Ch. 1111..1120

Chapter 1111

"Zephyr is of Lostaria's mafia. Do you think he has the power to influence Baykeep's government?" questioned Cooper calmly.

"It seems that person spoke with the Zeigler family before but didn't get a favorable response. He's ruthless; he takes out anyone he can't use." Jerry knocked on the table as he added, "I heard General Zeigler had been admitted to a hospital. He's still unconscious, though." If anything happens to that man, we'll have one heck of a mess.

"If only we still have Mr. Faulkner with us..." Seeing how grim Cooper's face was, Jerry decided not to continue with the topic.

The fact that Jerry did not understand politics and that he was a Xedellsian meant he could not help the Zeiglers should anything happen to them. Even if the person he mentioned did not get to them first, the police of Xedells would.

Jerry did not think Cooper could protect the family either since businessmen could not interfere with politics.

Even though Jerry was unaware of Armand's actual capability, he vaguely knew that Armand had connections everywhere and could easily have any position.

After all, Robert would not have been impressed with Armand if the man were not that powerful.

Since Armand was Robert's godson, nobody dared lay a fmger on the Zanes when he was still in Jadeborough. However, after he died, both the Zane and the Loake families quickly declined, which meant the person Jerry mentioned was also afraid of him.

"There's no point discussing this. It's not as though either of us has the power to change things." Jerry got a little hungry, so he began to eat.

"You said something about me exacting my revenge on Sally just now. What was that about?" inquired Cooper.

"Don't you own this club?" Only after taking another sip of his drink did Jerry continue, "I bumped into Sally on my back from the restroom, and I saw her in the club's uniform. I thought you had her work here because you wanted to get back at her."

Cooper was almost rendered speechless when he heard that. "I'd never exact my revenge on anyone in such bad taste."

"I see it now," uttered Jerry. "Poor Sally. Not only is she forbidden to visit her father, but she's also prohibited from using weapons. She'd be sentenced to imprisonment too if found with one."

When Gerald was still holding his esteemed position, Sally had to escort some professors overseas for work, and everyone simply kept quiet about her illegal firearms.

However, since the Loake family had lost their influence, many began to set their sights on Sally.

Jerry and Cooper were just done with their conversation when Caleb returned from his phone call outside. Then, Cooper pushed his chair backward and got on his feet. "Don't mind me," voiced Cooper before walking out of the VIP room.

Wiping his hands with a wet towel, Caleb asked Jerry softly, "Mr. Sutton didn't look pleased. Did you offend him? Do you think that means my contract with Specter Corporation is a goner?" After glancing at the door, Jerry replied, "Maybe he's just upset because his girlfriend got herself a job without telling him."

"Huh?" Caleb's face was suddenly filled with puzzlement.

Meanwhile, in a private room on the third floor, a couple of men and women sat on an authentic leather couch.

"What the heck is this? Do you always pour wine on your customers?" A man scolded a waitress while pointing at his clothes.

The women's uniform at the club was a skintight dark blue traditional gown with slits that went up to the calves on both sides.

Since Sally had a cold demeanor, the half-sleeved traditional gown that highlighted her tall stature and snow-white skin only served to make her even more unapproachable.

Sally's face hardened when she recalled how the man purposely bumped into her.

Still, she suppressed her emotions and calmly apologized, "I'm sorry. I lost grip for a second just now. Let me compensate you for your clothes."

The man was not satisfied with the apology, however. "Do you think that's enough?"

"Then what do you want?" inquired Sally.

With his friend whispering into his ear, the man scrutinized Sally before pointing to himself and the other two men in the room.

"Stay and drink with us. You won't have to pay for my clothes if you win, but if you lose, you'll have to be my woman."

"How do I win?" asked Sally, sweeping her gaze across the men.

"You'll have to outdrink the three of us, of course," uttered the man with his legs crossed. "You lose if you fail to do that." Even if Sally could hold her alcohol, it would not be difficult for the three men to beat her.

Plus, Sally just so happened to be the gorgeous but cold type of woman the men liked.

Chapter 1112

"Sure," responded Sally with a cold look in her eyes, and before long, a waiter delivered a few crates of beer into the private room.

Sally then opened up all the beer bottles and started downing one at her own pace, prompting the men to follow suit.

When Cooper finally reached the room on the third floor after asking around, Sally and the men had already finished two crates of beer.

One of the men quit because he could not drink anymore.

The other two had reddened faces and necks and were barely holding on, while Sally stood beside the table with a calm expression and her skin remaining snow-white under the light.

The men who made a bet with Sally did not expect her to be such a capable drinker. "We can't drink beer only. Let's switch to red wine-"

"And why would we do that?" interrupted Cooper as soon as he pushed the door open.

Cooper, wearing a thin gray sweater and trousers in the air-conditioned club, looked gentlemanly with one hand in his pocket. However, his eyes hiding behind his pair of glasses were as dark as the abyss. "You're trying to switch to wine so you can outlast her by taking turns, aren't you? I can tell this isn't your first rodeo," commented Cooper coldly.

