Chapter 3
Brooke’s face instantly turned ugly.
Petty little things?
In her eyes, that had been a momentous event that determined my destiny.
This hurt her more than any direct insult.
She bit her lip, unwilling to concede. “Don’t play dumb with me!”
“Are you telling me you’re not holding a grudge because I prevented the Reeds from adopting you back then, and now you’re looking for a chance to get revenge on me and my brother?”
I finally couldn’t help but scoff.
“Ms. Reed, are you perhaps a little too self-important?”
I dropped my smile, my eyes turning cold.
“Revenge on you? Are you even worth it?”
“If anything, I should thank you. If you hadn’t been so determined to stop them back then, how would I have had the chance to become Justice Eleanor Vance’s grandson?”
“How would I have achieved what I have now?”
“So, I’m too busy being grateful to you. Why would I hate you?”
Every word I spoke was light and casual, yet they landed like knives, piercing deeply into Brooke’s heart.
She was utterly speechless, her face fluctuating between green and white.
“Eleanor Vance? Don’t you dare spout nonsense here!”
She seemed to have grasped some leverage, immediately retorting with sarcasm.
“You think just because your name is Vance, you’re related to the Justice? Dream on! Someone like you could never get through the Vance family’s front door!”
The moment her words fell silent.
A black Bentley glided silently to a stop beside us.
The car door opened, and a tall, elegant woman stepped out.
She quickly walked to my side, naturally draping a trench coat over my shoulders.
She didn’t even spare Brooke a glance, simply gently ruffling my hair.
“Alex, why are you still here? Grandma’s getting impatient.”
Then, her gaze finally fell on Brooke.
“Little brother, who is this?”
I linked arms with Scarlett Vance, smiling brightly.
“Oh, it’s nothing, Sis. Just a client who wanted to consult about a case and chatted with me for a bit.”
Brooke was utterly frozen in place.
She stared incredulously at Scarlett and me, at our intimate gestures, then at the luxury car that proclaimed their status.
She wasn’t foolish.
Of course, she recognized Scarlett Vance, the founder of the country’s top law firm, Vance & Co.
And of course, she knew that Scarlett Vance had a younger brother, cherished by the entire Vance family.
But she never in her wildest dreams imagined that brother would be me.
Unbidden, the image of the young man in a prison uniform from her past life, his eyes vacant as he looked at her through the glass in the visitation room, flashed in her mind.
And now, that same young man was smiling, linking arms with another woman, and sweetly calling her “Sis.”
While she was still in a daze, I had already gotten into Scarlett Vance’s car.
The next day, my assistant told me that Brooke Reed was trying to use various connections to have her corporation’s case transferred to the Department of Justice where I worked, hoping I would intervene as the prosecutor.
Chloe tidied up my documents while complaining.
“Mr. Vance, is this Brooke Reed crazy?”
“The day before yesterday, she looked like she didn’t trust you at all, and today she’s practically throwing herself at you again.”
“I bet she just realized you’re a Vance and wants to climb the social ladder!”
I merely smiled, saying nothing.
I signed my name on the case transfer request.
I wanted to see what kind of act she was planning now.