The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife
Chapter 444 - 446. Came back

Chapter 444: 446. Came back

Everyone was retreating as they walked, but they found the mountaintop even more difficult to navigate. If not for their numerical advantage over the housekeeper, they would have probably been surrounded and captured.

"An, we’ve got nowhere to retreat," Jin Enxi said, looking at the cliff behind them. Below the cliff, the waves were striking the sea surface, and from this height, estimated to be over a hundred meters, falling would mean certain death without a proper burial.

Everyone’s expressions were grim, particularly Allen, whose failure to have the helicopter arrive on time was the main reason they were trapped by the housekeeper.

"Since there’s nowhere to retreat, let’s fight to the death," said Shen Qinglan calmly, unable to just stand there waiting to die.

Fu Hengyi stood in front of Shen Qinglan. Across from them, the housekeeper emerged from behind the crowd, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently in Shen Qinglan’s direction, "Who allowed you to kill her, you damned people!"

The housekeeper roared. He still couldn’t accept that Qin Yan had died. Ya Xi’s bomb had been personally tied by him, but it inadvertently caused Qin Yan’s death, a result the housekeeper couldn’t accept.

Fu Hengyi faced the housekeeper with a cold expression, with their guns pointed at each other.

"She was already such a pitiful woman, suffering from the torment of losing her lover for so many years. Why did you have to treat her this way?" The housekeeper’s hoarse voice carried on the wind, reaching everyone’s ears.

In the housekeeper’s mind, scenes of Qin Yan after losing Carl, walking around like a soulless doll, appeared. For many years, Qin Yan had lived on the strength of her hatred. If not for her unfulfilled vengeance, she likely would have died when Carl originally did. He was indeed a man arranged by Allen’s mother, but he had watched Qin Yan transform from a naïve girl into a machine driven by hatred, wasting her youth and competing for a pitiful bit of power among different men, sacrificing all she had for revenge.

The housekeeper had personally heard her heartbreaking sobs mixed with laughter drifting from the bedroom late at night when she sent Qin Mu into the base.

"She was so miserable, constantly living in pain, and even in death, she finds no peace. You damned people deserve to die with her," the housekeeper’s face and neck veins bulged as he spoke.

Unable to hold back any longer, Su Qing fired at the housekeeper, but her bullet was blocked by his subordinates. Su Qing’s gaze turned icy as she grabbed a submachine gun from someone nearby and unleashed a hail of bullets toward the opposite side. Naturally, the other side didn’t just passively take it, and the sound of gunfire pierced everyone’s eardrums.

Soon, both sides’ ammunition was exhausted, and they were forced to fight hand-to-hand. Shen Qinglan was never far from Fu Hengyi, whose arm was injured, limiting his mobility.

Meanwhile, Andre was protecting Allen and Peter, as it was Allen who had brought people to rescue Shen Qinglan, and they couldn’t just leave him alone at such a time.

Clearly, Shen Qinglan’s side had stronger individuals in one-on-one fights, although they too had suffered considerable losses, still fewer than the housekeeper’s side.

Fortunately, the helicopter Allen had contacted finally arrived, lowering a ladder. Seeing this, the housekeeper’s men attacked even more fiercely, reaching the point of a Pyrrhic victory, fighting as if their lives were meaningless.

"Send Ya Xi up first," Shen Qinglan directed Yan Anbang, who was carrying Ya Xi. Hearing this, Yan Anbang didn’t argue—it wasn’t the time to waste precious moments—and began to quickly climb up.

At that moment, Shen Qinglan couldn’t help but feel relieved that the housekeeper’s bullets were also exhausted; otherwise, Yan Anbang and Ya Xi would have been easy targets. Next up was Peter.

"Su Qing, hurry and get up," Shen Qinglan urged, pushing Su Qing beside him, who had taken a bullet to the abdomen and was still bleeding profusely, clearly in no condition to fight. Su Qing gave Shen Qinglan a deep look, "Be careful yourself."

Shen Qinglan nodded, then looked towards Fu Hengyi, who promptly said, "You go up first."

Others had already begun evacuating. Shen Qinglan glanced around, realizing that only a few of them were left. "Enxi, hurry up and go."

"An, you go first," Jin Enxi casually said. There had been no choice in the car earlier, but now it was impossible to let Shen Qinglan cover the rear again.

"Xiaoqi, you go ahead," Allen also spoke up.

Shen Qinglan looked at everyone, hesitated no longer, and quickly climbed up, followed by Fu Hengyi.

