hurried over to her, asking, "How do you feel, Ivanna? Are you alright?"I quickly joined them, and Ivanna, biting her
Ivanna's condition had deteriorated significantly. Despite efforts from my mother, Molly, Hana, and others to deter them, these people were relentless, seemingly devoid of reason."Spread out. The pregnant woman needs to go to the hospital. What do you think you're doing?" Both Lauren and I shouted angrily, but our voices were drowned out by their questions.The medical staff in the ambulance couldn't get close to us. The household servants rushed over, trying to pull them away, but the reporters still crowded around even after being dragged out."What do you want?""Get out of the way! Are you trying to hurt them?"The servants shouted, shielding us and pushing back the crazed reporters, but the medical staff still couldn't squeeze through.As Ivanna's condition worsened, the reporters remained oblivious, focused only on pushing forward, their footing becoming increasingly unstable.The situation was dire. I shielded Ivanna, who could barely stand, since a large area beneath he
The next day, I delivered the food I had made for Ivanna to the hospital. As I entered the lobby, I saw a group of medical staff rushing out.Shortly after, I saw several police officers and nurses pushing a stretcher towards the emergency room. As they passed by, I noticed that the person lying on the stretcher was none other than Melanie.She was wearing prison clothes. Her abdomen was covered in blood, and her face was extremely pale, indicating severe blood loss.She caught sight of me in just that fleeting moment. She immediately grabbed the stretcher and shouted, "Chloe…! Stop... I want to see Chloe!"I was stunned. The stretcher was already far beyond my reach. Melanie struggled desperately, "Stop, I want to see Chloe... She's right there! Chloe, I have something to say! I want to see my sister-in-law!"She tried to sit up from the stretcher with all her strength, her hands soaked in blood, reaching out towards me past the medical staff and police."You're out of your mind
My mom exclaimed, "Oh my, are you injured?""Mom, I'm not injured; it's her blood!" I quickly reassured her. "Let's go to Ivanna's room quickly!"When we entered the room, they all stared at my blood-stained wrist in shock and exclaimed, "Chloe, what happened to you? How did you get hurt?"I quickly put down what I was holding and said to them, "It's not mine. It's someone else's blood!""Whose blood is it? What happened?" Ivanna asked in surprise."Wait, let me go wash up!" I hurried to the bathroom to clean my arms and came out. My mom was explaining the situation to them."Melanie? Chloe, don't be soft-hearted again!" Ivanna reminded me with a disgusted expression. "Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with you! I believe Matthew shouldn't come back either to avoid affecting our happiness!"Lauren looked at Ivanna, then asked me, "What's her situation?"I shook my head casually and said, "I don't know. Judging from the situation, it's either a fight or a suicide!""W