"Mr. Sutton," greeted the man as he hurriedly jumped to his feet from the couch, for he recognized the person who was both the director of Specter Corporation and the owner of the club.

"I only asked her to drink with us because she insisted on compensating me for soiling my clothes. I was planning to lose to her purposely so we could call it even," explained the man with an apologetic smile. After glancing at the beer crates beside the table, Cooper smiled too. "Then tell me how many bottles you drank."

The man was at a loss for words as he looked at the two crates full of empty beer bottles.

Cooper casually walked over to pick a bottle of beer from the table before pouring the beer onto the man's head. Even though the man was so cold that he trembled all over, he dared not utter a word of defiance.

"Like all businesses, we value our customers. However, this waitress isn't someone you can bully," stated Cooper calmly.

The man hurriedly agreed with Cooper while wiping the beer off his face. "I know what I did was wrong now. Mr. Sutton, please n

"You still have one more crate, no?" interrupted Cooper before moving the beer crate onto the table. "We'll call it even if you can finish this by yourself."

Parting his lips, the man wanted to say something but quickly changed his mind when Cooper gave him a look so intimidating that he shuddered uncontrollably.

He knew he would be in trouble if he failed to do as ordered.

In the end, the man had no choice but to start downing beer bottle after bottle as if he was ready to embrace death. By the time he was finally done, he was already at death's door.

The others quickly picked up the man afterward and made themselves scarce, leaving the entire room to Cooper and Sally.

Only then did Cooper turn around to look at the silent Sally and scrutinize her blue gown.

Since her drinking had increased her body temperature, Sally unbuttoned the top of her uniform to reveal her beautiful neck.

Cooper retracted his gaze after just one look at the woman and simply uttered, "Change out of that uniform and leave this place." With that said, the man walked out of the room.

Sally remained silent as she made her way to the changing room but suddenly had to answer a phone call while taking off the outfit.

She heard the person on the other end of the line curse at her before hanging up.

After Cooper returned to the VIP room to chat with Caleb for a while, the three went outside the club at ten o'clock.

"Ms. Loake," called out Jerry suddenly, so Cooper raised his eyes to see Sally sitting in the lounge beside the club entrance in a long black skirt paired with a sweater of the same color. Even her coat was black, contrasting the fairness of her face.

Sally then walked around the coffee table and toward the trio.

"I saw you in a uniform just now. Now that you've changed out of it, does it mean you're off work?" joked Jerry, to which Sally provided a cold affirmation.

"We'll be going then." After saying goodbye, Jerry put his mask back on and left with his uncle.

"Didn't I tell you to go?" questioned Cooper, frowning at the woman.

"You asked me to leave the room but didn't say anything about leaving the club," retorted Sally in a cold tone.

After glancing at Cooper, Sally pulled up the collar of her sweater to cover half of her face and walked away.

Chapter 1113

Having collected his coat from a waiter and putting it on, Cooper went outside to see Bertilla's car parked by the roadside.

Just when Cooper was about to get into the vehicle, he saw Sally on the side trying to hail a ride with one hand holding her phone and the other in her pocket.

She seemed lonely as snowflakes fell onto her black hair.

Knitting his eyebrows. Cooper addressed Sally. "You can't get a ride in this weather. Come on. I'll send you home."

Sally looked at the man before eventually putting her phone away and walking over to him.

The temperature in the car was just right, so Cooper took off his coat and set it on his thighs. "Where should I send you?"

"A hotel."

"Don't you have a condominium?" inquired Cooper while turning to look at Sally, who had already pulled down her collar to reveal her pale lips. It was as though Sally had lost most of her body heat.

"The locations of my home and my condominium have been exposed, so it's not a good idea to stay at those places any longer."

Since the Loake family had fallen, many would attempt to get Sally locked away as well.

At that point, Cooper decided not to carry on with the topic.

Bertilla glanced at the rearview mirror before raising the divider as he thoughtfully drove toward Cooper's Condominium.

Probably due to the awkwardness of the silence in the car, Cooper came up with another topic. "Why didn't you reach out to me after you returned?"

"I'm ashamed because of my failure." Sally did not expect Genevieve to choose to die with Zephyr.

After a pause, the woman added, "After that, something unfortunate happened to my family."

Sally knew the Gaudettes were ambitious, so they would never accept losing half their military power because her father refused to side with the Zanes. However, she never thought the Gaudettes would be so cold-blooded.

With her capability, Sally could kill a few Gaudettes without problem, but she wanted to clear the names of the Zane and the Loake families and prove her father's innocence. Cooper's heart sank when he thought of Sally's email mentioning Lostaria and the deaths of Armand and Genevieve.

Half an hour later, the vehicle arrived at Cooper's condominium.

