Chapter 3

My silence prompted Monica to take another step toward me. With a smirk on her face, she asked, "From the Miller family's perspective, a wedding gift of one billion dollars wouldn't hurt, would it?

"But then again, Howard is a crippled man. He's no different from damaged goods. How about this, Mr. Ethan? You're decent-looking enough. How about you marry me as well? Just think of it as your way of making amends to me."

Before she even finished her sentence, something came over Howard. He lunged forward and slapped her in her face. "Watch what you're saying!"

Upon seeing that, William wiped the grin off his face and grabbed hold of Howard. "Howard! Do you have any idea what you are doing? No one's going to want you if the Holloway family breaks the engagement off!

"Or, are you actually unable to get over Eleanor, Shakira, and Iris? Is that why you're unwilling to marry into the Holloway family and insist on staying and competing with me for them?"

At that last question, Eleanor and the others stifled a mocking laugh. "Don't get all worked up, Will. There's no way he'd be able to compete against you."

"That's right. He will only end up marrying into the Holloway family, regardless of whether he's willing to do so today. This is also for the benefit of the Miller family's reputation."

Stunned momentarily from the slap, Monica flew into a rage after she came back to her senses. She grabbed Howard by his hair, yanking him with her as she headed toward the door. "Scion of the Miller family? You are just a disabled person no one wants. Hurry up and follow me!"

I smacked her hands away immediately. "Howard is my only son. Did you think I'd actually allow him to marry a piece of trash like you? I'm warning you—I will make your family disappear if you lay another finger on him!"

Monica gulped. While releasing Howard from her grasp, she hissed under her breath, "Weren't you the one who abandoned him? What's with this sudden display of parental love after returning home now?

"Your family will be handed over to William sooner or later. My advice to you is to think fast and rid yourself of Howard before he drags you down with him."

Just then, several luxury cars came to a stop outside. I recognized the logos—they belonged to an auction house. It probably cost quite a bit to summon the staff members from the auction house to our residence.

I pulled Howard aside quietly, then sent a text message to my assistant, Caryn Holt. Barely a few minutes later, she replied, "It's done. I'm making my way there right now."

I breathed a sigh of relief and urged Howard to remain calm after reading Caryn's message.

The people from the auction house headed straight to William. Then, they laid out an array of expensive jewelry before him. "Mr. William, these are the pieces the ladies won by putting in uncapped bids at the auction that they took you to the other day.

"We are now personally delivering them to you. Also, these are newly arrived items. The ladies told us to bring them along for you to have a look."

William shot Howard a smug look, then reached out to run his fingers over the pieces. With a nonchalant expression on his face, he said, "There's just too much here. I won't be able to fit them all in my room."

Iris gave Howard a sidelong glance and said, "As it happens, Howard is leaving soon. That'll free up a room for your belongings."

Upon hearing that, a staff member from the auction house smiled. With a wave of a hand, she summoned the people behind her over with all kinds of precious items in their hands.

The staff member said, "In that case, please settle the outstanding payment today, ladies."

Even Monica was floored to see the dazzling line-up of items. "You ladies really are the future daughters-in-law of the Miller family. You are all so generous toward the heir of the Miller family."

William became increasingly smug upon hearing that compliment. He chose a crystal phoenix badge and pinned it to Howard's collar.

Instantly, I recognized that piece—The Phenomenal Phoenix. It was the final masterpiece created by a famous designer before his death. Out of all these items, it was the most exorbitantly priced item.

He gave Howard a patronizing smirk, saying, "I reckon this suits you perfectly. Here—it's my gift to you."

Thereafter, he let out a gasp of fake surprise. "Oh, it's just a crow. I thought it was a phoenix."

After saying that, he flung the badge on the floor. The crystal broke in two immediately. "I can't believe that was actually a crow. Don't bring such cheap things to us next time."

Howard was about to snap back when I scoffed. "Oh, you broke it? Well, congratulations. You couldn't even afford to pay for it even if we sold you off somewhere."

The moment Eleanor heard that, she gave me a tug on my arm. "That's not what Will meant, Ethan. Plus, he's the future heir to the Miller family. Of course, he'd be able to pay for it."

Shakira and Iris walked toward me too. "That's right, Ethan. Didn't you tell us not to hold back when it comes to people and things we're interested in?"

They were right. In the past, I thought they'd treasure my son above all else. Even though I was living overseas, I'd wire them a hefty sum of money every month, all so Howard wouldn't have to suffer.

I never imagined they'd turn around and spend all that money on a fake scion at the end of the day!

When I first adopted William, it was only because he once saved Howard's life when he was still a child. At that thought, I took a glance at Howard's legs. It was probably time for me to return what I owed him after all these years.

While the others spoke, Eleanor pulled out a card and handed it over. "Bring all these to Will's room."

However, a few seconds later, a notification pinged on the card machine, indicating that there was insufficient balance in her account.

Eleanor furrowed her brows. "That can't be right. Try this card instead."

Nevertheless, the outcome was the same.

Upon realizing that, Shakira and Iris handed their cards over with grins on their faces. They even teased, "Why did you outbid everyone when you don't even have enough cash? But that's alright. We can afford it too."

I pulled Howard to a bench and sat down with him. I took a sip of tea calmly as we listened to the consecutive notifications from the card machine about there being insufficient funds.

The staff member from the auction house became a little impatient. "Excuse me, ladies, are you sure you can afford to pay for these auctioned items? I should inform you that those who outbid others yet fail to pay up in the end will be charged double for breaking the deal."

William's face began to fall. He cussed under his breath, then handed his own card over. "Such a bunch of useless garbage."

Nevertheless, the outcome was the same.

As the cards were flung to the floor one by one, he freaked out, stammering, "D-Dad… what have you done?"

At the same time, Caryn barged in along with a team of people. "Mr. Ethan, we have retracted our investments in all of Holloway Group's projects in our country and terminated our partnerships with them in the project overseas."