Only two of the three scheduled helicopters had arrived, forcing everyone to squeeze together. After Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi had climbed up the ladder of the first helicopter, they found it was already full. Allen and Jin Enxi had no choice but to climb up the ladder of the second helicopter.

The housekeeper surveyed the situation with a hint of a bloody gleam in his eyes. Shen Qinglan’s instincts kicked in just as he saw the housekeeper suddenly produce a hand grenade. No one had expected that, even after all the bullets had been spent, the housekeeper still had such a powerful weapon.

Dangling in mid-air, Shen Qinglan’s expression shifted slightly, and he threw his military knife. However, as their helicopter was already mid-air and the ladder was continuously shaking, the knife missed the housekeeper’s hand and instead embedded itself in his shoulder. Su Qing, already in the helicopter, saw this and snatched the pilot’s handgun, firing at the housekeeper, but it was too late. The hand grenade was already flying towards Jin Enxi’s helicopter, which was closest.

"No!" Shen Qinglan shouted, "Enxi, jump!"

Jin Enxi and Allen, who were still climbing, had no idea what was happening; they only heard Shen Qinglan’s command to jump from the helicopter. Jin Enxi looked in Shen Qinglan’s direction but only saw a dark line pass before her eyes, followed immediately by a loud bang.

The hand grenade exploded mid-air.

"Allen!" Peter’s voice tore through the sky, echoing.

"Enxi," Shen Qinglan called out loudly.

A massive cloud rose before their eyes once again. Shen Qinglan, with a blank expression, watched as Jin Enxi and Allen fell like meteors into the sea, along with the helicopter that was plunging directly towards the ocean surface.

Just before closing his eyes, the housekeeper watched the scene unfold with a satisfied smile. "Perfect, madam, I’ve avenged you. Soon, I’ll join you. In our next life, if possible, let me protect you."

**

"Qinglan, take a rest," Fu Hengyi said sternly as he grabbed Shen Qinglan, who was about to jump into the sea again in search for people.

Shen Qinglan, dressed in a wetsuit, felt cold all over. It was unclear how many times she had already emerged from the sea. After the helicopter had crashed into the ocean, none of them left, and they immediately got out of the helicopter.

Su Qing had arranged for several speedboats, and they kept searching near the area where Allen and Jin Enxi had fallen into the sea. However, the outcome was clear; they couldn’t find anyone.

In fact, everyone knew that the chances of surviving such a fall into the sea were slim, especially as they couldn’t be sure that Jin Enxi and Allen were uninjured during the explosion.

Shen Qinglan emotionlessly pushed Fu Hengyi’s hand away and jumped into the water again, she had to find them, she must.

And this search lasted for three days.

"An, stop searching." Andre held Shen Qinglan as she was about to jump again. Today was the fourth day, they had already missed the optimal time for rescue, and they had searched all the nearby waters without finding anyone. Perhaps Jin Enxi and the others were already...

Shen Qinglan’s complexion was nearly translucent. Over these three days, she hadn’t rested at all, constantly searching in the sea, with each dive longer than the last, which alarmed everyone.

Fu Hengyi was pulled up from the sea, his physical strength also rapidly depleting. Seeing Shen Qinglan trying to dive again despite Andre’s discouragement, he held her tightly in his arms, "Qinglan, they can’t be found anymore, stop searching."

"You’re talking nonsense." It was the first sentence Shen Qinglan had spoken in three days.

Fu Hengyi held her tightly, "Qinglan, it’s been three days already. If they were still alive, we would have found them by now."

"Stop it, Fu Hengyi, please stop. I’m sure they are still alive, waiting for me. Let me go, if you won’t help me search, then at least don’t stop me."

"Shen Qinglan, how long are you going to deceive yourself? You know very well in your heart that they can’t come back. Why can’t you face the truth? Escaping isn’t like you!" Fu Hengyi roared. These three days, he had watched Shen Qinglan tirelessly search the sea like a robot, without eating, drinking, sleeping, or even talking, which painfully squeezed his heart.

Looking into Fu Hengyi’s eyes, Shen Qinglan’s eyes suddenly welled up, and in a low, pleading voice, she begged, "Fu Hengyi, please, let me search for them? Perhaps they are still alive, waiting for me. I don’t want to give up. I’m afraid if I give up, then they might truly be gone. Fu Hengyi, they fell into the sea because of me. Please let me search for them, I’m begging you."

