Chapter 16
Half an hour later, Giselle arrived at the toll residence. She stepped out of her car and stormed into the living room, where a housekeeper rushed to greet her.
“Is Renee home?” Giselle demanded, her voice sharp with cold anger.
Startled by her harsh tone, the housekeeper hesitated before weakly gesturing, “Mrs. Holt is… upstairs in the master bedroom.”
Without another word, Giselle strode to the second floor. Reaching Tony and Renee’s bedroom, she kicked the slightly ajar door open.
Renee was at her vanity, applying makeup, when the door flew open. Startled, she turned to see Giselle and tensed, her voice icy as she snapped, “If you have something to say, wait downstairs. This is your father’s and my bedroom. Don’t you dare make a scene here!”
Giselle ignored her. She marched to the vanity and, with one swift motion, swept several high-end skincare bottles onto the floor. An open serum bottle splashed across Renee’s dress, drenching the fabric over her chest. Renee jolted up in shock. “You… you bitch! What the hell is wrong with you now? Get out!”
Giselle’s glare was like ice. “Renee, you bribed my staff to kill five innocent dogs to ruin my reputation, is that it?”
“I don’t know what insane nonsense you’re talking about! Get out of here, now!”
“Who would’ve thought that after all these years, you’re still the same vile, despicable person?” Giselle glared, her eyes blazing with fury. “If you have a problem with me, come at me like a decent human!”
“You’re the chairwoman of a listed company, and yet you’d sink low enough to hurt innocent dogs over some petty grudge? You’re fucking shameless!”
Faced with Giselle’s outburst, Renee initially wanted to retaliate. But after a moment, she smirked and shot back, “Prove it.”
Renee didn’t bother making excuses. “You bitch, weren’t you so smug last time? Thought you had nothing to lose? Well, this was just a taste of what I can do. Listen, I’ve been around longer than you’ve been alive. You’re still wet behind the ears compared to me. Push me too far, cross that line one more time, and I’ll have you thrown in jail for good. And that damn mutt of yours…”
Her voice oozed malice. “If you don’t keep that dog under control and it pulls that shit again, I swear I’ll have it butchered!”
Giselle’s rage flared. She lunged forward, grabbing Renee’s hair in a vicious grip. Renee shrieked as pain shot through her scalp. She writhed, screaming for help, but Giselle’s hatred only intensified her grip.
“You bitch! Let go of my mom!”
Sebastian Holt had just reached the top of the stairs when he saw the scene. Fury surged through him. He charged forward and delivered a savage kick to Giselle’s side, sending her sprawling. Before she could react, he unleashed a flurry of vicious kicks. “How dare you touch my mother? I’ll fucking kill you today! Let’s see how tough you are now! You think you’re so high and mighty, huh?”
Sebastian—Renee and Tony’s son—was a violent, troublemaking man. He’d just returned from a hedonistic trip abroad.
Giselle crumpled to the ground. The brutal beating blurred her vision, the world tilting. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
Hearing the commotion, Tony rushed from the study to intervene, but Sebastian was like a rabid dog—completely out of control. He grabbed Giselle and violently slammed her into the railing. Ironically, he’d kicked that railing loose a few days earlier, and it hadn’t been repaired. So, when Giselle’s body slammed into it, the railing gave way, sending her crashing from the second floor. As she fell, she let out a piercing, involuntary scream.
Just before she hit the floor, a tall figure rushed forward and caught her. A dull thud echoed as the impact sent them both crashing down, her body slamming hard against his frame.