After returning home, Cooper received a call from Amanda while taking off and hanging his coat, so he left Sally and went into the study.

Amanda was unhappy because her father was overseas like her mother and did not call her.

Heartbroken, Cooper spent some time on the phone to comfort the little girl. He then opened the door to his bedroom, only to find Sally changing inside.

Underneath her sweater was a light blue bra strapped to her slender back.

When Cooper saw Sally's waistline, he could not help but wonder how a good fighter like her had such a beautiful figure instead of a body full of bulging muscles.

Cooper immediately furrowed his eyebrows when he realized what was going through his mind. "You'll be staying in the guest room."

"You didn't say." While putting on her robe and tying her hair, Sally added, "I used to stay in this room, so I thought the others weren't for me."

Besides the bedroom. Cooper remembered Sally going to the study once when she still lived at the condominium, and there was no sign of rummaging. So I was wrong? "Fine. You can stay in this room if you want to." Cooper did not want to argue with Sally, so he grabbed his pajamas from the walk-in closet and went to the guest room. When Cooper shut his eyes in the showers, he could almost see Sally in the blue gown she wore at the club and her slender waist again.

There was suddenly a strong desire in him as he wiped off the water droplets on his face.

Cooper went to bed after showering but remained irritable even at midnight, so he opened the door to the master bedroom and saw Sally sound asleep.

Then, he sat on the bed and gazed at the woman.

When Cooper wrapped Sally's black hair on the pillow around his finger, it seemed to have awoken her.

With Sally's eyes looking straight into his, Cooper leaned in and uttered in his deep voice, "Fighters like you are light sleepers and have keen hearings. You've already woken up when I opened the door." Instead of responding to the man with words, Sally grabbed him by the neck and lifted her head to kiss him.

Chapter 1114

In the morning, Cooper saw Sally having breakfast at the dining table when he came out of his room after washing up.

There were oatmeal and buns on the table, so it seemed like she had gone out to buy breakfast.

Cooper then walked toward the dining table and pulled the chair opposite her for himself. Neither of them spoke, and only the occasional sound of utensils knocking on the porcelain plates could be heard. After breakfast, Cooper gave a card to Sally and said, "There's quite an amount of money in there. From now on, don't go to the club anymore."

Sally lowered her head and glanced at the card before shifting her gaze back toward him. "Are you going to provide for me from now on?"

Cooper froze momentarily and rubbed his brows. "That's not something I'm interested in doing. I'm giving you money so that you can find yourself a place to stay. It's not like you can bother the Gaudette family at the moment."

"That sounds great." Sally lowered her head and finished her bowl of oatmeal.

Seeing that. Cooper said, "This is my condominium."

Sally put her bowl down and lowered her cold gaze. "I'm staying here so that I can be your bodyguard and protect you."

"I don't need a bodyguard." Cooper frowned and added, "No one's going to target me."

In an indifferent tone, Sally uttered, "My father may be in trouble, but I'm not as pitiful as you think. I don't need sympathy."

With that, she brought her bowl and utensils to the kitchen.

A while later, Cooper saw her coming out of the kitchen and heading toward the exit. She took her coat from the rack and changed her shoes before leaving the place unhesitatingly.

Cooper watched the door close behind her before seeing the card on the dining table. Evidently, she left without taking the card.

A long while later, he took his jacket and keys before heading out the door.

It was snowing since the day before, and it didn't stop till the early hours of the following morning. When Cooper drove out of the garage, he saw that the residential area was completely covered in snow, but the snow on the road had already been cleared earlier on.

Upon leaving the residential area, he saw Sally ambling along the road with her collars covering half of her face and her hands in her pockets.

The residential area was under tight security. Hence, anyone without a car could only hail a taxi on the main road.

Cooper glanced at her and looked away. However, his car's dashboard indicated that the temperature outside the car was sub-zero. Besides, it was even colder due to the melting snow.

Seeing that Sally was only wearing a thin coat, Cooper furrowed his brows and pulled the car to the side of the road.

He then slowly stopped his car right beside Sally and honked.

When Sally halted in her tracks, Cooper stepped out of the car and passed the car key to her when he was walking toward the passenger side.

"Let's go to Swallow Garden," he said.

In Swallow Garden, Amanda was wearing a beautiful white winter dress and a pair of gloves. At that moment, she was building a snowman, and Lucian was helping her.

When Amanda saw a car driving into the mansion, she immediately rushed toward it. The moment Cooper got out of his car, she jumped into his embrace and greeted, "Hi, Uncle Cooper!" "Good girl." Cooper carried Amanda into his arms and kissed her cheeks. After that, he pulled her beanie lower so that it would cover her ears.

Amanda had snow on her gloves, so she couldn't hug Cooper.

Thus, she could only look at Cooper aggrievedly and asked, “Uncle Cooper, why haven't you come to see me for so long? Do you not like me anymore?"

