Chapter 3
“Giselle, it’s Renee’s birthday today. Come back to the Holt residence for dinner tonight.”
The voice on the phone was none other than Tony Holt, the man Giselle reluctantly called her father.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have answered his call, let alone set foot in that house. But there was something important she needed to take care of.
After a brief hesitation, she agreed.
Giselle hated talking about her rotten past with anyone. Since she was little, Tony had been unfaithful, carrying on an affair with her aunt, Renee Moore. It eventually led to the death of Giselle’s birth mother, Rebecca Moore, who lost her battle with depression.
After Renee stepped into Rebecca’s place as Giselle’s stepmother, Giselle became an unwelcome outsider in her own home.
When Giselle was only ten, Tony sent her away to live overseas. Aside from the bare minimum of financial support, he showed her almost no fatherly affection, leaving her to raise herself.
Now that she’d finally achieved financial independence, the first thing she wanted was to cut all ties with the Holt family. It was time for a fresh start.
With that goal in mind, she drove to the Holt residence just after 4:00 pm. Half an hour later, her car pulled up in front of a timeless, elegant villa in an upscale neighborhood.
When Giselle walked into the living room, she saw Tony seated on the couch, chatting on the phone.
Nearby, Renee was in the middle of giving orders to the butler, but the moment she noticed Giselle, her face twisted with barely concealed disgust.
“Didn’t I tell you today was Renee’s birthday? Why did you come empty-handed?” Tony snapped.
Giselle had no patience for pleasantries. “I’m not here to celebrate anyone’s birthday. I just came to get my personal documents and cut ties with this family for good.”
Tony went quiet.
Renee eyed Giselle sideways, noting the limited-edition Hermès bag in her grip and the designer clothes from head to toe.
“So that’s why you’re suddenly cutting us off.” Renee snorted. “You found yourself a sugar daddy to foot the bill, didn’t you?”
Giselle sneered. “Yeah, I met this older guy—even older than Dad. He throws millions at me without even blinking. Money’s not a problem anymore.”
“You piece of shit!” Tony snarled, thrusting a finger in her face. “You’re off screwing around all the time. Have you no shame left? Are you trying to humiliate me in my old age?”
“Shame?” Giselle shot back, her voice dripping with indifference. “Sorry, my parents died when I was young. I had no one around to raise me or teach me. So no, I don’t know what shame is. But if you had any clue about it, you wouldn’t have pulled all that disgusting shit back then.”
“How dare you!” Tony’s whole body shook with rage, his words hissing through clenched teeth. “Do you think I can’t fucking control you anymore?”
Giselle turned her back on him. She’d had enough of the old bastard. “Save your breath. Just hand over my personal documents. I’ll change my surname today, and when I die, I won’t even ask you to come claim my body.”
“Do you think you can just walk away from the Holts? It’s not that simple!” Renee snapped, every inch the domineering matriarch. “Your father and I raised you for over 20 years. You didn’t think that was free, did you?
“You have two options—pay back every cent we’ve spent on you, plus interest, or go through with the marriage I’ve arranged. Once you’re married, your personal documents are yours, and you can cut ties all you like!”
The so-called “marriage” was just a scheme. They wanted to wed Giselle to some wealthy businessman’s disabled son, using her to secure the Holts’ business interests.
Giselle didn’t hesitate to fire back when confronted with such a vile, disgusting act. “You don’t actually think you have me under your thumb, do you, Renee? Fine. Keep my personal documents. We’ll settle this in court.”
She locked eyes with Renee—the woman who’d driven Rebecca to her death—and flung the ugly truth from over 20 years ago right back at her.
“Let the whole world learn the truth about the ‘illustrious’ Renee Moore. You were just the Moores’ adopted daughter, a backstabbing bitch who seduced their real daughter’s husband and wound up marrying him.
“Then, you drove your adoptive parents to their graves just to steal Moore Pharmaceuticals. That’s how you got where you are. Let’s see how high society treats you then—”
“Shut up!” Renee yelled.
Her face went ghostly white, as if she’d been struck in her weakest spot. Rage boiling over, she raised her hand to slap Giselle across the face.
But Giselle moved lightning-fast, catching Renee’s wrist mid-air before swinging back and landing a blow of her own across Renee’s cheek.
“H-How… How dare you!”
Renee’s eyes widened in disbelief. This brat actually had the nerve to hit her!
“Mom!”
Anne Holt, Renee’s daughter, had just stepped inside. She froze at the sight, then rushed over in panic to check on Renee.
“Mom! Are you okay? Did she hurt you?”
“That bitch actually hit me. I-I’ll…”
Renee was seething with rage, hands raised as if she was about to tear Giselle apart, when she suddenly froze mid-motion at the sight of someone in the doorway.
Giselle followed her gaze and turned to see a cold, imposing man striding into the living room. Just his presence made the air feel suddenly colder.
When Giselle finally got a clear look at his face, her heart lurched.
How could it be him?
