"Hayden! How could you say something like that to your dad?!" Avery's blood ran cold, stricken by the shock that her son would say such a thing to Elliot."I don't want someone like this to be my father!" Hayden shouted. "You've never given up on him, so what gave him the right to give up? What else can he do apart from causing you trouble?! He's a good-for-nothing!"Slap!Unable to contain her rage, Avery slapped Hayden on the face.It was the first time she had ever hit her children. Her palm felt numb, and her heart twitched with pain.Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the look of disbelief on Hayden's face.She wanted to apologize right away, but Hayden beat her to it and turned to run away."Hayden!" Avery wanted to go after her, but the nanny came and stopped her."Avery, you've just slapped him. He probably hates you for it right now. Just let the bodyguard go after him," the nanny said. "Hayden is your son. He won't be mad at you for long. It'll be fine once he fig

"If you call her now, she might just run away," Elliot joked.Chad could not help but chuckle. "You know her well.""If I still don't know her despite everything that has happened, I would be a fool.""What are you going to do, Mr. Foster? Dean has lost Angela and poses no threat to you, so we don't have to hold back.""I won't go easy on him, of course." The look in Elliot's eyes darkened. "Even if he is still a threat to me, I'm not afraid of him. I'd rather handle all these people before I die instead of just surviving."Chad frowned; his heart dropped from the word 'die'. "I thought Avery talked to you last night.""I talked to her, and she promised to not do anything that will enrage me again," Elliot said casually. "I will give her another chance."Chad had thought that Avery would lecture Elliot so that he would not throw away his life, but to his surprise, it was Avery who was lectured.In the mansion, Avery was supposed to meet with the five experts she had hired befor

"Elliot, you have my parents. One thing, or ten, or even a hundred things, so long as I'm capable of doing them, I will do anything for you. All I ask is that you let me live after I'm done. My mom has diabetes and my stepfather has an old injury on his back, so he can't work anymore. They are both living off of the money I make. If I die, they won't survive either." Natalie lowered her head and tears rolled down her cheeks.Chad watched her from a distance and felt nothing but the irony in the situation. He felt no sympathy for Natalie, and her tears just looked like crocodile tears to him. If they took pity on her and let her live, she would definitely seek revenge on Elliot in the future whenever she had the chance."I have ordered my lawyer to draft up a contract. Sign it first, and I will consider if I'm going to let you live," he looked at her while sitting in the office chair."What kind of contract?" Natalie asked nervously.Elliot took out his phone to check the time, but

"Wilson, let's head home," Avery said."Aren't we going to buy chestnuts?" Wilson asked. "What happened?""Both Elliot and Hayden are at home. I'm worried that they will fight." Avery's heart sank. "Hayden is still mad at me, so he has to be mad at Elliot as well!""Those two didn't fight last night when you were inside the room! Hayden only got mad after you came out," Wilson said.Avery's head started pounding. "I'm still worried.""Let's hurry back, then."In the mansion, the nanny served Elliot a bowl of soup, before she went up with Hayden's bowl. Setting the bowl before him, she told Hayden that Elliot was home. Hayden immediately stepped out of his room with the bowl of soup in hand.This was his and his mother's house, and Elliot, Avery's former husband, was an outsider. Hayden did not intend on hiding in his room.The nanny was surprised to see Hayden out and about, but she was still relieved. She went into the living room, and when she remembered that Elliot was hom

The smile on Avery's face instantly froze."I like it that you are dominating," he added. "Back then, I used to consider protecting you and the kids as my responsibility, but now that I can't and need you to protect me instead... It's a hard pill to swallow, so I was quite upset for a while.""And now you are okay?" Avery could sense that he was more relaxed from his tone."Hayden taught me a lesson today." He shrugged. "I feel like maybe I've really aged.""Don't think like that. Everyone ages, and like an old machine, anyone would experience difficulties." She served a piece of steak onto his plate. "Eat well and drink well. There’s always hope.""You went to meet with those experts today, right? Do you think you can rely on them?" Elliot couldn't help but feel hesitant about the people Mike had gathered.Avery bit down on a piece of vegetable and chewed slowly. "I don't know them enough to say anything just yet, but Peter is famous. I didn't think he would come to our aid.""