"Of course, I like you. It's just that I've been busy." Cooper carried her into the garden. "What are you doing today?"

Excited, Amanda exclaimed, "We're building snowmen! Look, Uncle Cooper! We've already built two snowmen!"

After Amanda built the snowmen, Lucian would follow behind her and use grapes and carrots to give the snowmen eyes and noses.

In fact, the snowmen looked rather cute.

Cooper smiled and set Amanda down before asking, "How many snowmen do you guys want to build? I can help!"

"Uh... We need to build for Mommy, Daddy, me, Lucian, you, Uncle Tim, Aunt Jojo..." Amanda was counting her fingers. "Oh!

We also need to build for Mr. Sullivan and his future wife! Wow! We need to build over ten snowmen. The snow in the garden won't be enough for us!"

Chapter 1115

Cooper adjusted his glasses and smile warmly. "It's okay. If you need more, I'll bring in snow from outside."

"Okay!" Amanda nodded.

Amanda then saw Sally coming to the garden after parking the car. She waved at Sally happily and said to Cooper, "We also need to build one for Ms. Loake!"

"Sure." Cooper smiled faintly.

Cooper saw Amanda wearing a winter dress, but she wasn't covering up her neck. Hence, he went in to get a scarf for her.

Coincidentally, Steven was coming out of his room, so he ended up chatting with Cooper.

After Steven found out about what had happened to Armand and his wife, it took him a long while to come to terms with the news. However, he was with the kids every day, so he had to prevent the kids from noticing it.

"Should I bring the kids to Xedells?" Steven asked.

"What for?" Cooper took Amanda's scarf from the rack and added, "Mandy is smart. If you do that, she'll surely know something had happened to her parents."

Steven went silent for a while before heaving a sigh. "We can't cover this up forever, can we?"

Steven was contemplating asking Cooper if someone could impersonate Armand. However, everyone has a unique aura. That time around, Armand could impersonate Bruce and gain the kids' trust because they were blood-related. If any of us were to do it, the kids will surely see through us.

"Let's just figure it out as we go." Cooper couldn't come up with any good ideas, either. "I heard that General Zeigler is still hospitalized and unconscious. Perhaps you should check things out in Baykeep." "Becca is there."

"Still, you should be there. Help me look after General Zeigler," Cooper urged. "After all, he's Genev's granddad. If something were to happen to him. Baykeep will be in a mess."

A moment later, Cooper added, "In the meantime, I'll stay here and look after the kids."

Hearing that from Cooper, Steven had no choice but to agree.

Cooper then asked him if Rebecca had left a down jacket there because he wanted to borrow it from her. "It's rather cold today. Sally is still outside, and she's only wearing a coat." Steven knew what had happened to the Loake family, so he asked in puzzlement, "Do you still have any dealings with her?"

"Yes. I hired her to be the kids' bodyguard."

"Am I not doing that already?" Steven asked.

"You have a girlfriend now. How could I possibly let you bring kids around wherever you go?" Cooper adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Besides, you're going to be busy after this." Steven knew Cooper was implying something, so Steven didn't question further. Instead, he just went back to his room to get Cooper a female down jacket. Cooper went back to the garden and gave the down jacket to Sally. "This belongs to Rebecca. Later in the afternoon, go to the mall to buy some thicker clothes."

Sally hummed in acknowledgment and took off her coat to put on the down jacket.

Cooper then made a snowball for Amanda. She rolled it on the ground and made it bigger.

As she was doing that, she was giggling happily. After rolling the snowballs around, she would pass them back to Cooper and the others.

The snow in the garden ran out after they built another two snowmen. Cooper told the housekeeper to find them a cart before going out to get more snow. Amanda followed them from behind. She was using a small metal shovel to transfer snow into the cart. Soon, she was drenched in sweat and tired.

Once they filled up the cart with snow, Amanda suddenly said to Cooper when they were on their way back, "Uncle Cooper, Aunt Jojo is back, so Uncle Tim had already sent someone to fetch Asel." While tilting her head to look at Cooper, she asked, "Where did my parents go? Why are they not back yet?"

Cooper's eyes glimmered at her words. In a gentle tone, he answered, "Have you forgotten that your mommy isn't feeling well? Your daddy got worried because she's receiving treatment abroad. Hence, he had gone over to accompany her."

"Is Mommy still not feeling well?" Amanda asked. When Mommy came to Swallow Garden to see us the last time around, she went to the school to attend the sports day with us. She looked fine to me.

Chapter 1116

Cooper merely hummed and said, "When I said I was busy with work, I actually went abroad to see your mommy. I lied because I didn't want you and Lucian to worry."

Hearing that, Amanda got worried about her mother. "Why hasn't Daddy called me in such a long time, though?"

"That's because he doesn't want to lie to you, and he's afraid that you guys might find out about it. Once your mommy has recovered, she will return alongside your daddy." With that, Cooper changed the topic by asking, "We'll go out for lunch once we're done building snowmen, okay?"

