"Why?" Linda asked, raising her eyebrows."It's not there! I told you, it's not in this house," Danila insisted, but Linda ignored her. She looked away and cleared her throat, trying to explain further."Why won't you listen? It's not in this house!" Danila repeated, but Linda narrowed her eyes and quickly opened the drawer.She paused for a moment, then turned to face Danila. "You just told me there's no blood tonic here, but what is this?" Linda said, pulling the blood tonic from the drawer."Oh, I forgot... I thought I had thrown it away," Danila stammered.Nicklaus shook his head, seeing through her obvious lies."May I examine the blood tonic?" Nicklaus asked, extending his hand.He took the bottle from Linda and studied its contents. He gasped and raised his eyebrows. "Who provided this blood tonic to your grandfather?""It was Danila. She said it would make him healthier," Linda replied. She was beginning to sense something sinister. Her instincts were telling her that Danila h

"You think I'd ever come back to you? You're the delusional one here," Stella said, turning to Gabriel, whose arm remained around her waist."Trust me, Gabriel has done more for me than you ever have. There's no way I'd leave him for someone like you," she declared, causing a triumphant smile to spread across Gabriel's face."Stella, you don't mean that! I know you're only acting this way because...""Because of what? You're trying to make excuses for me? My God, don't be so pathetic, Nicklaus," she interrupted."Look here, buddy. I'm not going to charge you a dime for all the hospital bills you owe. I'll cover everything for you—just take your miserable self and get out of here," Gabriel said, sliding his hand down to Stella's backside and groping her in front of Nicklaus, who was instantly enraged.Nicklaus shoved Gabriel back. "What do you think you're doing?"He turned to Stella and took her hand. "I know your father has been hard on you, but that doesn't mean you have to act like

Nicklaus tried to avoid Frederick because he didn't want to be delayed from getting water to his sister. He successfully entered the room where water and other refreshments were stored.After grabbing a bottle of water, he walked out, unaware that Frederick was waiting outside the door for him."You think you can just walk past me? You must be delusional!" Frederick's voice echoed in his ears."Not now, Frederick. I'm not in the mood for your games or trouble," Nicklaus said, attempting to walk past him unsuccessfully."Don't think you can walk past me without paying my ten dollars! I want that money from you," Frederick said with a scowl, but Nicklaus didn't want to engage."Can I pay you some other time? You know I wouldn't delay if I had the money," Nicklaus said, but Frederick was unwilling to listen.Frowning, he positioned himself directly in front of Nicklaus. "When do you plan to pay me? When you die of starvation? I know you don't even have money for food, and I'm sure you ow

Earl noticed Nicklaus staring at his pocket, so he looked down and saw his gun was visible."That's for protection—you don't need to be afraid," Earl said, noticing the concern on Nicklaus's face, though he tried to hide it."Oh, that... yes, okay," Nicklaus said, attempting to appear nonchalant.Unknown to Nicklaus, Earl had undergone extensive training. There was nothing he couldn't handle—he could resist any temptation, no matter how alluring.They arrived at the villa and parked in front of the house. As they got out, Nicklaus marveled at the mansion again. He followed the men until they reached the entrance.Nicklaus swallowed hard, his heart racing, but he managed to maintain composure.Earl led him directly to the old man's room. The moment the door opened, Nicklaus was shocked.Not only was the old man present, but there was also a middle-aged man in the room."This must be Linda's father," Nicklaus thought, until he spotted another man who looked exactly like the first one."

Stella was stunned. "You see? This is exactly what I've been telling you—he only married you for your money," Gabriel said."What money are you talking about, Gabriel? The Johnson family was nothing until I entered their lives. I made their company what it is today!" Nicklaus said, pointing at Stella."Stop talking nonsense! You didn't do anything. You don't own the company, and whatever you did was just your job," Stella retorted, causing Nicklaus to chuckle softly."I think the only ungrateful person here is you, not me. But I don't care. Here's your divorce agreement, Stella—you should sign it too," Nicklaus said, throwing the papers to her.She bent down and picked them up, enraged and struggling to stay calm. She signed the papers and hissed, "The money I was going to give you to start a new life? Consider it gone. I won't give you a single penny unless you beg and apologize for this public embarrassment."She looked around at the gathering crowd of onlookers who had abandoned th