Hearing her low and humble plea, Fu Hengyi’s heart clenched. He looked steadfastly at Shen Qinglan, "Okay, I’ll go look for them. Wait here for me." He didn’t wait for Shen Qinglan’s response and jumped into the water.

His body still bore a gunshot wound, although Peter had removed the bullet, soaking in sea water these days had caused the wound to whiten and swell around the edges, occasionally sending sharp pains through him.

Worried about Shen Qinglan, Fu Hengyi had also gone without food, drink, or sleep, and his strength had reached its limit. Not long after entering the water, he began to cramp, "No good, he’s drowning." Su Qing had just come over and immediately noticed Fu Hengyi’s condition. Without a second thought, Shen Qinglan jumped down.

After saving Fu Hengyi onto the deck, he had swallowed a lot of water, and was in a semi-conscious state. Shen Qinglan performed emergency aid on him as tears fell without warning.

Fu Hengyi spit out the water in his stomach, coughed a few times, and slowly came to. Feeling the tears on his face, he pulled a weak smile.

"Don’t worry, I’m here." Fu Hengyi spoke softly, his voice slightly hoarse.

Shen Qinglan suddenly hugged Fu Hengyi and sobbed loudly, crying as hard as she had not since she was five.

Seeing her like this, everyone on the boat couldn’t help but turn their heads away. Fu Hengyi held her, allowing her to vent her emotions.

Over these three days, Shen Qinglan’s emotions had been tense and closed off. On the surface, she appeared calm, managing everything neatly, but inside she was stretched to breaking point. Perhaps her usual demeanor and the way she handled things made everyone forget that Shen Qinglan was only twenty-four years old, still not very old. Witnessing her friends fall into the sea for her sake, anyone’s emotions would collapse, but Shen Qinglan kept it in for so long. If not for Fu Hengyi’s mishap, she might have continued to endure.

"Cry, it will be better once you cry it out." Fu Hengyi soothed her, his voice gentle.

Su Qing turned her head toward the calm sea surface, her eyes filled with heartache and sorrow. If she could, she desperately wanted to help Shen Qinglan find Jin Enxi and Allen. The boat was very quiet, only the restrained and heartrending sobs of Shen Qinglan could be heard.

**

Two days ago, in Beijing.

After more than a week without any contact from Jin Enxi, Daniel finally panicked. He reached out to Shen Qinglan, who also wasn’t responding, clueless about where the two had gone.

Thinking back to before they left, Jin Enxi had promised absolute safety. Daniel truly felt deceived by Jin Enxi; he waited until the day after the incident happened and still hadn’t given up on reaching Shen Qinglan. He finally got through to Shen Qinglan.

At that time, Shen Qinglan had been searching for Jin Enxi for a whole day and night, and it was only after being reminded by Su Qing that she thought to check in with her family. She had just turned on her phone when she received a call from Daniel.

Shen Qinglan stared at the familiar number on the screen but hesitated to answer it. Seeing this, Fu Hengyi took her phone and answered the call.

"This is Fu Hengyi."

There was a slight pause on the other end as Daniel, hearing that it was Fu Hengyi, seemed a bit shocked and hesitated not knowing what to say.

"Is Qinglan with you?" asked Daniel.

Fu Hengyi glanced at Shen Qinglan, who was silently staring at the sea, and spoke gravely, "Daniel, Jin Enxi had an accident..." He briefly explained the events to Daniel. As soon as he stopped talking, he heard the sound of a phone dropping. Soon after, there was a busy tone on the other end.

Daniel stood there, expression vacant, unable to comprehend Fu Hengyi’s words. "It’s not true, he must have misspoken, it must be so," he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he picked up the phone from the ground like a madman and called Shen Qinglan again. Fu Hengyi still answered the phone while Shen Qinglan had once again dived into the water to search for someone.

"Daniel, I understand how you feel. We are still here searching for Jin Enxi’s whereabouts. We will find her, no matter what, but... you also need to be mentally prepared." Fu Hengyi gave him a warning. At the time of the hand grenades’ explosion, they were very close to the helicopter, and those on it, including Allen and Jin Enxi took the brunt of the impact.

This time, Daniel heard the message loud and clear. He hung up and sat silently on the sofa. About ten minutes later, he suddenly stood up and rushed towards the door like a madman.

"Mother, it’s me." As the call connected, Daniel spoke solemnly. The woman on the other end, hearing her son’s voice, felt no joy. Last time, on her husband’s birthday, she had so pleaded with her son to visit, but Daniel never showed up; she was still holding a grudge.