"Sure!" Amanda's attention was indeed diverted.

At around eleven something in the morning, they used up almost all the snow around the mansion, and there was a row of snowmen along the railings in the garden.

Proud of her accomplishment, Amanda even wrote names on the snowmen.

Cooper, Sally, and the kids then went inside to rest for a while before going out for lunch.

Amanda wanted pizza, so they went to a pizzeria for lunch.

The restaurant happened to be situated in a commercial district, and the shopping mall owned by Specter Corporation was also there. After the meal, Cooper brought the kids to shop in the mall. After shopping for children's clothing, Amanda said to Cooper cutely, "Uncle Cooper, I want a sundae."

Cooper checked the time and noticed that two hours had passed since they had lunch. Hence, it was alright for Amanda to have a sundae. "What flavor would you like?"

"I want a blueberry-flavored sundae. Lucian also wants one." After saying that, Amanda turned toward Sally and asked, "What about you, Ms. Loake?"

Sally froze for a moment before answering flatly, "Chocolate."

Cooper went downstairs to buy ice cream while Amanda held Sally's hand before they went upstairs.

"Ms. Loake, are you in a relationship with Uncle Cooper?" Amanda asked.

"No..."

"Why not?" Amanda tilted her head in bafflement. "Uncle Cooper is handsome, no? Besides, you guys are together every day," she mumbled. Walking next to her, Lucian uttered helplessly, "Even if they're together every day, that doesn't mean they're in a relationship."

"So? Why aren't they?" Still puzzled, Amanda raised her gaze toward Sally and asked, "Ms. Loake, what's your relationship with Uncle Cooper?" Sally pondered for a bit before answering flatly, "I'm his personal bodyguard."

"Oh, I see." Amanda's eyes lit up. "Are you like Mr. Sullivan? He sends and fetches us every day, and he would also bring us out to play." Sally hummed in response.

Upon arriving upstairs, Amanda saw a shop selling dolls and went in. She then grabbed the dolls she liked and put them in the shopping cart Sally was pushing. Amanda was so excited that she accidentally bumped into the woman in front of her.

The woman was wearing a pair of white boots, and Amanda accidentally stepped on them, leaving a black shoe print. Seeing that shoe print, the woman went berserk.

"Hey! What's the matter with you, kid? Don't you have eyes?" she roared.

Amanda steadied herself and realized that she had dirtied the woman's boots. "I'm sorry, Miss. I'll compensate you."

"My boots are worth over ten thousand! How are you going to afford it?" the woman sneered.

As the woman was talking, she lifted her head and saw Sally pushing a shopping cart behind Amanda. At that moment, Sally was wearing an off-white down jacket. Her skin was fair, and she looked cool and gorgeous.

Sally saw the woman as well. I think I've seen her before, but I can't remember who she is.

With that in mind, Sally took the woman as a stranger. On the other hand, the woman crossed her arms and laughed. "Aren't you Ms. Loake? What a coincidence! I didn't expect to see you here."

"You don't know me, but I think you know my cousin, Eurydice. I'm Eurydice's favorite cousin, Beatrix," Beatrix added.

"I don't know your cousin very well," Sally replied indifferently.

"You're General Loake's daughter, aren't you? What a well-respected status! I guess that's why you aren't close with my cousin," Beatrix commented sarcastically.

Chapter 1117

Sally ignored her and went to the cashier to exchange fifteen thousand in cash before giving it to Beatrix.

However, Beatrix refused to take the money. Instead, she stared at Sally with her arms folded. "Even if you have the money, this is a pair of limited edition boots. I can't find it in the market anymore." "What do you want, then?" Sally stared back at her.

Beatrix felt chills running down her spine when Sally stared at her. Nonetheless, she knew the Loake family had fallen, so she didn't need to be afraid of Sally.

Beatrix stretched out her leg and demanded, "Wipe it clean and pay me. I'll then let the matter slide."

Sally lowered her gaze toward Beatrix's boot and remembered how she had done the same to Genevieve in a cafe back then. I did that to Genevieve to put her in a difficult spot. It seems like I'm just as despicable as Beatrix.

Right then, Amanda stood in front of Sally and fumed, "We can compensate you. However, if you were to take our money and ask us to clean your boot, you're blatantly making things difficult for us." Beatrix glanced at Amanda and noticed how delicate and pretty Amanda looked. "Sally, I've been wanting to ask you something. Who is this child? Is she yours?"

"She's my uncle's personal bodyguard," Amanda answered instead.

Hearing that, Beatrix took another glance at Amanda and remembered someone had told her that Sally had frequently gone to Specter Corporation to look for Cooper. Cooper is Genevieve's brother, right? Beatrix instantly got a grasp of the situation. "Oh! This is Genevieve's kid!"

