After that incident, the White family had kept a lower profile for a while.


    But years offortable living had made themcent, and they had clearly forgotten the lessons of the past.


    "Noah, you should have Karina keep her family in line. You know our grandfather and the others don''t tolerate any nonsense," Bet advised.


    Though not full brothers, he and Noah had always been close.


    Noah took a drag from his cigarette and nodded, though he scoffed internally.


    Karina was incapable of reining in her family. The Whites had been up to their usual tricks behind the scenes for years.


    Noah had turned a blind eye for the sake of his wife and daughter.


    But the White family was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. If what happened years ago were to happen again, it would be the end of his marriage to Karina.


    After finishing his cigarette, Noah stubbed it out in the ashtray.


    He changed the subject, steering away from the Whites.


    "Frank has his eye on a piece ofnd recently, wants to develop it into a port. The Thompson Group''s shipping division has been expanding rapidly these past few years, so moving into maritime transport is the next logical step."


    Bet wasn''t particrly interested in business matters and offered noment. "I''ve seen thend myself. You still have some vacation days left, don''t you? How about a weekend getaway? We can bring Nic, and you can bring Ms. Jones."


    Noah knew this was a way to smooth things over between him and Karina, hoping to avoid anysting resentment.


    "Yvonne has a movie to finish filming. She''s due back on set in a couple of days. I''ll have to ask her if she has time," Bet replied.


    "Isn''t she working on Director Ward''s film? I can give him a call," Noah said with a smile.


    Bet had no reason to refuse, so he agreed.


    ...


    Yvonne was packing her bags to return to the film set when she received an unexpected call from Director Ward.


    On the phone Director Ward was polite and enthusiastic, telling Yvonne to enjoy her time off and not to rush back to the set. He said they could wait until after the holidays and that he had rescheduled her scenes for the end of the shoot.


    Yvonne hung up,pletely bewildered.


    Momentster, Bet called and told her about the weekend trip.


    It turned out Noah had personally called Director Ward to ask for leave on Yvonne''s behalf.


    When the CEO of the Thompson Group makes a personal request, Director Ward was in no position to refuse.


    "Noah feels bad about the conflict


    with Kevin, especially since you


    almost got hurt. He wants to invite us on an outing. Besides, the


    is


    Thompson famerested in buying that port, so this is a good chance to scout the location," Bet exined over the phone.


    Since she already had the time off and wanted to go on a vacation with Bet anyway, Yvonne happily agreed.


    The location wasn''t in Istra, but it bordered it, in the next city over. The drive was about two and a half hours.


    Bet drove, with Yvonne in the passenger seat, leaving from Cherry Bay.


    "Noah and Karina are bringing


    Nic, so they''ll probably leaveter


    than us. He told us to go ahead,


    Bet said as he started the car,


    pulling onto the wide, smooth main road.


    Just as they left the city limits, Yvonne''s phone rang.


    She nced at the caller ID: it was Jeffrey. She hesitated for a moment before answering.