"Because..." Miles Hawthorne grinned. "The pay was just too good."

The air fell silent.

For a moment, Chloe Reed was at a loss for words.

Sunny Reed stared at Miles Hawthorne, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You... You got me out of there. You helped me. Why would you also kidnap my son?"

Miles Hawthorne shot her a look of disgust. "You idiot. I was using you as bait."

Sunny Reed’s body trembled violently. She had always been so grateful to Miles Hawthorne. He was the one who had gotten her out, meaning Walker Grant hadn’t succeeded in sending her abroad, and she still had a chance to see her son again.

But if she had known this was how she would see her son again, she never would have gone with him. No wonder he hadn’t made any further arrangements for her after breaking her out. He had only wanted to use her.

Sunny Reed’s eyes filled with resentment. "You’re a monster in human skin!"

He looked so bright and harmless on the surface, but inside he was rotten to the core. He was always scheming in the shadows, like a viper coiled in some dark corner, waiting for the moment to lunge out and bite. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Hearing her curses, Miles Hawthorne just sneered. "And you think you’re any better? The Reed family adopted you, and how did you repay them? You threw their family into chaos, turned relatives against one another, and made spouses use each other. Really, who are you to talk?"

Sunny Reed gritted her teeth. "I had my reasons! I just wanted revenge!"

At her words, Chloe Reed whipped her head around to face her. "Revenge?"

"That’s right! I want revenge!" Sunny Reed’s eyes were bloodshot. Like someone with nothing left to lose, she shrieked hysterically, "I used to have a happy, perfect family too! It was Charles Reed and his wife! They’re the ones who killed my parents and made me an orphan! Shouldn’t I get my revenge?!"

’So it really was true.’

Chloe Reed had only suspected this before, so now, hearing Sunny Reed confirm it herself, her expression remained impassive.

"They killed my parents, then had the nerve to hypocritically adopt me, saying they’d cherish me for the rest of my life. But I already had parents to cherish me! It’s all their fault! So why should I let them live in peace? They don’t deserve to!"

As if years of pent-up resentment were flooding out of her all at once, the words just kept tumbling out of Sunny Reed.

She looked at Chloe Reed, her face twisting into a manic laugh. "Hahaha, I succeeded! They loathe you, they’re disgusted by you! No matter how good you are, they don’t love you anymore! HAHAHAHA!"

Chloe Reed looked down at her, her expression unnervingly calm. "You’re truly insane."

As she spoke, Sunny Reed began to cry, her face once again taking on a pitiful, pleading expression. She looked at Miles Hawthorne. "What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything, just please let my son go."

Miles Hawthorne tsked. "Listening to you recount your past... it’s quite the tale. But I don’t want you to do anything. Today, you’re just a supporting character."

Sunny Reed stared at him, stunned. "What do you mean?"

But Miles Hawthorne was no longer looking at her. His gaze shifted to Walker Grant and Chloe Reed. He smiled and said, "The two of you never getting divorced made things quite difficult for me, so I could only come up with this solution. Mr. Grant, choose one: your only nephew, or the woman you love?"

Walker Grant’s tone was icy. "I choose you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a small red dot appeared on Miles Hawthorne’s head. He was locked in a sniper’s sights.