Amanda found Beatrix rather annoying, and she thought Beatrix looked disgusting whenever she smiled. Reluctant to prolong the conversation, Amanda uttered, "We'll pay you money, but you ought to clean your own shoes."

With that, Amanda shoved the money into Beatrix's grip and pulled Sally away.

Despite Amanda's efforts, Beatrix knew it was a rare opportunity to have bumped into Sally, so Beatrix wanted to give her a hard time.

Beatrix stood in the middle of the aisle and blocked them before saying to Amanda, "Kid, I think you should just ask Sally to be your new mother. After all, you don't have a mother anymore."

"You're the one without a mother!" Enraged, tears started to well up in Amanda's eyes.

"It seems like your uncle's bodyguard hasn't told you about it." Beatrix grinned and continued, "Your parents are "

Before Beatrix could finish her sentence, Sally grabbed Beatrix's hair and smashed her face into the wall.

Consequently, Beatrix's face was buried in the wall, and she was having difficulty breathing.

Sally tightened her grip on Beatrix's neck and uttered with her icy gaze, "The Loake family has fallen, so go ahead and bully me all you want. Don't drag the kid into it." "L-Let go..." Beatrix was frightened. "I won't say a thing. I won't..."

Sally let go of Beatrix in response.

Beatrix caught her breath, and she was infuriated. Dying to have a go at Sally, she frowned and was about to lose her temper.

Just then, someone came over.

Charlotte was holding a few dolls in her hands when she suddenly saw Amanda. "Hey! Aren't you Genevieve's daughter? Is your mommy with you?"

Charlotte looked behind Amanda and realized that wasn't Genevieve. That looks like the woman who's always by Cooper's side.

Amanda cocked her head to one side and asked, "Do you know me?"

"Of course! I've had quite a few meals with your mommy. She has a photo of you and your brother as her screensaver on her phone." Charlotte reached out her hand to pinch Amanda's cheek. Charlotte noticed Amanda's reddened eyes, so she asked in confusion, "What's the matter? Did someone bully you?"

"Yes. That woman standing beside you." Amanda pointed at Beatrix. "She wanted Ms. Loake to wipe her shoe, and she said I don't have a mother."

In the past, Beatrix wouldn't respect Charlotte one bit.

However, after the incident, Beatrix found out that Charlotte had backers. Besides, Beatrix knew Charlotte had dirt on her, so she didn't dare to cross Charlotte.

Hence, Beatrix wanted to leave after letting out a snort and tidying up her hair. However, Charlotte walked up to her and stood in her way. "Did I hear you let out a snort? Did you think you could bully anyone just because the Gaudette family is backing you up?"

Beatrix glared at Charlotte and roared, "Who are you calling a bully?"

"I was just asking you a question, but if the shoe fits, wear it." Charlotte let out a chuckle. "How dare you bully Genevieve's kid? Are you sick of living?"

Chapter 1118

Beatrix couldn't hold herself back anymore. She walked up to Charlotte and yelled, "Armand and Genevieve are already dead, Charlotte!"

Charlotte was stunned.

Beatrix chuckled frostily. "So what if you're close with Genevieve? So what if your boyfriend is influential? This is Jadeborough!"

With that, Beatrix poked Charlotte and added, "You'd better don't be so full of yourself in Jadeborough..."

Charlotte waited till Beatrix had her fun before touching her own collarbone. Suddenly, the necklace Charlotte was wearing unbuckled and dropped to the floor.

The pendant on the necklace was a butterfly, and the colored gemstones on the wings of the butterfly dropped out.

Charlotte picked the necklace up and scolded, "You can talk all you want, but why did you have to pull my necklace? This necklace is a collector's edition, and it's worth over two hundred thousand! How are you going to compensate me?"

"Have some shame, Charlotte!" Beatrix fumed. "I poked at you just now. I didn't pull your necklace."

"How could it break if you didn't pull it?" Charlotte responded.

"I saw your hands-■"

"What? Are you trying to say that I've broken it myself?" Charlotte interrupted Beatrix's speech. "Are you a lunatic, or am I the crazy one? It's so expensive that I don't even bear to wear it often." Charlotte then looked at the necklace in her hands with her teary eyes and said, "This is a birthday present from my dad..."

"Hey, Charlotte-" Beatrix wanted to unleash her wrath at Charlotte, but she remembered who was backing Charlotte up. In the end, she had to swallow her rage and back off. "I'm done talking to you!" "Hey! Stop right there." Charlotte grabbed Beatrix and prevented her from leaving. "Pay for my necklace."

Beatrix's blood started boiling and she yelled, "Let go of me!"

While they were arguing, other customers in the store gathered around them to see what was the commotion about.

"Everyone, look at her. She broke my necklace and didn't want to pay for it." Charlotte was sobbing when she said, "This is a birthday present from my father."

At that precise moment, Amanda stepped forward and pointed at Beatrix. In her cute voice, she said, "I saw it! This lady here broke the necklace."