"Is there something you need?" the woman asked curtly.

"Mother, I beg you to help me find someone. As long as you help me find her, I will agree to any request," Daniel directly stated his purpose.

The woman hesitated slightly, "Who?"

"Jin Enxi, my girlfriend, has had an accident—the plane she was on crashed into the sea. I’m asking for your help to find her. If you help me, I’ll do anything you ask of me," Daniel tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.

Upon hearing Daniel’s words, the woman frowned, "If the plane crashed into the sea, she is most certainly dead, Daniel. Even if she is found, she would already be dead."

"That’s impossible. Enxi is definitely still alive, Mother. I’m begging you, help me find her. Even if... even if it’s just..." He couldn’t continue; the thought was too terrifying, and just contemplating it was more than Daniel could bear.

"If you insist on searching, I will help you, but under one condition—you must return to the family and take over your father’s business," the woman quickly set her terms. She did not care who the woman was or whether she was dead or alive, as long as it brought Daniel back under her control, she was willing to help her son find this Enxi.

"Alright, I agree. The location where her helicopter went down is..." Daniel gave the coordinates, not far from their family stronghold; the nearby seaside resort was a poor investment decision made by an older family member many years ago, resulting in a significant financial loss.

Upon hearing the location, the woman suddenly remembered the news she received the day before about a shootout that had occurred in that area. She tensed up, "Daniel, tell me honestly, did you have anything to do with the shootout yesterday?"

"That’s none of your business. Just help me find her, and I will do as you wish. I will assume the chairman’s position, and even if my brothers try to stop me, I will eliminate any obstacles in my way."

The woman was quite pleased with this. He was her only child, and everything in this house, which she had built alongside her husband, rightfully belonged to her child—not to those who treated her like a wicked stepmother, scheming to drive her out of their home.

When Daniel arrived at the accident site, Shen Qinglan and her team had been searching for a long time, and Daniel’s family had already joined in the effort.

It was only then that Shen Qinglan learned her agent was actually the son of the richest man in Country Y. Yet, at that time, she had no intention of dealing with Daniel.

Daniel stood at the bow of another boat, distantly hearing Shen Qinglan’s crying. Watching the calm sea surface, he felt immense sorrow.

"Jin Enxi, where are you? You promised me that nothing would happen. You liar, if you don’t come back, I’ll break up with you and find another woman. Are you listening? Please come back, I miss you." His murmured words dispersed into the air with the sea breeze."

"Daniel, we have already searched this area more than once, and there’s simply no one. I’m afraid the person is already..." Daniel’s mother spoke from behind him.

"Search again. I must find her." Daniel’s eyes were red with emotion. Alive, I need to see her; dead, I need to see her body. Even if it meant searching the entire sea area, he would never give up.

But they had already been searching for two days, and it had been three days since the person fell into the sea. Even if she had survived the initial fall, she was likely dead by now. A dead person, swallowed up by the sea, where myriad marine creatures lurked—who knew if the body was still there, or if it had been devoured by some large fish? Could they be doomed to search forever?

Although the woman had agreed to help Daniel find the person, she hadn’t agreed to search indefinitely. Since her son had returned, she would not let him leave again, no matter what. So, the woman gave a knowing look to someone nearby; he nodded and walked towards the cabin.

The woman softened her expression, "Daniel, Mommy knows this person is very important to you, and I will definitely help you find her. But you haven’t rested properly in days. Why don’t you rest for a bit first? Mommy will have people continue the search. We can’t afford for you to give up before we find her."

Initially resistant, Daniel was persuaded by the logic in his mother’s words—he needed to keep going, hold on till the person was found. So, he followed her back to the cabin. The woman fetched some food for Daniel, who found himself without any appetite.

Seeing Daniel merely closing his eyes to rest, the woman spoke again, "Daniel, you should eat something; otherwise, you won’t have the strength to continue."

Whenever Daniel thought about Jin Enxi’s uncertain fate between life and death, he found himself unable to eat, yet he forced himself to pick up a piece of bread and bit off a few mouthfuls, swallowing without even chewing.

A woman handed Daniel a glass of milk, "If you can’t eat, don’t eat, just drink some milk first."

After finishing the milk in one gulp, Daniel stood to leave the cabin to continue the search, intending to inquire about Shen Qinglan’s situation. However, just as he reached the door of the cabin, Daniel felt the world spinning and blacked out.

"Let’s go, let’s go home." The woman instructed others to help Daniel into a seat and spoke indifferently as their boat swiftly departed from the area.

