After Mr. Brown was hung up on, he was furious. He never expected the daughter who used to be so obedient to dare speak to him so harshly.
The Brown Family Group wasn’t doing too well, and Mr. Brown was counting on Sarah to put in a good word with Holden to help him out. But from the way Sarah spoke, it was clear she wasn’t going to lift a finger for him.
Mr. Brown was so angry he started gasping for breath.
Monica rushed over to calm him down. “Don’t get upset, it’s not worth it over a child.”
Viola pouted, “I’ve always said she’s an ungrateful wretch, never thinking about the family. She’s living it up as the wife of a billionaire, while we’re struggling here.”
The Brown family’s financial situation was still much better than most, but greed grew with time.
Viola and Monica had been used to getting large sums of money from Sarah every month to buy jewelry and luxury goods. Now that the money had dried up, they were bitter.
Monica sighed, “It’s such a shame. Sarah’s nothing like our family; she has no sense of gratitude. If Viola had married Holden instead, our company would be in much better shape.”
Viola’s eyes gleamed with an idea, “I can still marry Holden, you know, as long as he divorces Sarah.”
Monica, who was never as pretty or well-connected as Sarah’s mother, couldn’t stand seeing Sarah do so well while her own daughter lagged. Before, she could tolerate it because they were getting plenty of money from Sarah, but now, her patience was running thin.
Now that Sarah was only focused on enjoying her life and completely ignoring the rest of the family, Monica couldn’t stand it anymore.
Monica thought for a moment and said, “Sarah is so ungrateful. We can’t let her keep acting like this.”
Mr. Brown frowned. He didn’t have much affection for Sarah, and with Viola and Monica constantly talking about her, he also started to think Sarah was ungrateful.
After all, the Brown family had always been well off, giving Sarah everything she needed growing up. They even sent her abroad for further education.
Even an ordinary daughter would feel the need to repay such kindness, let alone Sarah, who had married into one of the wealthiest families.
Instead of showing any gratitude to her family, she had the nerve to curse out her own father when he called.
It was outrageous.
Without the family’s support, could she have even married Holden?
Mr. Brown scoffed, “She thinks she’s all grown up now, dreaming about becoming a phoenix on her own! Without the Brown family, she’s nothing!”
“Exactly!” Viola chimed in, nodding eagerly. “Dad, we have to teach her a lesson, show her what we’re capable of!”
******
The next morning, Sarah was still fast asleep, knocked out from the alcohol.
Meanwhile, Mr. Holden, who had gotten a full night’s rest, was already dressed in his suit. After checking the time, he sat in the back of his car, ready to be driven to the office.
To his surprise, he encountered Monica and Viola outside the company.
Viola was dressed in a high-end gown, looking every bit the demure, well-behaved young lady beside Monica, saying nothing at all.
Holden recognized them immediately as Sarah’s stepmother and stepsister. Out of courtesy, he nodded at them.
Monica, despite being older, felt nervous and a bit insecure in front of someone like Holden, whose family was so powerful.
“Good morning, Mr. Holden,” Monica began, “I’d like to talk to you about Sarah.”
The moment Holden heard Sarah’s name, he paused.
Viola looked at Holden with admiration and a hint of awe, saying, “Yes, brother-in-law, we know you’re busy, but this is really important.”
Holden nodded, “Go on.”
Monica forced a bitter smile. “Sarah has always had a bad character. She used to bully her little sister at home and steal money and things. No matter how many times we tried to correct her, she wouldn’t change. Mr. Holden, you’re a good man. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Holden found it amusing.
He would never judge someone based on what their stepmother or stepsister said, especially when it came to Sarah.
Even if what they said was true, that was the old Sarah. The current Sarah was a completely different person.
“Oh?” Holden smirked indifferently, “I never would’ve guessed.”
“Your family is incredibly wealthy. Sarah is lucky to have married you,” Monica said, looking deeply concerned. “But we’re worried she might do something that could harm the family’s reputation. We just wanted to warn you about her true nature. She’s very good at pretending.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Holden replied, his tone short but cutting, “It just so happens that I’m particularly fond of bad women.”
Viola was stunned after hearing Holden’s response, and Monica’s face showed an indescribable expression.
They had assumed that Holden would believe what people close to Sarah said about her. But it turned out, Holden didn’t care at all whether Sarah was good or bad.
Viola’s expression grew even more complicated as she looked at Holden.
Viola didn’t have the same level of scheming as Monica, but she knew a few things.
For instance, the man in front of her, despite his polite demeanor toward everyone, couldn’t hide the arrogance that ran through his bones. In fact, Holden wasn’t a good person at all.
But the more dangerous and mysterious he seemed, the more people were drawn to him, feeling an urge to explore and get closer.
This made Viola feel even more resentful-how could someone like Sarah ever deserve a man like this?
She felt like something was stuck in her chest, her expression twisted with frustration. “Brother-in-law, you probably don’t know, but Sarah doesn’t even love you! She’s in love with Ronald, the guy she grew up with!”
Monica quickly tugged at Viola. She didn’t want Viola to lose her composure in front of Holden.
Monica knew that gentle and kind-hearted girls were the type that would appeal to a powerful man like Holden. That’s why she always made sure Viola played the role of the perfect, well-mannered young lady around him. But now, looking at Viola’s frustrated expression, she saw no trace of that elegant image.
Viola, completely unaware of how inappropriate her words were, continued stabbing with her words like knives, “There’s nothing she hasn’t tried with Ronald. Brother-in-law, if you stay with my sister, everyone’s going to laugh at you for being with someone like her!”
Holden’s expression darkened, and then he sneered. “Ms. Monica, is this how you raise your daughter?”
Viola’s face went pale.
Monica quickly pulled Viola close and apologized to Holden. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Holden. Viola isn’t herself today. She’s usually not like this.”
Holden’s voice was cold as ice. “Next time, unless it’s something important, don’t come to my office. Now, please leave.”
Viola didn’t want to move, but Monica dragged her out.
Throughout the entire conversation, Holden maintained his composure, never losing his cool.
But Monica could tell that after what Viola had said, Holden was definitely angry.
Viola had no clue how serious the situation was, but Monica understood just how intimidating Holden’s presence could be. He might have been polite now, but who knew if he’d take revenge on the Brown family later because of Viola’s disrespectful words?
Once they were outside, Viola started crying, still feeling wronged. “Why? What’s so great about Sarah?”
Monica, feeling annoyed, snapped, “Just shut up. I told you to keep up your ladylike image in front of Holden, and what did you do? Do you even resemble a proper young lady anymore?”
Viola bit her lip. “But he said he likes bad women.”
“You think he was serious? There are plenty of bad women out there, does he like all of them?” Monica frowned deeply. “I didn’t notice it before, but now it’s clear. Sarah’s really grown a backbone, and we can’t control her anymore.”
Viola sighed. “Mom, are you really okay with letting her live the good life?”
Of course, Monica wasn’t okay with it. Not unless Sarah was willing to hand over everything she got from Holden to the family. Otherwise, seeing Sarah soar to success, even if Sarah didn’t hold a grudge for what they’d done to her in the past, was unbearable. There was no way they could tolerate someone they used to trample on climbing higher than them.
Monica sneered, “Don’t worry. After you mentioned Ronald, Holden’s whole demeanor changed. No man would be okay with his woman being involved with another man. By the way, do you have any proof that Sarah and Ronald were together?”