Hearing that, Beatrix glared at Amanda. "Hey, how could you be this shameless, kid?"

Amanda quickly ran into Sally's embrace. While tugging at Sally's clothes, the tears in her eyes were on the verge of streaming down.

Charlotte was riled up. "She's not even six! Do you think she would lie?"

Right then, the onlookers were all criticizing Beatrix.

As thick-skinned as Beatrix was, she couldn't stand the onlookers filming her. Hence, she gritted her teeth and whipped out her phone to transfer the money to Charlotte.

Charlotte gave Beatrix her account details and wiped the tears off of the corners of her eyes before saying, "Five hundred thousand."

"Five hundred..." Beatrix was so angry that her hands started trembling. She wanted nothing more than to rip Charlotte to shreds. "Didn't you say two hundred thousand just now?"

"Yes. A few years ago, my dad bought it for over two hundred thousand, but the value of a collector's edition piece appreciates! Besides, I've already had it for so many years. It's worth over five hundred thousand now," Charlotte answered.

"It's fine if you think I'm trying to scam you. Just buy an identical one and compensate me," Charlotte added.

Beatrix had always kept up with fashion magazines and jewelry, and she had seen the necklace worn by Charlotte at a jewelry exhibition before. It was indeed quite expensive. If I were to buy the necklace, I might end up paying more! Fine. I'll just transfer the money to her now.

"You're wrong for breaking my necklace, so you ought to apologize to me." Charlotte received the money shortly after, but she wasn't going to let Beatrix slip away.

"Charlotte!" Beatrix gritted her teeth. "Don't push your luck!"

"What if I insist?" Charlotte asked.

When Beatrix saw Charlotte staring at her with her arms crossed, it was as if Charlotte knew she had backers, and she had nothing to be afraid of.

In the end, Beatrix had to apologize, "I'm sorry."

"Well received." Charlotte nodded. "Now, apologize to the child."

Charlotte pointed at Amanda. "You said this child doesn't have a mother. When the child spoke the truth on my behalf, you accused her of being shameless. You've hurt her."

Chapter 1119

Back then, Beatrix would get into an argument with Charlotte without hesitation.

Now, I can't do that anymore. Eurydice had already given me an earful because of what happened the last time around. I can't afford to anger her. Otherwise, the Gaudette family is not going to protect my family anymore. With that, Beatrix had no choice but to apologize to Amanda.

"Since you already paid me, you can keep this broken necklace." Charlotte grabbed Beatrix's hand and put the necklace in her hand.

With that, Charlotte moved closer toward Beatrix and whispered, "Beatrix, even though this is Jadeborough, you're still not supposed to bully Genevieve's kid. The child's great-granddad is General Zeigler. Don't you think General Zeigler would come after you if he were to find out about what you did?"

Beatrix was scared out of her wits, and her face went pale. Genevieve was Old Mr. Zeigler's granddaughter? The Zeigler family founded the country. Neither the politicians nor the military would dare to disrespect Old Mr. Zeigler. Besides, Baykeep practically belongs to the Zeigler family, and everyone's busy buttering them up! In recent years, even the Gaudette family has been trying to rope the Zeigler family into their camp.

Beatrix could tell Charlotte was telling the truth, so she immediately broke out in a cold sweat and hurried away.

As she was fleeing, she felt a sharp pain in her knee and ended up falling to the ground.

After Beatrix left, Charlotte gave Sally a thumbs up. "What a great move!"

"You're so kind, Aunt Charlotte." Amanda wrapped her arms around Charlotte's leg and uttered in her cute voice, "I hate that. I'm so happy to see her getting bullied by you!"

Charlotte pinched Amanda's cheeks and answered, "I'm not married yet, so please don't address me that way."

"Okay, Miss!" Amanda hurriedly changed the way she addressed Charlotte.

Charlotte knew Beatrix was protected by the Gaudette family, so she wasn't one to be trifled with. Fortunately, Genevieve told me about her relationship with the Zeigler family. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to strong-arm Beatrix. I wouldn't want my dad to keep helping me by exhausting his resources.

Amanda soon forgot about the incident and started picking the dolls she liked. Charlotte and Sally just kept following her from behind.

Suddenly, Charlotte whispered in Sally's ear, "Is Genevieve really..."

Sally didn't know Charlotte well, so she remained silent. This is baffling. Only I and Frank are supposed to know about Armand and his wife. How did General Zeigler find out about it? Now, even Beatrix knows about it too.

Before Sally and Amanda entered the doll store earlier on, Amanda said she wanted cream puffs. Hence, Lucian went down to buy for her and missed the incident that had taken place in the store. Lucian and Cooper ended up entering the doll shop around the same time.

Charlotte waved at Cooper and greeted him. She told him everything that had happened moments earlier before asking him about Genevieve and Armand.

Cooper glanced at the kids and answered, "It's true."