From Fu Hengyi’s embrace, Shen Qinglan raised her head and saw the scene of Daniel’s team pulling out; her heart jolted. She wanted to call Daniel, only to realize her phone was dead.

Had Daniel given up on Jin Enxi so soon? No, he wouldn’t; Daniel cared too deeply about Enxi to abandon her easily, Shen Qinglan couldn’t comprehend.

At this moment, her thoughts, however, could not dwell on these matters. Gazing out at the endless sea, she suddenly felt despair. "Fu Hengyi, do you think they are still alive?"

"They must be alive," Fu Hengyi stated confidently, even though he felt unsure.

Shen Qinglan stared blankly at the sea, slowly nodding. "Right, they must be alive." No matter how many grievances she had with Allen, at this moment, she genuinely didn’t hope for his death.

A week of searching yielded no sign of them. Yet, it wasn’t entirely fruitless; on a beach of a nearby small island, they found the wreckage of a helicopter. All aboard, including the pilot, had died. But Jin Enxi and Allen weren’t among them. At the time of the grenade explosion, they were still hanging on the helicopter ladder, not inside the cabin, and had fallen straight into the sea. Finding two people in such a vast ocean equated to finding a needle in a haystack.

Shen Qinglan’s party searched nearby seas and every small and large island around but found nothing but the helicopter wreckage.

"Andre, it’s been ten days; let’s give up," Andre said gravely, having searched every possible location. If they were still alive, they would have been found by now. Reluctantly, Andre had to face the truth that Jin Enxi had likely perished at sea.

Shen Qinglan, standing on the deck, had lost a lot of weight in a little over a week and looked as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

Since that day of nearly drowning, Shen Qinglan hadn’t allowed Fu Hengyi back in the water; his wounds had somewhat stabilized over these days of rest.

Shen Qinglan’s emotional turmoil had stabilized after letting it out that day. Her face was impassive. Watching the sea after hearing Andre’s words, she asked, "Do you believe that Enxi is dead too?"

Andre remained silent. Except for Shen Qinglan, everyone else on the boat had accepted the reality of Jin Enxi’s and Allen’s deaths.

Shen Qinglan turned around and fixed her gaze on Andre. Placing a hand over her heart, she spoke calmly and evenly, "Andre, my heart tells me they are alive, somewhere nearby, waiting for me to find them."

"Andre, that is just your illusion. We have searched every possible place nearby, even every island, one by one. Accept the reality, Andre, they are dead."

Shen Qinglan’s lips slightly curved up, but her tone was icy, "I will find them."

"Andre, stop searching; stop tormenting yourself. It’s not your fault; no one could have anticipated such an accident. Enxi wouldn’t blame you." Seeing Shen Qinglan’s self-torment these days was torturous for everyone else as well.

Although Fu Hengyi didn’t say anything, he had quietly stayed by Shen Qinglan’s side, helping her search for people, but Andre could see that the one who was suffering the most, besides Shen Qinglan, was Fu Hengyi.

These were words that others couldn’t say, nor were they qualified to say, but Andre could because they had come this far together, braving through numerous close calls as companions.

"Andre, give up. Think about your son, your husband. These past few days, Fu Hengyi has been by your side, sharing your pain, sharing your fatigue. And think about your son; you’ve been away from home all this time, and he has been waiting for you. He’s not even a year old. Think of your relatives. Andre, let’s go." Andre blinked, hiding the sadness in his eyes.

Shen Qinglan looked out at the sea, then turned to look at Fu Hengyi, who was on another boat directing others in their search. From her angle, she could only see the side of Fu Hengyi’s face. It was this half-view of his face that made Shen Qinglan suddenly realize that these days, Fu Hengyi had also grown much thinner. What was even more striking was the gauze wrapped around his hand.

Shen Qinglan’s gaze lightly swept across the faces of the people on the boat, including the remaining men of Allen and those who Su Qing, a stranger, had found from nowhere. Without exception, all these people had looks of exhaustion. And Su Qing, this stranger, despite the gunshot wound in her belly, had stayed with her on the sea for ten days.

Though they had searched in shifts during the ten plus days at sea, it was still immensely exhausting.

Shen Qinglan’s hand gently touched her chest, and she closed her eyes. Enxi, Allen, I’m sorry.

When she opened her eyes again, they still held a semblance of calm. "Let’s go back."

Andre was startled and didn’t react immediately. "Andre."

"Let’s go back, everyone is tired."

