"Of course, Mr. Watts," Joseph replied, trying to keep his voice calm.Joseph quickly exchanged glances with Amile, a silent signal for her to be alert. If anything unusual happened while he was away, Amile would immediately inform him. Amile, always perceptive, immediately understood Joseph's intent. She was arm in arm with Jayce, raising a glass to toast with those around her. Her eyes quickly swept over Joseph, and with a subtle nod, she tacitly agreed.Joseph looked back at Amile once more before turning to Mr. Watts and leading him out of the banquet hall. He guided Mr. Watts through the expansive hallways of the mansion, towards the quieter and more secluded rear grounds where they could talk."Joseph, do you know how pleased I am to see you and Coco together?" Mr. Watts began as they stepped out into the open space. "I have always hoped that my daughter would find a dependable and ambitious man like you."Joseph offered a slight smile, but his vigilance did not wane. "Thank you
Joseph turned back to look at Mr. Watts, trying to maintain a calm demeanor. “Thank you, Mr. Watts. I will do whatever is necessary to protect what is important. If needed, I will seek your help.”Joseph took a deep breath, trying to stay calm amid the tension. Mr. Watts stood there, his eyes anxiously watching Joseph and Brian, clearly unaware of what was happening. Joseph knew he couldn’t stay any longer—every moment could be decisive.“Mr. Watts,” Joseph said, his voice warm but resolute. “I appreciate the time you’ve taken to talk with me. But now, there is an urgent matter that I need to address immediately.”Mr. Watts furrowed his brow, obviously confused about what was happening, but he maintained a composed demeanor. “Joseph, what’s going on? Can I help in any way?”Joseph smiled faintly, a smile full of gratitude but also tinged with worry. “Mr. Watts, I greatly appreciate your concern. But I must go now. I apologize for not being able to explain more at this moment, but trus
The two continued to hide, watching every move Jayce made. Meanwhile, Jayce stood in the center of the room, his anger and despair becoming increasingly evident in every gesture. The phone in Jayce's hand became useless, which only fueled his resentment further.Jayce's face flushed with anger, his fists clenched tightly. He continuously pressed the call button on his phone, but the message "the number you have dialed cannot be reached" kept ringing out consistently, fueling his fury."Damn it! Why haven’t they shown up yet?!" Jayce roared, his eyes fierce. "Are they planning to stand me up? They promised, so why haven’t I seen a sign of them yet?!"Jayce paced back and forth in his rage, each step heavy as if he wanted to crush everything underfoot. His mind was in turmoil, unable to accept failure at such a critical moment. His perfect plan was on the verge of collapsing, and that made Jayce unable to contain his fury."I can’t wait any longer," Jayce said loudly, as if talking to h
"Alright, that works," Jayce finally agreed, his tone abrupt but unable to completely hide his relief. "But I’ll only be gone for a bit. I don’t want to be away too long."Brian immediately feigned gratitude, thanking profusely as if it was a huge favor Jayce was doing for him. "Thank you so much, Jayce! You really are reliable when needed."Tyler, standing next to Jayce, quickly grasped the situation. He looked at Brian, then turned to Jayce, nodding as if agreeing with the idea of buying wine. “Mr. Jayce, that’s also a good idea. If we’re going out, we might as well handle both matters at once. I’ll take care of the wine for the party, and you can handle your business.”Jayce half wanted to refuse, but seeing Tyler also agreeing with Brian's proposal, he had to accept. “Alright, just a special bottle of red wine that our guests like is enough. You go ahead with your thing, I’ll continue managing everything here.”Jayce said nothing more, just nodded and turned to leave the room with
Brian listened quietly, sensing the determination and cruelty behind Joseph’s words. “You mean… you’re going to use the divorce to hurt Jayce?” Brian asked, his voice filled with doubt but also hope.Joseph nodded, his eyes softening into a cold one. “Yes,” he said, his voice sharpening. “Jayce has always been the one to keep his cool, to keep his cool. But if you’re caught in a scandal involving the Smiths and Charlotte, you can’t keep that image. I’ll have to face consequences you never expected.”Brian sneered, sensing the audacity of Joseph’s plan. “You never let anyone get the better of you, do you?” he said, his voice meaningless.Joseph didn’t answer, just smiled softly, his eyes still fixed on the long road ahead, where the next step of this game would be. Please, Joseph, the stupidly determined man, woke up, he knew that this was the decisive moment, and he couldn't let Jayce continue to relax.As the car continued to roll, Joseph and Brian were both entering a new battle, a
Joseph sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere. "What just happened in there?" he thought to himself, his eyes never leaving the scene before him. The bodyguards did not exchange any words, just quickly got into the car at an incredible speed, as if they wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.Brian frowned, a sense of unease filling his heart. "Did you see that? They're panicking," he said, his voice filled with doubt. "Something very unusual happened in the Smith house."Jayce's car immediately started up, the headlights turned on, and it backed away at a much faster speed than when it had come. Joseph and Brian could not believe their eyes as Jayce's car left the Smith house in a hurry and panic. This wasn’t how Jayce would act if everything was going according to plan.Brian nodded, his eyes filled with uncertainty. “It’s obvious something’s very wrong. What do you think we should do next?”Joseph was silent for a moment, his mind racing, trying to figure out what
Joseph and Brian held their breath, trying to remain completely silent in the darkness. From their hiding spot, they could clearly see everything happening around the stairwell. The faint light from the second-floor hallway cast long shadows on the floor below.The sound of footsteps continued to echo, each step pounding in their chests. Then, Tyler's figure appeared, slowly making his way up the stairs from the first to the second floor. In his hand, he held something, not too large in size but wrapped in a black cloth, making it difficult for anyone to discern what it was.A stack of documents, perhaps?Joseph and Brian watched intently, trying to gather every detail. Tyler showed no signs of haste; he moved with a suspicious calmness, as if he had complete control of the situation. When he reached the second floor, Tyler paused, looked ahead, and then continued up without the slightest hesitation.Joseph felt the tension inside him rising with every passing moment. There was someth
Joseph stood silently next to Charlotte, the initial horror gradually giving way to a sense of clarity. Though a storm of painful emotions churned inside him, he knew he couldn't let them overwhelm his reason at this moment. Something was off, and his instincts as someone experienced made him want to understand more about the cause of Charlotte's death.Joseph's gaze swept across Charlotte's body, now motionless on the cold floor. Blood had spread across the floor, soaking into her pristine white dress, creating a tragic scene. He knelt closer, his eyes carefully observing the color of her skin and the livor mortis that had already begun to appear.With his forensic knowledge, Joseph noticed that Charlotte's skin had turned a pale gray, with blood pooling beneath the skin, forming dark purple blotches in areas where the blood had settled. This gave him an important clue: Charlotte had been dead for at least 4 to 6 hours. A chill ran down Joseph's spine as he came to this conclusion, a