Lisa Li was forcibly sent back.
Along with her, two housekeepers and two bodyguards returned as well.
Although they were called housekeepers and bodyguards, they were actually just people assigned to watch over her.
Lisa Li lost her freedom of movement.
Unless Max Mo agreed, Lisa Li had no chance of leaving this apartment.
The four of them were highly trained, not giving Lisa Li a single chance to slip away.
Only now did Lisa Li realize how free and happy her days living with Julia Yu had been.
But now, it was too late to say anything.
Julia Yu's things had already been moved out.
She moved into the luxury apartment provided by the company for the Chief Special Assistant, where she could live for free for life, with all expenses covered.
In other words, even if Julia Yu stopped being the Chief Special Assistant in the future, the apartment would still be hers, and all utilities—water, electricity, gas, internet, air conditioning, property fees—would be paid by the company.
Every week, a dedicated cleaning team came twice for maintenance, her clothes were washed twice a week, and every day someone would fill her fridge and wardrobe.
Because the Chief Special Assistant deals with so many private matters of the CEO, everyone serving her also comes from within the Mo Consortium—no outsiders are ever allowed to get involved.
When Julia Yu stood in front of the door to her own apartment, dragging her suitcase, she couldn't help but take a deep breath.
It was just too luxurious.
This was the best penthouse in the city center, worth a fortune.
The most outrageous part was, this wasn't the only one—every prime location at each branch office had a luxury apartment just for her.
This is exactly what top-tier families are all about.
Even the assistants around her enjoyed the best perks possible.
No wonder, the moment Julia Yu got her fifth Chief Special Assistant seat, she basically got her ticket into high society.
Just think about it—so many major cities around the world, so many branch offices, and she had an apartment at every prime location.
What kind of billionaire could pull that off?
So even though her job was just an assistant, the doors to high society were already wide open for her.
Julia Yu ran her hand over everything in the apartment—every item was a top global brand, all exquisite, all expensive.
Julia Yu felt like her whole life's hard work had finally paid off!
She had finally fought her way to the life she wanted, all on her own!
"Chief Assistant Yu, the cleaning is all done. Is there anything else you'd like?" the cleaner asked politely.
"No, thank you," Julia Yu smiled and nodded at them. "You've worked hard."
"It's our duty. We'll take our leave now." The cleaner politely exited.
The huge apartment was now just Julia Yu, all alone.
Julia Yu relaxed into the sofa and let out a comfortable sigh.
She could finally take a break.
Her phone rang, and Julia Yu picked it up casually. One glance at the screen, and she froze.
The message was from her stepmother, Mrs. Linda Yu: "Xiao Jie, your brother's surgery was a success. Thank you!"
Julia Yu's eyes suddenly grew hot with emotion.
Julia Yu tossed her phone aside, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
But that message kept swirling around in her mind.
This whole time, she'd been deliberately keeping her distance, acting like she didn't care, not asking whether Leo Yu was getting surgery or if he could even have it.
But after getting that message, Julia Yu couldn't help but feel happy for Leo Yu.
Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Leo Yu opened his eyes, looked at his parents, and the first thing he said was, "Mom, Dad, I'm all better now. Will my sister like me?"
Leo Yu's father suddenly burst into tears. "Of course, our little Leo is such a good boy, your sister will definitely love you."
His stepmother stood to the side, wiping away her tears.
She sent a message to Julia Yu, but Julia never replied.
Did she not see it? Or did she just not want to see it?
She didn't want to tell Leo the cruel truth, so she just whispered, "Do you really like your sister that much, Leo?"
"Yeah." Leo stared at the TV hanging on the hospital wall. On screen, Julia Yu wore a dark gray business suit, giving a speech as CEO of the Mo Group. Leo was even more in awe: "Sis is amazing!"
Leo's father and stepmother also looked at their daughter on TV. Leo's father felt a deep ache in his heart.
In the end, he had lost his daughter.
"Leo, get well soon. Once you're better, you can see your sister again." His stepmother tucked him in, her voice tinged with sadness. "Your sister helped pay for your surgery. Remember to thank her."
"Okay," Leo replied softly.
Leo's father quietly left the hospital room, stood in the hallway for a long time, then finally dialed Julia Yu's number. "Julia, it's Dad."
"Dad, what's up?" Julia's voice was completely emotionless.