Andre nodded and made a signal towards Fu Hengyi’s direction to return. Upon reaching the dock, Fu Hengyi, looking worried, watched Shen Qinglan descend from the boat. "Qinglan."

Shen Qinglan pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Let’s go back." She had given up and become a deserter.

**

Daniel never expected his own mother to drug him, knock him unconscious, and bring him back home. Seeing the familiar room, along with the tightly closed windows and door, Daniel’s face turned an iron blue.

He leaped from the bed and banged forcefully on the door. "Open the door, open it!"

The people outside the door exchanged glances upon hearing the noise inside; one went to find Daniel’s mother, while the other spoke, "Young Master, the lady will be here soon."

"Open the door!" Daniel roared, his rage uncontainable.

"Young Master, the lady said that even if you wake up, we can’t open the door for you, otherwise, we’ll have to leave. Please don’t make it difficult for us," the person outside said with a troubled expression.

"If you don’t open the door for me now, I’ll make you get out. Although I’ve been away from home for so many years, I still have that much authority," Daniel said coldly.

"Young Master, please don’t make it tough for me. No matter what you say, I won’t open the door for you. The lady will be here soon, please don’t worry."

Daniel was indeed in a hurry. His mother had clearly intended to keep him at home, and he had foolishly believed that she genuinely wanted to help him find someone. He had long known, hadn’t he, that his mother was a person of great power and ambition.

Footsteps approached from outside. When Daniel heard them, he stopped his angry shouting. The door opened, revealing the face of a man, approximately sixty years old with jet-black hair, evidently well-maintained.

"Throwing your weight around as soon as you get back, Daniel. Over the years, you’ve increasingly neglected the rules," the man said in a deep voice, though his tone carried little reproach. This was Daniel’s father, Carlos Kramer.

Upon seeing his father, Daniel stiffened and lowered his head, "Father."

"If your mother hadn’t brought you back this way, would you have planned never to return?" Carlos softened his tone and asked.

"Father, let’s talk about this later. I have an urgent matter now. Please, let me leave."

"Daniel, your mother has already told me everything. I will continue to help you look for the person, but since you have come back, stay at home peacefully. Whether we find her or not, I will keep you informed."

Daniel stared at his father in disbelief, "Father, you are restraining my freedom. That’s illegal."

"Daniel, I am doing this for your sake. I have already told you, I will help you look, but you must stay at home." Seeing the stubborn look on Daniel’s face, Carlos sighed, "Daniel, I am old now. It has been many years since we last saw each other. Stay and keep me company."

At these words, Daniel observed the crow’s feet at the corners of his father’s eyes and fell silent. After a while, he spoke softly, "Father, she is very important to me. I must find her."

Carlos walked into Daniel’s room and closed the door, looking at his son, "Daniel, after this incident, don’t you understand?"

Daniel didn’t understand what he meant.

"Only when power is in your own hands do you have control, do you have freedom. If you had listened to me back then, taken over the family business, you would now be the chairman of the conglomerate, and you could search for someone by yourself, without having to ask for help from family."

Daniel remained silent. He had never felt the importance of power before. He had left the family because he detested the family’s intrigue and deceit, the overt conflicts and the covert battles, even among blood relatives who should provide a sense of kinship. Siblings and relatives schemed to strip each other of the right to inherit family wealth.

Daniel disliked such a family atmosphere. Even though he was his father’s most beloved younger son, and even though his father had promised to hand over the business to him, meaning there was no need for him to compete with his two other brothers, he still detested that life. So, he had resolutely left that home.

"Daniel, I am old. The home, the company—I don’t know how much longer I can guard them for you. Do you really want to watch your old father break his heart for you? I know you dislike competing with others, so I let you be free these years. But you’ve had your freedom now; it’s time to come back."

"Father, I just want to find her," Daniel said.

"As long as you agree to come back, however you wish to search, however long it takes, I am with you." Carlos felt these were not issues, as long as he could get Daniel to agree first. That woman was probably already dead, her body nowhere to be found. Daniel was unable to let go now, but after some time, he himself would grow weary and give up the search.

"Daniel, I’m not forcing you. You can take some time to consider what I said. I’ll give you one day to decide. Tomorrow at this time, give me your decision. Whether you leave or stay, I will respect your choice. As for your mother, I will handle that. But Daniel, this is the last chance I am giving you. If you choose to give up this time, even if you come back later, you will lose your inheritance rights, and the people currently helping you search, I will also call them back. If you want to rely on yourself, I will not help you."