I hold her ountable.”


    The timbre of his voice was deceptively gentle, yet it sent shivers racing down one’s spine.


    “Mr. Curtis, I implore your understanding. My daughter, in truth, conveyed to me the circumstances.


    Extend your trust to us. Even in her peril at the hands of abductors, she preserved your secret. It’s an


    unfortunate misunderstanding.”


    “Merely a misunderstanding? Mr. Smith, are you shielding her?”


    Han shifted his posture, his demeanor stern, as his eyes locked onto Holden’s.


    A N G E L A ‘s L I B R A R Y


    “Her confession holds truth, and we ce our faith in her veracity.


    She admitted her affection for you and hermitment to shielding your friend from harm even when


    she teetered on the precipice of vition. The bodyguards dispatched under mymand saved her.


    Otherwise, unspeakable horrors awaited.”


    Anticipating that Holden’s exnation might sway Han, the situation’s gravity warranted it, given


    Mavis’ noble status.


    Yet Han remained unyielding. Reclining slightly, he aimed the firearm at a servant, a mirthless smile


    dancing upon his Lips.


    “So, you shall not yield her? Very well, I shall end this servant’s existence as a token of my


    dissatisfaction.”


    The targeted servant quivered, copsing to her knees, her pleas tinged with desperation.All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “Spare me… I beg of you… Miss Smith has departed the Smith residence, never to return.”


    Han retracted his finger from the trigger. Mavis had left.


    The implications jolted Holden, his gaze a canvas of sorrow.


    “To be frank, Mavis’ revtions today filled me with ire. My leniency toward her led to this cmitous


    affront. I had not fathomed her audacity in crossing you. Overwhelmed by vexation, I disciplined her


    rashness, administering a punishment previously unexperienced. Twentyshes, an actmitted in


    anger, incited her to pen a missive of severance, forsaking the Smith lineage and embarking on a


    solitary journey.”


    Jimena’s restraint crumbled, her fistnding in a series of blows upon Holden’s form before she


    retreated to the adjacent sofa, her visage concealed as her sobs reverberated.


    “Youshed her so brutally that you brought her to the brink of death. How could you?” Jimena’s voice


    quivered with anguish, her emotions unshackled.


    “I was powerless to intervene. I’m shattered.


    She’s our heart’s treasure. She’s never known such cruelty. She faced abduction, the threat of


    vition, and you chose severity over sce. You dered her deserving of this torment, using her


    of provoking Han. Now she’s vanished. What am I to do?”


    Jimena’s cries resonated, her anguish rendering her body tremulous.


    Holden’s visage was clouded, and his internal turmoil was evident.


    “Why do you linger? Lead her to find respite.”


    With Holden’smand, the two servants apanied Jimena back to her quarters.