Chapter 3

The young man's voice was cold and low-pitched, like snow-covered pine needles, both icy and enchanting. Deborah's ears turned inexplicably red. In a fluster, she let go of his hand and forcefully pulled out the broken heel from the crevice of the elevator door. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. As she spoke, she quickly turned and ran out of the elevator without looking back. Holden turned his head and watched the graceful and slender figure of the girl. A glimmer of light flickered in his eyes. "Mr. Reilly." His assistant, Julio said, "The elevator..." The young man lowered his head, gazing down at his hands. In his palms, it seemed as though the warmth from the girl's hands still lingered. His thin lips curled slightly, and a hint of amusement flashed across his eyes. The girl had a soft touch and a fragrant scent about her. Although he only caught a glimpse of her just now and couldn't see her face clearly, he could tell that she must be very beautiful. The elevator ascended all the way to the top floor where the Presidential Suite was located. As the door opened, Rowan was stumbled forward, intoxicated and slurring. "Deborah! D*mn you, come back!" How dare she stand him up! She really had some nerve! Rowan, reeking of alcohol, tried to squeeze into the elevator. Julio quickly intercepted him, stating firmly, "Sir, please don't impede the path of my young master." "Young master?" What young master? Rowan was furious. "Who the hell is your young master? How dare you call him a 'master' in front of me! Do you even know who I am?" Ronald's face darkened. "I don't know." "I am a VVIP member here! And I happen to be the chairman of Wavetube! If you dare to offend me, you're all dead!" "Ha!" Suddenly, a cold and low chuckle echoed in the elevator. Ronald quickly lowered his head and stepped aside. The young man walked out of the elevator. Clad in a black silk shirt, he exuded a cold and sinister aura. With his superior height, he stood out conspicuously among the crowd. With one hand in his pocket, his messy hair tousled and falling over his forehead, he wore a black diamond stud earring that shimmered with a cold light under the glare of the lights. His face was covered with a black mask, but his eyes, visible in front the mask, were like obsidian, shining with a mysterious brilliance. Rowan stared at the man in a daze, and could only gulp down a mouthful of saliva. What a handsome man! Even he couldn't help feeling inferior. Holden's gaze remained cold and void of any warmth as he stared at Rowan. After a long pause, he parted his lips and said in a chilly tone, "Wavetube? Never heard of it." The young man's arrogant attitude completely enraged Rowan. Unable to restrain his anger, he clenched his fists and charged straight towards Holden. "How dare you disrespect me! I'll definitely show you some colors." Next second, a piercing scream echoed through the corridor, reverberating throughout the entire hotel. Rowan lay on the ground with someone forcefully twisting his wrist and bending it backwards. "It hurts! It hurts!" His face contorted in agony, he begged for mercy with no regard for his image, and cried out in pain. "Brother, I was wrong. can you let me go?" Holden Reilly's eyes turned cold, and his voice became icy as he replied, "Who am I? Hm?" "Master! You are my master!" Rowan begged as he looked up at Holden with a pleading gaze. "Big bro, I was wrong. I was drunk and acting crazy. Please spare me!" Holden withdrew his gaze coldly, then he took a step forward and said, "If this happens again, I'll directly cripple your hands without hesitation." His indifferent tone sent a chill down Rowan's spine. That's terrifying! Who exactly was this young man? Why had he never seen him in Edeah? At the same time, in the Brown family. Deborah limped into the living room, where she was greeted by a worried looking maid. "Miss, you're back? Your mother, she..." Deborah looked up at her with a glint of concern in her eyes, "Aunt Zara, what happened?" Aunt Zara was a servant of the Brown family. Before Brisa returned, Aunt Zara put on a good pretense, showing great care and attention to Deborah. However, once Brisa returned, Aunt Zara's true nature was revealed as she showed her snobbish and disdainful attitude towards her. At first, she would make subtle and overt jabs at her, but later on, she started preparing spoiled food for her. Then, she went on dumping leftover scraps and waste onto her bed while cursing her for being a freeloader in the Brown family's home. Despite treating Aunt Zara like family, she turned out to be an ungrateful wretch who constantly belittled and sabotaged her.  Thinking of this, Deborah's gaze turned cold in an instant. "Madam fell down the stairs today and hit her head. She was too afraid to tell you and didn't want you to worry." Deborah lowered her gazed and calmly replied before making her way upstairs.  Aunt Zara saw her limping and immediately put on a fake concerned expression. "Miss, what happened to your foot? Shall I go get you some ointment?" Deborah stopped on the stairs and turned around, revealing her exquisitely beautiful profile. "Sure." In her past life, she had felt sorry for Aunt Zara and didn't ask her to buy ointment.  As a result, the next day when Brisa returned, everyone's attention was on her and no one cared that her  foot had been swollen for more than half a month. In this life, she wouldn't treat herself unfairly. Aunt Zara was momentarily stunned. She had just made a casual remark and didn't expect Deborah to actually agree. But since she had already said it, she couldn't take it back and could only reluctantly replied and went out to buy the ointment. Deborah turned around and looked at the dark sky outside the window, laughing coldly.  