Charlotte was in disbelief. They were just fine!

Right then, she recalled the incident regarding the photo. "Is it related to Johanna?" she asked softly.

"I gave the photo to Timothy. He told me Johanna was kidnapped, but that didn't seem like the case to me," Charlotte added.

"It has nothing to do with Timothy and Johanna. Don't overthink it. If someone were to ask you about Genev, just tell them you don't know anything," Cooper reminded.

"I understand." Charlotte nodded.

Charlotte's driver waited for her for a long time downstairs, so he ended up going upstairs to check on her.

The driver saw Charlotte and Cooper chatting, and they seemed to get along quite well. Before he approached Charlotte, he took a photo of them discreetly and sent it to Jiminy. "Hi, Ms. Benson. I'm here to carry your bags for you," the driver said.

Charlotte only left with her driver after chatting with Cooper for a while more.

Chapter 1120

Beatrix was in a lot of pain after her fall. Thus, she went home as she was no longer in the mood to shop.

When she got home, she was surprised to see Eurydice at her house. At that moment, the latter was having a conversation with Karolina in the living room.

"Hi, Eurydice," Beatrix greeted.

When Beatrix flipped up her skirt, Eurydice saw the bruise on Beatrix's legs. "What happened?" Eurydice asked.

"Sally did this!" Beatrix grumbled.

Beatrix heard that Sally was a good fighter. Just now, I felt something hit my knee, and that was why I fell.

Beatrix then proceeded to tell Eurydice about what happened at the mall.

Afraid that Eurydice would get angry, Beatrix quickly said, "Eurydice, I didn't find trouble with Charlotte. When she told me to pay her, I did just that. When she told me to apologize, I did as I was told as well. She broke the necklace herself, but she still demanded money from me."

Beatrix got angry when she mentioned that incident. As she was talking, she took out the broken necklace from her bag.

Eurydice took the necklace and checked it out. "This is a fake."

Beatrix froze momentarily before letting out a snort. "The Benson family is in the real estate industry. Beatrix is so rich, but she's wearing an imitation."

However, comprehension dawned on Beatrix, and she was infuriated. "Charlotte did it on purpose! She used a fake necklace to trick me into paying her five hundred thousand!"

Karolina didn't expect Beatrix to get scammed. "Forget about it. I'll just increase your allowance."

No one had expected that Charlotte would be so lucky. Not only did she have Genevieve protecting her at the auction, but she also found a boyfriend who was from the Pann family.

Eurydice dumped the fake necklace into the bin and asked Beatrix, "Are you willing to just let this slide?"

"Obviously not." Beatrix grew up with Eurydice, so she could definitely tell what Eurydice was implying.

After that, Beatrix dragged herself toward Eurydice and sat next to her to complain, "That child knocked into me first and Sally bullied me. Then, Charlotte tricked me into paying her five hundred thousand. They humiliated me in front of so many people just now. Eurydice, you must help me take revenge."

Eurydice leaned toward Beatrix and whispered something in her ear.

Beatrix's eyes lit up after she heard what Eurydice told her, and she couldn't help but ask, "Eurydice, won't that cause trouble to the Gaudette family?"

Beatrix could still remember how grim Eurydice's expression was when the Pann family left the photo and the note at the hotel the last time around.

"I didn't want you to do anything before this because Armand was close with the Pann family. Besides, he was Robert's godson." Eurydice smiled and continued, "Now, things have changed."

"My mom is close with Aunt Karolina, and you're my cousin. How could I just sit on my hands?" Eurydice added. "Since you hate Charlotte so much, you should know how to deal with her, right?" "I know. I was careless the previous time, and I should've been more careful," Beatrix replied. Since Eurydice is so smart, I ought to learn a thing or two from her. Meanwhile, Cooper and the rest only left the mall and went back to Swallow Garden at around four in the afternoon.

Amanda wanted to see the view, so Cooper told Sally to drive in on her own when they arrived at the entrance of Swallow Garden. He would then walk back to the mansion with Lucian and Amanda. "Mandy, do you want me to get married?" Cooper asked.

"Yes!" Amanda chuckled under her breath because she thought Cooper was into Sally. "You're so handsome, Uncle Cooper. I was worried that you would end up being a bachelor for the rest of your life."

"A few days ago, I watched a movie. Those who aren't married by the age of thirty-five would be sent somewhere to do hard labor for the rest of their lives." Amanda shook her shoulders and continued, “That's so scary!"

Her words made Cooper laugh out loud.

Suddenly, Amanda broke free from Cooper's grasp because she saw a butterfly fly past her. Elated, she ran after the butterfly.

Lucian, who had been rather quiet, suddenly voiced, "Daddy's watch has a locator in it. One night, more than a month ago, I found out that the locator had failed."

Before Cooper could answer him, Lucian added, "I can also log into Mr. White's mailbox, and I saw that email.”