"Ten years old."

Adrian Preston forced out the words, fighting back his embarrassment.

Mia Kane’s eyes widened. Adrian Preston was five years older than her. She would have only been five at the time. ’Adrian liked me back then?’

"How is that possible? We were just kids. How could you possibly have liked me?"

"You forgot, but I didn’t. When my sister and I were kidnapped, you were there too."

"Me?"

Mia Kane froze.

Adrian Preston began to explain slowly.

Mia Kane’s mind was a complete mess as a few fuzzy memories suddenly surfaced.

A boy covered in blood.

His eyes were resolute and cold.

She couldn’t recall anything more. So that’s what her mom meant when she said Mia was a mischievous child and had hit her head. It must have happened then.

"The police coordinated with you from the inside, storming the abandoned factory. When the kidnappers discovered you were working with the police, they were furious and wanted to kill you. They threw you from the second floor, partly to vent their anger and partly to slow the police down."

"You hit your head and were bleeding profusely. Your lower back was also cut by some equipment on the ground. It was a near-death experience; you almost didn’t make it back."

"No wonder I don’t remember... I have a scar on my lower back too. So, you’ve been thinking about me ever since then?"

"Mhm."

He didn’t dare tell Mia Kane that after what happened to his sister, he had contemplated a thousand, ten thousand crazy revenge schemes. But he held back on all of them, because Mia’s existence was like a guiding light, dispelling the cold darkness in his heart.

He would get his revenge honorably.

That was why he’d embarked on this incredibly perilous path.

"Then what about the photo in your pocket watch? Who’s that girl with the long, flowing hair in a dress whiter than snow? And how do you explain the small wooden box in your study with a girl’s hair clip inside?"

"All of that was you."

"Me?"

"I got the photo from the milk tea shop by your school. They have a message board there. When you were transitioning from middle school to high school, you and your friend went to write postcards, and you both left photos."

"After you left, I secretly went and took it."

Mia Kane racked her brain. The event seemed vaguely familiar, but it had been many years.

Besides, it was a photo of her from when she was so young, and it was taken from behind. It was understandable that she didn’t recognize herself.

"And the hair clips?"

"You dropped them. I picked them up."

"So, in all these years I haven’t seen you, you’ve always been there."

"Yes. I’ve always been there."

As Adrian Preston said this, he slowly raised his eyes to look directly at her, his gaze deep and tender.

"Mia Kane, it took me many years to finally stand before you!"

"But where were you when my family was in trouble?" she pressed, frowning.

"I was on a dangerous mission at the time, with no access to outside information. By the time I found out, your father was in jail, your mother was seriously ill, and you were running around trying to raise money to no avail. I used my connections to make sure your father was taken care of in prison. I also hired the best medical staff to look after your mother."

"I also arranged for people to help you appeal the verdict, to solve your urgent problem. But unexpectedly, Chase Lockwood stepped in and handled it for you. So everything I did... didn’t really matter. Mia Kane, I was too late."

"So you were there back then, too?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

Back then, her brother was young, her mother was bedridden, and her father was still in prison. Just a young girl, she had begged everyone she could think of, seeking out all the friends her father had made.

But they all avoided her like the plague.

The company went bankrupt, the bank was foreclosing on their house, and they were about to become homeless.

But after the people from the bank came one day and told them to move out immediately, they never came back on the second or third day. So they just puzzlingly continued to live in the house.

She originally had no money for her mother’s treatment and was terrified the hospital would demand payment. But luckily, the hospital never pressured them, so she just assumed she was running up a debt.

Later, with Chase Lockwood’s help, she paid off all the hospital bills.

She had always thought she was just lucky, never imagining that it was all Adrian Preston helping her in secret.

She had been suspicious at the time, but in that situation, she couldn’t calm down enough to think about it carefully. And once Chase Lockwood came into the picture, she gave it even less thought.

’Maybe I was just lucky!’

’It wasn’t the Kane family’s time to perish!’

"What else have you done? Tell me everything. I want to know."

Mia Kane stared at him, her eyes burning with intensity.

She had always been the one who was abandoned.

Before her younger brother was born, her parents had loved her very much.

But after her brother was born, her status at home declined day by day. Later, when the family fell on hard times, her father was eventually released without charge. But he was concerned with saving face and felt his old friends were all laughing at him. He couldn’t stand to stay in Argent, so he went south alone to make a new start, and his fortunes quickly turned around.

Once things improved, he needed someone to take care of his daily life so he could focus on his work.

He had her mother and brother move to be with him, but he didn’t take her.

The reason was that she needed to repay the great debt to the Lockwood family.

It was like a transaction: the Lockwood family had saved them, so they "mortgaged" her to them, and the debt would be cleared.

They also hoped she would get along well with Chase Lockwood so they could benefit in business.

She had gotten used to it, so she stayed in Argent all by herself.

Later, her parents bought a house in the south and moved her brother’s household registration there.

She no longer even had a home in Argent.

Her parents never considered what would become of her if she and Chase Lockwood ever had a falling out.

Even when things blew up so dramatically in Argent, her parents didn’t care. They didn’t even show up. They had probably forgotten they even had a daughter.

She had been discarded by her family.

Discarded by Chase Lockwood.

And yet, someone like her... Adrian Preston treated her like a precious treasure!

Her chest felt full of scorching magma, boiling and churning within her.

Adrian Preston pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before speaking.

"Owen Sinclair... I was the one who got rid of him."

"Huh?"

Mia Kane was taken aback. "What do you mean? Are you saying you’re the reason Senior Sinclair went to study abroad?"

"I anonymously sent Owen Sinclair’s portfolio to a certain university professor’s email. As I expected, the professor quickly extended an olive branch."

"What if Senior Sinclair hadn’t decided to go?"

"I didn’t know. I was taking a gamble. If he had chosen you over success, perhaps I would have stepped aside for him. But he didn’t choose you. A youthful crush, in the end, is no match for a man’s ambition for fame and fortune."

"Wait, how did you know Owen Sinclair liked me?"

"He told me."

"Isn’t that a backstab?"

"He was the one who couldn’t withstand the test."

Adrian Preston said this with a perfectly straight face, without a hint of shame.

Mia Kane couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ’How can someone do something so shameless and say it with such self-righteous confidence?’

"What other shameless things have you done? Spit it out now. This is your only chance. I might forgive you today, but I won’t next time. So, what else is there? Think carefully before you speak."

"There is indeed one more thing."

Adrian Preston’s hesitation was even more obvious this time, and Mia Kane’s heart couldn’t help but start to pound.

She had a feeling he was far too manipulative and capable of anything.

’This guy looks like a perfect gentleman on the surface, but he’s a master of dark manipulation on the inside!’

"I’m the one who got Vivian Lynch and Chase Lockwood back together."

"You!"

Mia Kane shot up from her chair, her eyes wide with fury as she pointed a finger at his nose.

’So he even had a hand in my misfortune?’