Regina turned to face Nolan, plastering a conciliatory smile on her face, but it vanished the moment Nolanâs phone rang, and she caught a glimpse of the caller ID flashing her fatherâs name.
âWhy is he calling you again?â she asked, her voice laced with a hint of annoyance.
âHow should I know, Ms. Tanner? Maybe you should head home and have a chat with your dad about what heâs done to drive his company into the ground,â Nolan replied with a dismissive tone.
âJust donât pick up his calls, Nolan. I bet heâs just after more money. Iâll talk to my dad. It wasnât this bad before, and heâs got a son to support. He canât just squander money without a second thought.â
With each word, Nolanâs expression grew darker. Regina could guess the motive, and so could he-
Francis was treating him like a cash machine.
He might have tolerated Francis once for Reginaâs sake, but he wouldnât stand for someone bleeding him dry again and again.
Her fatherâs actions had already killed any hope Regina had left. She didnât want to ask Nolan anything more, and in his presence, she barely dared to make a sound, overwhelmed by endless shame.
âHeâs already reached out. Whatever money you gave him, put it on my tab. Iâll pay you back.â
âHeh,â Nolan chuckled softly, âYou think you can ever clear that debt?â
Regina managed a bitter smile. Nolanâs harsh words were the truth-she was in to to ever repay the debt to his family, and it was only thanks to his and his familyâs me that they hadnât pressed the issue.
Moreover, his elders still believed she was his wife, and in their eyes, she always felt g âYouâre right. I canât repay what I owe. If I had a choice, I would never have wished to be born into this family.â
If it were up to her, Regina would rather have been the child of some ordinary folks than be weighed down by such a father.
It wasnât until she was dropped back at her family home that Regina realized how much she detested it.
Sheâd never harbored such rebellious thoughts before.
How could she resent him when her father had worked so hard to raise her? Wasnât it her duty as his child to shoulder his debts? But he had become increasingly greedy-did the Tanner family really need that much money?
Regina was certain that a large chunk of the funds was being funneled to support his unborn son.
Francis was being brazen, treating Nolan like a mindless ATM-not realizing he was backed by the Harris Group, a business empire Nolan had built from scratch with no connections to his own family.
âWaiting for Dad to come around and stop these shameless acts could take forever. I might as well start saving up and pay back what I can,â Regina muttered to herself while flipping through Domingoâs dossier.
She had nearly completed her investigation into his background, and over the years, his movements had become clearer.
If he wasnât a thug, then he was certainly a character. The pivotal decisions he made during lifeâs turning points had shaped his current wealth, which explained why so many were keen to follow his lead. But the real question remained-did he even know that Madeline was his daughter?