"It's nothing much, I just wanted to tell you—Leo's surgery was a success. The doctor said, as long as he recovers well, his future will be fine. Leo really misses you." Leo's father said, "Thank you, Julia."
Julia took a deep breath. "It's nothing. I do charity work all the time. When someone needs help, I help if I can. It's not a big deal."
"I know you say that to make yourself feel better. No matter what, Dad still wants to thank you." Leo's father's voice grew heavier. "All these years, I've carried so much pressure, I thought I'd never make it through. But now, it's finally over. I'm really happy."
As he spoke, the old man was already choking up.
"When Leo was born, the doctors said if he didn't get treatment, he wouldn't live long. My heart broke. He was so little, he didn't know anything, he shouldn't have had to suffer for me. I know you hate me, but I had no choice. I know I was wrong, my favoritism drove you away. But I couldn't help it! If I cared about you, Leo wouldn't have survived." Leo's father finally broke down, sobbing as he spoke.
The pressure was crushing him.
Every day, he lived under the threat of losing his child.
He really had aged before his time.
Julia listened, her nose tingling with emotion.
"I know I've been selfish, so even when things got tough, I couldn't bring myself to ask you for help. I know you've made something of yourself now, you have money, you're capable. But I just couldn't do it! You're my child too, but I owed you so much because of Leo..."
"That's enough, stop." Julia interrupted him. "I told you, I'm past the age where I need a father's love."
Leo's father sobbed on the phone.
Julia lifted her gaze, refusing to let her tears fall.
"Dad, I don't hate you," Julia choked out.
Her father was stunned, clearly not believing her.
"For the past eighteen years, you gave me enough fatherly love," Julia said. "Thank you for loving me for eighteen years, thank you for raising me, thank you for not abandoning me when I needed you most."
Her father cried even harder. "Julia, it's my fault, I let you down. I know I was wrong! Julia, I'm old now, I don't have many years left, can you forgive me? When Leo went into surgery, my heart was in my throat. If he didn't make it, I'd have lost my last child. I've already lost my daughter, I can't lose my son too. Boo hoo..."
"He's fine, isn't he? Why are you crying?" Julia said, but her own tears were unstoppable. "The three of you will be just fine, trust me. You'll have a good life together."
"Julia, will I be able to see you again?" her father choked out. "If I miss you, can I visit?"
Julia covered her mouth, trying not to sob. "If you want to come, you can come anytime."
"Really? That's wonderful, so wonderful! I'm so happy, Julia, I'm really so happy." Her father clung to the phone, unable to say anything else, and broke down in tears.
He finally cried out all the years of pain and frustration.
Father and daughter held their phones in silence, both sobbing uncontrollably.
After a long time, her father finally said goodbye and hung up.
Julia just sat on the sofa, stunned, taking a long time to collect herself.
Forget it, she wouldn't hold a grudge anymore.
Life is just a few short decades, after all.
Might as well live comfortably.
To keep her emotions in check, Julia quickly threw herself into work. In between, she was also in charge of Lisa Li and Sean Young’s wedding.
Sure enough, the Young Family soon sent over the betrothal gifts, and Max Mo, acting as the bride's family, also posted the dowry list.
The marriage between the two families was quickly scheduled.
All the formalities were handled at lightning speed.
In less than a month, it was time for their wedding.
During this time, Max Mo didn’t hire any foreign designers for Lisa Li’s wedding dress. Instead, he just got a domestic second-tier designer to make two wedding dresses, two traditional Chinese wedding outfits, and two toasting dresses.
The dowry was decent, but nothing too extravagant.
It was just enough for Lisa Li to match the Young Family’s wealth.
What Lisa Li didn’t know was that, if she hadn’t acted out, Max Mo had actually planned to get her a famous German designer and almost a billion in dowry.
But now, it was gone. All her dowry combined barely added up to a few tens of millions.
Of course, for normal people, that was already pretty amazing and luxurious.
As for what Lisa Li really thought, only she knew.
Max Mo had a psychologist evaluate her. Lisa Li was found to be paranoid, with mild self-harm tendencies, but she could still be treated.
But Max Mo didn’t let the doctor intervene.
He was honestly just tired of Lisa Li.
He didn’t want to deal with anything about Lisa Li anymore.
Her future was up to her now.
If she messed up again, what awaited Lisa Li would be a punishment she might not survive.