Cody watched her crying and gently patted her shoulder, recalling softly, "Remember that year, right before you were about to give birth, we met a fortune-teller who imed our child would be born under a star of misfortune, bringing bad luck to our family. "He warned that keeping her with us would be a mistake, leading to family strife and discord among our rtives.


    "She was the daughter we''d been waiting for so eagerly, so naturally, we didn''t believe him. I yelled at that fortune-teller and almost got into a fight until you stopped me."


    Cody said with a deep gaze, his thoughts growing heavier, "On the day you gave birth, your water broke suddenly, and we rushed you to the hospital in a hurry. But then you had a difficultbor, and the hospital even had a power outage for an hour, almost putting you at risk!


    "You two were finally pulled back from the brink. However, she ended up with an irregr heartbeat and needed to stay in an incubator, while you couldn''t shake off the high fever..."


    Reba was surprised. "You never told me about this."


    "I didn''t dare to tell you. You carried her for ten months. I was afraid it would upset you!


    "Before you regained consciousness, I went to see her in the incubator. She was fast asleep, but I felt this chill run through me. It was this indescribable sensation, like some invisible force was tugging at my fate, and I couldn''t shake it off. It was absolutely terrifying. "Back then, I thought to myself, how great it would be if we didn''t have this daughter."


    Cody sighed softly, "Despite it all, I never thought of giving up on her. She''s our own flesh and blood. When she recovered and your fever subsided, seeing her sleeping peacefully in your arms, it was as if the world was bathed in sunshine again. I felt maybe even fate was smiling at us.


    "Our family flourished. The kids grew up healthy and safe, and none of those dark predictions the fortune teller made came true. Yvette, our little princess, brought joy and even saved Mitchell''s life at a crucial moment by the sea. She''s not a curse but our lucky charm." Cody chuckled bitterly as he spoke, "Who would''ve thought that fate would y such a joke on us? Yvette isn''t our real daughter, but Shakira is.


    "Ever since she returned, the Nelsons have faced turmoil, even affecting the business. Now, even Mitchell... I never thought the fortune teller''s prophecy would be so spot-on.


    "Luckily, Yvette didn''t bear any grudges. She wasn''t upset or disappointed that Mitchell was briefly misled and kept his distance from her. She''s been working her butt off to find him. Maybe, just like before, with Yvette''s good fortune, Mitchell will have a narrow escape ande back safe and sound.


    "As for Shakira... let''s just cut her off from now on."This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.


    Hearing this, Reba suddenly lifted her head with resentment. Her swollen eyes were welled up with anger. "What do you mean? I gave birth to her, and instead of being grateful, she turned against me and caused my son''s death. You''re just going to let it slide?"


    Cody''s eyes flickered for a moment. "So what else can we do? You saw it too. Without solid evidence, what can we really do against her?


    "Besides, Mr. Lopez is protecting her now. Lopez Group is at the peak of its power, and Finn is already under a lot of pressure at thepany. We''ve already lost Mitchell. Do we really want to keep pressuring our other kids?"  BD


    Q


    Reba covered her mouth and sobbed. She didn''t understand the business world, and she didn''t want to. All she felt was resentment and a desire to avenge Mitchell. But Cody was right. They''d already lost Mitchell. She didn''t bear to push Finn to risk the entire Nelson family against Walter.


    Cody knew she was hurting inside, so he hugged her softly, whispering, "Let''s just act like Shakira never existed. With all the issues with the Smith family now, Yvette''s not going back. We''ll keep Yvette as our own and stay a happy family." Reba fell silent in Cody''s embrace, her tears subsiding to quiet sobs. Cody kept looking straight ahead, gently patting Reba''s back, his old eyes clouded with a depth of understanding that was unfathomable.


    The Nelson family pulled out all stops to find Mitchell, using every new media channel. His disappearance spread fast, but three days passed with no news. Many online marveled again at the luxury of the Nelson family, while others feared for Mitchell''s safety. However, Mitchell''s situation was soon overshadowed by another major national headline.


    "The four esteemed elders areing together for the Crescentville Diplomatic Summit?"


    "Who are the four esteemed elders?"


    "Damn. Are you Clusian? You really don''t know the four esteemed elders? There are the national medical sage, Matthew Goodman, the martial arts master, Yael Bowen, the agriculture pioneer, Ethan Kierce, and..."


    "And the aviation pioneer, Barret Dawson."


    In the ssroom, the monitor turned around and added to the lively discussion of the ssmates behind him, "These four esteemed elders are national heroes. Thanks to these great individuals leading other exceptional leaders in different fields over the decades, our country has be a world power.


    "They have dedicated most of their lives to the country, and the youngest must be over seventy now. After handing over to the younger folks, they went on a private world tour a few years back, making it tough to find them.


    "Even though they''re no longer in their roles, their glory and authority in Clusia remain untouchable. Just a casual remark from any of them can cause a stir across the nation."


    One student said, "So that''s the reason. No wonder there''s been such strict control in Crescentvilletely. I''ve noticed patrols every night."


    "These pirs are treated with the highest regard. For Crescentville''s elite, this is a huge opportunity too," said the ss monitor. "There''s always someone better. These folks are at the very top. If someone wants to climb higher and the


    gets favor of these elders, they can skyrocket to sess."


    The not-so-bright ssmates finally caught on when the ss monitor spoke. They got all excited, chatting and sharing thoughts, imagining a carefree life if they could buddy up with the four esteemed elders.


    Sitting on the other side, Yvette and Berry listened to their loud discussions with disdainful smiles. Berry scoffed, slightly raising her voice, "Are you all dreaming now? Do you think meeting the esteemed elders is something you can just do? Aiming for the stars, that''s trulyughable."