Gilbert Watson leisurely crossed his legs, lit a cigar, and took a refined puff. His deep, magnetic voice was especially captivating.
"Now, report your work proposal."
Work proposal? Claire was momentarily caught off guard.
"What? You don't have one?"
"I do." Claire snapped back to attention. So Gilbert had shown up at Zanna Perfume Shop this early just to hear her plan.
She had to admit, when it came to work, Gilbert was highly competent, hands-on and intolerant of any sloppiness.
Pressing her lips together, she quickly outlined her upcoming work plan and concluded,
"Mr. Watson, there's one thing I'll need your assistance with. I'm planning a large-scale social tea gathering, targeting the wealthy socialites of A City's upper class."
Gilbert listened intently the entire time. As she finished, his eyes locked onto her without blinking.
"Well? Can I count on your support?" Claire asked nervously.
Gilbert gave a slight nod. "Alright, I'll support it."
"Thank you, Mr. Watson." Claire finally managed to squeeze out a polite smile, the kind that was entirely fake.
Only with his influence could she invite the elite women from the capital's high society, Zanna's real customer base. Her mother had always told her that identifying the right target market was crucial.
Gilbert gave her a meaningful glance before standing and striding toward the door.
Just as he turned around, the smile vanished from Claire's face. Her eyes sharpened like blades, as if she wished she could stab him in the back right then and there.
Suddenly, Gilbert turned back around.
Claire's expression froze in a bizarre, awkward grimace.
Gilbert's rose-tinted lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile. He said calmly,
"Work hard. If your results are impressive, I'll reward you. With me, I promote based on talent."
With that, he turned and walked away in long strides.
Claire let out a cold snort.
Promote based on talent? What a joke.
Does Emma have talent? Yet you're still more than happy to keep her around.
—
Downstairs.
"Gilbert!" As soon as he came down, Emma appeared in her sky-high stilettos, swaying seductively.
Gilbert frowned as he looked at her. "What are you doing here?"
"I… I was worried about Claire… I just feel like she's up to no good," Emma said anxiously.
"From now on, stay home and look after Dean and Linda. Help them with their schoolwork. Don't come to the office. Keep your distance from Claire," Gilbert instructed coldly. He glanced at his watch and walked off toward his luxury car.
Moments later, the engine roared and he sped off.
Emma stomped her feet in frustration.
If she couldn't come to the office, wouldn't that just give that Claire more chances to seduce her fiancé? No way would she allow that!
Just thinking about Claire made her eyes burn with unshed tears.
She had known Gilbert for years.
He'd changed. He no longer disliked Claire at the sight of her. In fact, he seemed to be admiring her more and more.
Like today. He normally wouldn't have shown up, but he had arrived early. Clearly… it was because of Claire.
That was a very bad sign.
Emma clenched her teeth.
You wretched woman, how dare you come back and ruin everything for me! I won't let you succeed! I'll make you die an even more miserable death than last time!
—
The Watson castle.
"Brother!" Adam answered a call on his smartwatch. Hilary's sweet little face popped up on the screen.
"Hilary!" Adam beamed.
"Brother, Mommy got hit! Please come home quickly!" Hilary's voice trembled with tears, her little face filled with panic.
Adam's face changed instantly. "Mommy got hit? What happened? Tell me clearly!"
"Adam, last night when Mommy came home, I was giving her a back massage and saw fingerprints on her face. Someone obviously hit her, but she refused to admit it and insisted it was just an allergic reaction to shrimp. But I know it was from someone hitting her," Hilary pouted, her eyes brimming with tears.
Adam's face flushed with anger. "Tell me. Who hit Mommy? That's outrageous!"
"I think... it was someone named Emma Miler," Hilary said, trying her best to recall Claire's thoughts at the time.
"Emma Miler?" Adam clenched his fists.
Wasn't that Linda's mom?
He'd been living in this house for three days now, and the maids had mentioned that name several times.
Still, he hadn't spoken to her directly.
Every time he saw her, she wouldn't even look his way, cold and distant.
Adam couldn't care less about her.
But he felt bad for Dean.
After all, he was currently posing as Dean, and Emma was supposedly Dean's biological mom.
But from the looks of it, she clearly didn't care about Dean at all.
No wonder Dean hated being in this house.
It was so cold and heartless here. Adam couldn't help but wonder how Dean had even grown up in this kind of environment.
He thought of his own mom, Claire Miler checked in on him and Hilary every day, always made time for them, and looked out for them in every way. She was always afraid they'd be hungry or cold. So warm, so caring.
His mom was amazing. He'd never let anyone bully her.
"Hilary, don't worry. I'll come back right away," Adam tried to comfort her, but just as he spoke, the door swung open.
He looked up.
Linda stepped in wearing a fancy princess dress, her hands behind her back.
"Okay, big brother. I'll wait for you. I really miss you," Hilary's sweet voice came through the smartwatch, unaware of what was happening on Adam's side.
Linda instantly heard Hilary's voice and ran over, trying to snatch the smartwatch from Adam, asking suspiciously, "Dean, who are you talking to?"
Adam quickly dodged and turned the watch off.
But Linda had already seen the image of a pretty little girl on the screen and she wasn't happy.
"None of your business." Adam straightened the watch and asked, irritated, "Who told you you could come in without knocking?"
"Who is she?" Linda didn't answer and pointed at the watch, demanding to know.
"I'm not telling you," Adam replied coolly, then warned, "Next time, don't come into my room without knocking."
"I'll come in if I want to! Now tell me who she is!" Linda shouted, pestering him relentlessly.
"You're crazy," Adam muttered in frustration, rolled his eyes at her, then picked up an Ultraman figure and started playing with it, completely ignoring her.
"Dean, I'm ordering you not to play with Ultraman! You have to talk to me!" Linda barked bossily.
"You're annoying. So annoying," Adam glared at her and ran out with the toy in hand.
Linda stood there, lips quivering, her eyes brimming with tears, clearly upset and unwilling to back down.
Adam ran through the front yard, holding the Ultraman figure high above his head like it was flying.
But when he reached the villa's entrance, he froze.
The castle-like mansion was massive like a kingdom. Getting out of here wouldn't be easy.
So how was he going to get home?
"Dean, doesn't my dress look pretty?" Just as he was wondering what to do, Linda came running over again. This time in a new Barbie puff-sleeve dress. She held the skirt delicately and twirled in front of him, asking proudly.