In the presidential suite, Ava Sterling stood in the middle of the living room, a man in a black suit, clearly exuding a different aura than a bodyguard, stood two steps in front of her. At that moment, he was holding a knife, playing with it. The dazzling crystal chandelier in the living room shone on the knife, reflecting a cold, chilling light. Lillian Donovan stood at the doorway, not daring to move. A knife—who wouldn’t be afraid at the sight of such a thing? Especially in a place . Lillian Donovan was stunned, unable to react. Ava stood there, as cold and unyielding as always, arrogant, as if no one could affect her. She was just the way she was. Hearing the noise, she looked over, saw Lillian Donovan, glanced only once, and then turned away, showing no change in her expression. It was as if Lillian Donovan’s presence or absence was irrelevant to her. Lillian Donovan, seeing Ava’s demeanor, reacted: "Ava..." At this point, Lillian Donovan’s voice was unsteady. Because the man playing with the knife cast his gaze upon her, assessing her up and down as if trying to determine which part of her flesh was the plumpest, and from where he should strike. Such a gaze made her hair stand on end. Thus, even though Lillian Donovan didn’t know what was happening, she realized something was wrong. William Wyatt looked at Lillian Donovan, then nodded towards the two bodyguards standing behind her. The two bodyguards lowered their heads, turned around, and left. Quickly, the door closed. The sound wasn’t loud, but to Lillian Donovan’s ears, it was like a death knell, causing her to tremble instantly, and then her entire body started shaking. She looked at the bodyguards standing to the left and right of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, then at the ones standing at the door behind her, their cold aura seeming as if they could kill at any moment. At this point, her face turned pale as sheet in an instant. Ignoring everything else, she ran towards Ava, grabbed Ava’s hand tightly, and stammered, "What... what’s going on?" Lillian Donovan’s hand gripped Ava’s arm so tightly it hurt immediately. Ava frowned, said nothing, and let her hold on. Seeing Ava not answering, with an indomitable expression, as if no matter what she said, Ava wouldn’t respond. Seeing this, Lillian Donovan’s anger rose suddenly, slapping Ava: "You dead girl, talk!" Lillian Donovan was strong, and her hands were unrelenting, hitting even made it hurt more. Ava’s eyebrows knitted for a moment, her face looking even worse. William Wyatt saw this, frowned a bit, and spoke: "Lillian Donovan, you are Miss Sterling’s mother, correct?" Hearing this, Lillian Donovan didn’t dare move for a moment. She clung tightly against Ava, gripping Ava, and looked towards William Wyatt: "Who... who are you?" She asked with a trembling voice, very unwilling to admit that she was Ava’s mother. But obviously, this person had known her identity for some time, or else he wouldn’t have had her brought here. At this moment, Lillian Donovan trembled more violently, while simultaneously, the grip on Ava’s hand tightened. Ava felt that if she didn’t withdraw her hand, Lillian Donovan would directly break it. So, she removed Lillian Donovan’s hand. But as she did so, Lillian Donovan glared at her immediately, a look of raging fire, as if saying, what good have you done. Ava knew Lillian Donovan was scared; Lillian Donovan was the epitome of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Especially fearful of authority. She was very aware of her own limitations, so when facing authority, she was entirely spineless. Just as now, towards William Wyatt and towards herself, two completely different attitudes. Seeing this, Ava coldly laughed, not bothering with Lillian Donovan anymore. This time, it was time to give Lillian Donovan a proper lesson. Latest content published on noⅴelfire.net Seeing Ava not responding but instead laughing enraged Lillian Donovan further, instinctively wanting to erupt. But then, a very strong hand grabbed her instantly, pulling her away from Ava. Lillian Donovan was stunned. Her entire body stiffened suddenly, instinctively looking at the person who held her. It was a black-suited bodyguard, expressionless, like a harbinger of death, come to take her life. At this moment, Lillian Donovan’s demeanor deflated instantly, her whole body trembling. "You... what do you want to do..." Lillian Donovan looked at William Wyatt, her face now full of terror. William Wyatt walked over, still playing with the knife in his hand. He looked at Lillian Donovan, stopped a step away from her, and said, "Nothing much, it’s just that Miss Sterling owes us a bit of money, and since she can’t repay, we had to bring you in." Lillian Donovan’s eyes widened instantly, looking at William Wyatt in disbelief: "Owes... owes money?" Before William Wyatt could speak, she quickly looked at Ava as if hearing something inconceivable. "This dead girl has always valued money more than her life. As her mother, asking her for a bit was as hard as climbing to heaven, and now she’s actually in debt?" At this point, Lillian Donovan was not afraid anymore. She looked at Ava, speaking quickly: "Ava! What debt, haven’t you made a lot of money?" "A house worth tens of millions, cars worth millions, you also have deposits over a billion, where did all your money go?" Lillian Donovan was infuriated, about to grab Ava, demanding to know where the money went. But William Wyatt signaled to the bodyguard, who understood and held Lillian Donovan tightly, not letting her trouble Ava. Lillian Donovan was held, the bodyguard’s strong grip pulled her back to reason slightly. However, she was still unwilling, glaring at Ava with a fierce expression. Ava stood there, upon hearing Lillian Donovan’s words, she finally turned her head, looking at Lillian Donovan: "Have you forgotten about what happened two years ago?" Lillian Donovan froze, then her gaze dodged instantly, as if being hit at a sore spot. But quickly, she lifted her chin, saying: "What about two years ago? Isn’t it still your fault, is it mine?" "If you weren’t so indiscreet, if you hadn’t taken up that job, would you end up ?" "You absolutely wouldn’t have!" "If you had obediently listened to me and married, would any of these things have happened?" "Ava Sterling, I’m telling you, you brought this upon yourself!" "I shouldn’t have given birth to you back then, I should have strangled you right when you were born!" Lillian Donovan, throwing all caution aside, became furious, spouting heartless words, her face filled with resentment. It was as if she truly wished she could strangle Ava. Ava looked at Lillian Donovan’s demeanor, listening to words she had heard countless times, her expression calm. She turned her head, simply said: "I’m indeed out of money now." "Two years ago, because of your trouble, I terminated contracts, compensated losses, and now I truly can’t repay." "If you want to strangle me, I’ll accept it, after all this life is yours, you can do whatever you wish with it." Ava’s indifferent attitude, as if regardless of what happened, it had nothing to do with her, fully enraged Lillian Donovan. Lillian Donovan fiercely broke free from the bodyguard, instantly charged at Ava, and slapped her in the face.