"Brother, you should turn yourself in!" Carole Brown said after long deliberation, offering what she believed was the right decision. However, he clearly didn’t agree. "Carole, you’re a real piece of work, aren’t you, my ’dear’ sister! Have you forgotten who paid for your college education? Who got you a job at the Eastminster Pharmaceutical Factory after you graduated? Is this how you repay me? By watching me lose everything and go to jail?" Kenneth Brown glared at his sister, all traces of brotherly compassion and affection gone from his eyes. "Brother, I haven’t forgotten! If I had, I wouldn’t be here talking to you today. Instead, I’d be at the Police Station with the evidence!" "Carole, thank you," he said, his voice laced with bitterness. "Brother, your wife is so smart; she’ll find out sooner or later. What will you do then?" "She’s never suspected me, has she?" Kenneth Brown said, clinging to a sliver of hope. "That’s because your wife trusts you! She trusts you, so she never doubted you, but you have betrayed her trust!" Kenneth offered no response. "I’m going to tell your wife," Carole pressed on. "I’m going to tell her that you stole the formula!" "Carole, if you dare tell her, I’ll jump off this building right now!" Kenneth Brown threatened. "Brother, you’ve done something wrong, don’t you understand? You can’t keep compounding your mistakes." After all, they were siblings; Carole couldn’t bring herself to deal with her brother too harshly. If she could have been ruthless, she wouldn’t have come back here. She would have gone directly to the Police Station. However, she had to tell Sienna Johnson. Sienna cherished old ties. Carole believed that, for old times’ sake, Sienna wouldn’t be too hard on Kenneth. "Carole, there’s no turning back for me!" "I’m not a bad person!" he insisted. When Carole remained silent, he continued, his voice raw with emotion, "Carole, I just want to marry Sienna!" Silence hung between them before he continued, his voice filled with a desperate passion, "...Sienna Johnson is like a swan flying in the sky, and I am the toad at the well craving her unattainable beauty... Do you know how long it took for her to even notice me? Two whole years! Two years! People say I’m marrying Sienna Johnson for the Johnson Family’s money, to save myself decades of struggle. But the truth is, I genuinely just love that woman. I worked so hard, pushing myself to the limit, just to share her burden, so she wouldn’t have to be so tired." He paused, waiting for a reaction that didn’t come. "Carole, having come this far, I won’t allow myself to turn back. If you dare to tell Sienna about this, then I will jump off this building right now!" The chilling threat hung in the air. Carole was speechless. "As for Mom and Dad," Kenneth continued, his voice devoid of warmth, "you and our younger brother will have to take care of them." This was the eighteenth floor. A fall from here meant absolutely no chance of survival. Kenneth Brown was threatening her with his death, trying to force her to become his accomplice, to commit crimes and descend into depravity with him. "Brother, you’re wrong!" "Then I have no choice but to see this through to the bitter end," Kenneth Brown said unrepentantly. Carole Brown looked at the stranger before her, this man who was once her brother. She lamented how wealth and status had blinded his eyes, how power and lust had corrupted his heart. The man standing before her was no longer the brother who used to carry her on his back, running joyfully through the mountains. "I won’t tell President Johnson that you stole the formula," Carole said, her voice flat. "But from this day forward, you are no longer my brother!" Kenneth Brown took a step forward, but Carole retreated two steps. A chasm seemed to separate them. "Kenneth Brown, I will never forgive you for causing Qi Ming’s death!" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel⁂fire.net Kenneth flinched but said nothing. "If my life turns out unhappy, it will be all your fault, Brother!" Kenneth Brown advised, "You’re still young. Forget Qi Ming. You’ll meet a better man! You will be very happy! Carole, trust me!" Carole Brown shook her head gently. "I can’t forget him! I will atone for your sins! I will mourn Qi Ming for the rest of my life!" Kenneth stared at her, lost for words. "Kenneth Brown," Carole said, her voice devoid of emotion, "this love you’ve obtained through such unscrupulous means—I hope you find happiness with it in the end!" With those final words, Carole Brown walked out of Kenneth Brown’s life completely. She resigned from the Eastminster Pharmaceutical Factory and traveled to Freshua, becoming a medical volunteer. She never set foot in Sileria City again. For the rest of her life, even at the hour of her death, she refused to see Kenneth Brown. 「The Johnson Residence」 The engagement banquet was scheduled for seven in the evening. It was now six-thirty, and the festivities would begin in half an hour. Sienna Johnson was radiant in a beautiful, heavily beaded gown that shimmered like the bright moon in the night sky. Curly, wearing an adorable little white formal dress, flitted through the crowd like an innocent angel, untouched by the world’s sorrows. "Sienna, you look so beautiful today." Kiki was very skillful with her hands, so Sienna Johnson hadn’t hired a professional stylist for her bridal updo; instead, she had Kiki do it for her. According to Abyanabad tradition, styling the bride’s hair for such an occasion was a very auspicious and honorable task. Kiki was delighted to be able to do Sienna’s hair. "It’s just an engagement banquet. Isn’t this a bit too extravagant?" Sienna mused. "I reminded Kenneth Brown back then to keep it low-key, low-key, but he still went and made it so grand." As far as Sienna Johnson was concerned, the engagement banquet should have simply been a dinner for the two families. Instead, the number of guests today was comparable to her grandmother’s eightieth birthday celebration. "He probably wishes the whole world knew you’re going to be his bride," Kiki laughed. "Mom, Father Kenneth is smiling like a fool today," Curly chimed in from the side. Sienna Johnson lightly tapped her daughter’s head, admonishing, "Don’t talk nonsense!" Curly stuck out her tongue. "Curly isn’t talking nonsense; he really does look like a fool." Vivian Abbey had also arrived. She was wearing a black evening gown; because she was overweight, all her clothes were dark-colored. When she entered, Gary Fisher had joked that she looked like she was attending a funeral, which nearly made Vivian Abbey die of anger. It was a good thing Vivian was good-tempered; if Sienna Johnson had heard him, there’s no telling how furious Sienna would have become. They were joyfully celebrating their engagement, and that foul-mouthed Gary Fisher had said she was there for a funeral. Wasn’t he cursing the couple? What an awful thing to say! Vivian thought, shuddering internally. "Vivian, you look so beautiful today," Sienna greeted her warmly. Thinking of Gary Fisher’s words, Vivian Abbey’s mouth twitched. "Oh, hardly as beautiful as President Johnson." "Why isn’t Gary here yet?" Sienna asked. "As if he’d miss an occasion !" Vivian Abbey’s voice was sharp, her tone filled with hostility. "You two have been fighting again, haven’t you?" "Me, argue with him? As if!" Vivian scoffed. "Arguing with someone like him is beneath me and gets me nowhere." Vivian Abbey walked over and presented Sienna Johnson with a gift box. "President Phillips asked me to tell you that he has something on today and can’t make it. This is his congratulatory gift to you." Hearing the name Noah Phillips, a shadow of sorrow crossed Sienna Johnson’s smiling face. She accepted the gift and said, "Please thank him for me." Vivian Abbey knew of Noah Phillips’s feelings for Sienna Johnson. However, Sienna was looking to marry a man into her family, and Noah Phillips would never agree to be a live-in son-in-law for the Johnson Family. Sienna Johnson was an extremely rational person, while Noah Phillips tended to be somewhat indecisive when it came to matters of the heart. And so, they had missed their chance with each other. Vivian Abbey felt a sense of regret for them.