Chapter 192

Chapter 192 Miranda And Her Devious Scheme “Oh, come on. You have no real intention of living with us. You should’ve thought about these consequences when you insisted on divorcing Mom all those years ago,” Christina snapped, a hint of resentment in her voice.

Does he have any idea how I survived my childhood? Does he know what it feels like to be down and out? With no home to go back to?

“Aren’t you very good at exploiting your daughters?” she added wryly. “Since you still have one unmarried daughter, why don’t I introduce you to a wealthy family in the city? Their eldest son is notorious for abusing women.”

Needless to say. Gideon was seething with rage. “Y–You se*mbag! How can you be so cruel toward your own sister?”

Christina, however, remained unperturbed.

Ha! What a joke. He didn’t have a problem selling me away back then, yet he can’t bear to do the same to Emilia... Why is there a double standard? Aren’t I also his flesh and blood?

Just as Gideon was about to say something else, Christina’s bodyguard rushed upstairs after receiving her text.

“Throw him out. I don’t want him ruining my meal with my mother,” Christina said coldly.

“Yes, Mrs. Hadley.”

Gideon cursed at the top of his lungs as the bodyguard dragged him away, and within seconds, the condominium was quiet once again.

Christina hurriedly grabbed a broom to clean up the broken ceramic pieces before mopping the floor thoroughly with water.

“Don’t be angry, Christina. He’s not worth it,” Sharon coaxed, though deep down, she was also emotionally overwhelmed.

Judging by how Gideon and Christina were always jumping down each other’s throats, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that the latter must have suffered a lot at her parents‘ hands.

Christina gently clutched her mother’s arm. “I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses, Mom. I was so worried you’d tell me to listen to him.”

As far as she could remember, Sharon had always been weak and never had the guts to speak up for herself.

“I know it’s unfilial of me, but L...” Christina added before her voice trailed off.

Her actions might be harsh, but she had no other option. After all, Gideon had gone from bad to worse, and if she didn’t stop him, there would undoubtedly be dire consequences.

That said, if he saw the error of his ways and stopped making mistakes, he should still be able to bounce back from the setback.

Sharon, however, felt horrible knowing that Christina was blaming herself.

Fine. I suppose it’s time to reveal the secret I’ve kept all these years...

The next second, she led her daughter into the bedroom and retrieved a metal box from the wardrobe.

Upon opening the box to reveal a gorgeous emerald pendant, she promptly placed it around Christina’s neck.

“Mom, when did you stash away such a valuable emerald pendant?” the latter exclaimed.

Wow. This is an imperial emerald and a small piece of it easily costs a fortune!

Unfortunately, after much contemplation, Sharon decided against sharing the truth with Christina.

I might lose my beloved daughter if she knew the truth. I really can’t bring myself to do this...

“This is a family heirloom, so you must keep it safe and never lose it. Understood?” Sharon finally said as she hugged her daughter.

Even when I die, Christina can use this emerald pendant to track down family members related to her true parentage. That way, she won’t be lonely anymore... For now, though, I shall be selfish and have her all to myself.

Thankfully, Christina couldn’t understand the look in her mother’s eyes and merely thought the older woman was reminiscing the past.

Later that night, Christina waited until Sharon had fallen asleep before doing the dishes and taking her leave.

By the time she returned to Scenic Garden Manor, it was already late.

Christina headed straight to the bathroom, and as soon as she was done with her shower, the sounds of a car engine rang out from the courtyard.

Knowing Nathaniel had come home, she darted down the stairs and threw herself into his arms.

“Darling, you’re back!” Christina shouted gleefully as she clung to the strapping man and basked in hist powerful aura.

For some reason, hugging him made her feel safe.

As Nathaniel caressed Christina’s head, his eyes fell on the pendant around her neck. “Did you buy this?”

“No. It’s a family heirloom from Mom,” Christina proclaimed. “Don’t you think it’s gorgeous?”

With that, Nathaniel took a closer look at the pendant. Imperial emeralds like this are a rarity, and it does look old enough to be an antique family treasure... Why do I find the phoenix emblem on it so familiar, then?

Alas, before he could ponder further, Christina stood on her tiptoes and beamed. “Oh, I have good news to share. The press conference was a big success, and the company decided to bring the team–building program forward!”

Nathaniel met the woman’s gaze. Team–building program? Is that the kind where everyone takes part in activities together?

Sebastian has mentioned it before, but I’ve never been one to participate in such large social gatherings.

“What’s so fun about activities like that?” Nathaniel muttered with a raised brow.

Christina shrugged. “Well, it’s a good way for us to bond. Besides, do you know how boring it is to be in the office day in, day out? We’ll be leaving this weekend for two days and one night. Since you’re the big boss of Radiant Corporation, will you be joining us?”

Before Nathaniel could reply, Sebastian interrupted, “Mr. Hadley has never participated in these activities.”

Christina nodded in understanding, though there was no hiding her disappointment as she sighed. “I was planning to stargaze with you if you could come along... Oh, forget it. Get on with your work, then. I’m heading back to rest.”

As Nathaniel watched the woman’s retreating figure, a glint flashed across his eyes.

Meanwhile, Gideon’s face was littered with bruises after being beaten up by debt collectors.

Since it was impossible to avoid them at home, he had no choice but to look for Miranda in the suburbs..

“Darling, have you come to take me home?” Miranda asked cheerily when she saw the man.

However, it didn’t take long for her to notice the bruises on his face and figure out that something had happened back home.

“I’ve come to see you,” Gideon replied tersely as he marched into the house. “Give me whatever jewelry and properties you have. I need to sell them to tide me over.”

After all, he had given Miranda plenty of expensive jewelry over the years, so he was sure she must have stashed quite a bit of money away.

“You gave those items to me, and I even have them in my name. How can you sell them just like that?” Miranda retorted, her voice tinged with sadness.

It’s bad enough that he isn’t here to take me home, but it’s even worse that he’s asking me for money!

Annoyed and frustrated, Gideon decided to come clean to Miranda, “I lost money in the stock market and ended up gambling even more away. I’m neck–deep in debt, yet Christina refuses to help me! What a brat!” he explained before launching into an angry tirade about his daughter.

Just then, Miranda’s eyes lit up. Ah! I just thought of the perfect idea to deal with Christina... She has given me so much grief, and I can finally seek revenge on her!

With that thought in mind, she leaned into Gideon’s ear and whispered, “Darling, calm down. I know how to get Christina to hand you the money willingly!”

“How?”

Miranda curled her lips into a smirk before giving Gideon the rundown.

After hearing it, the latter flinched slightly. “T–That’s not good... What if Christina flies into a rage?”

“That’s not a problem. What matters is that she won’t dare to go to the police or refuse to hand over the money!”

Knowing that beggars couldn’t be choosers, Gideon had no option but to give Miranda’s plan a go.

When the weekend came around, Christina packed her bags and boarded the bus with her colleagues for their destination–Wind Valley.

Upon arriving at the site. Christina, Anna, and Shelley promptly dropped off their bags in their shared room and went downstairs for their team–building activities.