If she remembered correctly, there would be a thunderstorm tonight. Deborah hoped that Aunt Zara would buy the ointment smoothly. After all, this was her last time serving her. As she approached the door of Emilia's room, Deborah overheard muffled voices inside.  She couldn't resist a cynical smile as she knocked and announced her arrival. In her previous life, she had even found it repulsive to call them 'parents'. Inside the room,Emilia and Trevon exchanged a glance at the sound of Deborah's voice. "Oh, Deborah's back? Come in," Emilia said. Deborah pushed open the door and entered, her tone devoid of any emotion as she asked, "How were you injured?" Her cold and casual tone momentarily stunned the two inside the room. "Oh, I'm fine. I just accidentally bumped my head. It's nothing serious," Emilia replied with a forced smile. Trevon shot a cold glance at Deborah and left the room without saying anything. Seeing this, Deborah just shrugged it off with an indifferent smile. In her past life, Trevon had always been cold to her. The reason was very simple. She didn't look like him. So, Trevon had always suspected that she was the product of Emilia's affair with her first love. Emilia had always denied it and even threatened him with divorce if he went for a paternity test. Deborah had overheard them arguing about this when she was a child. "Deborah, if there's nothing else, you should go back to your room and rest." Emilia smiled and said, "It's late. I need to rest as well." Looking at the smile on Emilia's face, Deborah felt it was extremely hypocritical. She was able to smile at her now because the paternity test results had yet to come out. Once it did, all her love would immediately go to Brisa. As for her, she would become the abandoned child. Or even worse, a pawn. "Okay." Deborah didn't bother to play along and turned around indifferently, disappearing at the doorway. Her cold attitude shocked Emilia. Why was Deborah acting indifferently?  Did she already know something? ... After returning to her room, Deborah lay on her bed and daze off. Tomorrow, Brisa would be returning. Given a second chance in this life, she found herself suddenly anticipating their reunion as it would be very interesting. She thought about it so much that she couldn't sleep. Suddenly, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Miss, I've brought the ointment you asked for... ahem!"  It was Aunt Zara's voice. Deborah realized that her ankle was swollen and painful. Ignoring Aunt Zara, she pretended to be asleep. Compared to what Aunt Zara did to her in the previous life, intentionally ignoring her was nothing at all. Aunt Zara knocked on the door for awhile but received no response. She gave up and left the ointment outside the door in frustration. She was drenched and had brought the ointment back in the hopes of gaining sympathy from Deborah and receiving a bigger bonus. But now, she had fallen asleep without even acknowledging her presence! She was really infuriated! As soon as Aunt Zara walked away, Deborah opened the door and brought in the ointment. As she lay back down on the bed, she couldn't help but think about the man who had helped her in the elevator when she twisted her ankle earlier last night. Thanks to him, or else she would've scraped her knee badly. Even though she hadn't seen his face, his voice was really pleasant, and if she had the chance to meet him again, she would definitely... Lost in thoughts, Deborah eventually drifted off to sleep. The next morning, she woke up at exactly eight o' clock. She had only one hour left before Brisa returned to the Brown family's residence. Deborah got up leisurely, dressed herself in a knee-length skirt, deliberately exposing her swollen ankle. When she went downstairs, she saw Aunt Zara busily preparing breakfast in the dining room, occasionally covering her mouth and nose to sneeze.  "What an utter disregard for hygiene." Disgusted, she limped towards the sofa and sat down. Emilia had already been sitting there, anxiously looking towards the door. She hadn't even notice when Deborah came down. Self-mockingly, Deborah casually spoke to Aunt Zara," Aunt Zara, why is breakfast so sumptuous? Where's dad?" Aunt Zara looked up at her and replied, "Mr. Benson left early to pick up a guest." "A guest?" That wasn't just any guest. That was the true heiress of the Brown family. Deborah lowered her gaze and her smile grew colder. In her previous life, she had been obedient and well-behaved, waiting with an empty stomach when she heard that a guest is coming. What she received, however, was the cruel truth. This time, she wouldn't mistreat herself. She would eat when she was hungry. Only then would she have the strength to deal with what was to come. "Mom, I'm hungry. I'll go eat first." Emilia's attention was not on her at all, and she only responded absentmindedly. Deborah smiled faintly, stood up, and went to sit at the dining table, picking up her chopsticks and savoring her meal. As soon as she finished, the scene turned to the hotel. At the same time, the sound of tires rolling on the road could be heard outside the door. Deborah wiped her mouth leisurely, then looked up to see Emilia standing nervously, eagerly staring at the door.  Outside, Trevon led a girl into the house. The girl lowered her head slightly, looking timid. She had long, jet-black hair cascading down her waist, her big, watery eyes darting timidly across the house. She looked vulnerable. This was Brisa Brown.