I used a lot of force. Julian Cross’s face instantly snapped to the side, and a clear red handprint quickly appeared.
He was stunned, everyone was stunned.
He clutched his face, looking at me in disbelief, the rage in his eyes replaced by humiliation.
“You… you hit me?”
I’m hitting you to wake you up.”
My voice was as cold as ice.
I scanned the onlookers in the living room, then my gaze returned to Julian Cross’s face.
“You all think he’s the master here, the Crown Prince of the Cross family, right?”
No one dared to speak.
let out a soft laugh, though no amusement reached my eyes.
“Júlian Cross, have you always thought that too?”
WW May
“Do you think you were born to have everything? This villa, the luxury cars outside, the shares in the company, and that unlimited black card I gave you?”
He didn’t speak, but the defiant look in his eyes said it all.
“Have you ever wondered why?”
“Why did father, who clearly favored you more, leave 90% of the company shares to me?”
“Why did I, your older sister, have to act like a mother hen, paving every path for you, solving every problem, indulging you without a bottom
line?”
He was stunned by my questions.
These questions might have crossed his mind before, but he had taken everything for granted, never delving deeper.
! looked at his bewildered and humiliated face, and finally decided to personally unveil the cruel truth I had protected for him for over a
decade.
“Because you don’t bear the Cross name at all.””
“You are just a mistake my father made, all those years ago.”
“Your mother is a woman whose name doesn’t even deserve to be etched into the Cross family tree.”
“You, Julian Cross, are an illegitimate child.”
I said those words softly, but they exploded like a thunderclap in the silent living room.
All the expressions on Julian Cross’s face froze.
He looked like he’d heard some fantastical tale, his pupils dilated, his mouth slightly open, staring blankly at me.
“You… what did you say?”
I said,” I repeated, word for word, “You are an illegitimate child.”
“When father brought you home, you were only three years old. Grandfather was so furious he almost had a heart attack and wanted to kick you and your mother out.”
<
“When father brought you home, you were only three years old. Grandfather was so furious he almost had a heart attack and wanted to kick you and your mother out.”
“It was me.”
I pointed to myself.
“It was me who knelt before Grandfather, begging him to let you stay.”
“I told him that the child was innocent.”
“I promised him I would watch over you, educate you, and never let you do anything that would tarnish the Cross family name.”
“To allow you to live legitimately in the Cross family, to prevent you from bearing the stigma of being an illegitimate child from a young age, I begged father and grandfather to conceal your identity from everyone.”
“I treated you as my own brother, gave you the best of everything, compensated for the maternal love you lacked, and indulged your every
whim.”
“I thought that by filling you with love and material wealth, you would grow into a kind, upright, and responsible man.”
I looked at his face, distorted by shock and panic, and gave a self–mocking laugh.
“Now it seems I was wrong.”
“Terribly wrong.”
“What I raised wasn’t a brother, but an ungrateful wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Julian Cross staggered backward two steps, bumping into the coffee table behind him with a dull thud.
He kept shaking his head, mumbling, “No… impossible… you’re lying… you’re talking nonsense!”
“Whether I’m talking nonsense, you can go home and ask Father.”
I looked at him coldly, completely shattering his last illusion.
“Though, I imagine he’s quite busy to see you right now.”
W
7
I pulled out my phone, dialed my assistant’s number, and put it on speaker.
“Ms. Cross.” My assistant’s respectful voice came through.
“Notify the legal and security departments.”
My voice was devoid of any warmth.
“First, reclaim all properties and vehicles under Julian Cross’s name, as well as the black card ending in 8888. Freeze them immediately, and arrange for transfer of ownership first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Second, in the name of the Cross Group’s board of directors, revoke all shares granted to Julian Cross, and remove him from all group projects.”
“Third, inform the security of this villa that, effective immediately, Mr. Julian Cross is no longer the owner here. Please have him leave within ten minutes.”
“The only thing he can take with him is the clothes on his back.”
“Understood?”
“Yes, Ms. Cross, I’ll take care of it immediately.” My assistant’s voice was crisp and efficient.
1:11 AM P P
<
ten minutes.”
“The only thing he can take with him is the clothes on his back.”
“Understood?”
“Yes, Ms. Cross, I’ll take care of it immediately.” My assistant’s voice was crisp and efficient.
I hung up, putting my phone back in my bag. The entire process, I didn’t even glance at Julian Cross again.
He looked as if all the strength had been drained from him, collapsing onto the floor, his eyes vacant, completely dumbfounded.
The so–called “friends” around him now looked at him with naked disdain and aloofness, no longer just watching the show.
An illegitimate child, kicked out of the house, no longer deserved to be called their brother.
I turned to leave this disgusting place.
“Stella!”
Julian Cross suddenly scrambled up from the floor, rushed over, and grabbed my arm.
“Stella, I was wrong! Don’t kick me out!”
He cried, tears and snot streaming down his face, all his arrogance and anger gone.
“I didn’t know… I truly didn’t know…”
“Please forgive me this one time, I’ll never dare to do it again!”
“I’ll break up with Tiffany Reed! I’ll break up with her right now! You can send her to jail, you can send her to jail for life, I don’t care!”
“Please, don’t kick me out.
He cried like a child, begging humbly.
But looking at his face, I only felt immense irony and disgust.
If I hadn’t exposed his identity today, hadn’t taken everything back, would he still be begging me like this?
No, he would only resent me more, thinking I had ruined his love and made him lose face.
His repentance wasn’t because he had done wrong and hurt me.
It was because he was afraid of losing everything he currently possessed.
I forcefully shook off his hand, with such strength that he stumbled and fell to the ground.
“Julian Cross, you didn’t wrong me.”
“You wronged the foolish Stella Cross who, over a decade ago, knelt in the snow to beg for your very life.”
“From today forward, there is nothing between us.”
“Fend for yourself.”
With that, I walked out of the villa without looking back.
The bodyguards behind me dutifully closed the massive doors, sealing his desperate cries and pleas inside.
Sitting in the car, I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.
The physical pain lingered, but the massive stone that had weighed on my heart for over a decade had finally been lifted.
<
With that, I walked out of the villa without looking back.
The bodyguards behind me dutifully closed the massive doors, sealing his desperate cries and pleas inside.
Sitting in the car, I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.
The physical pain lingered, but the massive stone that had weighed on my heart for over a decade had finally been lifted.
Dawn was breaking.
The aftermath unfolded even more smoothly than I had anticipated.
Tiffany Reed’s case had undeniable evidence.
The restaurant’s security footage, my medical examination report, the million–dollar transfer record, coupled with the testimony of the two security guards – she had no way to deny anything.
She was sentenced to three years.
Apparently, in court, she was still screaming Julian Cross’s name, claiming he would save her.
Unfortunately, by then, Julian Cross was in no position to save himself.
After being kicked out of the villa, he was penniless.
Those friends who once flocked around him vanished without a trace.
He sought out Father, but Father, who already held a grudge against him from the old incident and was deterred by my assertiveness, directly
refused to see him.
He tried to return to the company, only to be stopped by security in the lobby, like a stray dog.
He finally tasted what it was like to fall from the clouds into the mud.
Later, he somehow got Maya’s number and called her frantically, begging her to arrange a meeting with me.
Maya told me about it.
I had her relay a message to Julian Cross.
“If he wants to see me, he can. Go to my mother’s grave and kneel for three days and three nights.”
My mother, all those years ago, had fallen ill and passed away prematurely because she learned of his and his mother’s existence.
This was what he owed my mother.
I thought he wouldn’t be able to do it.
After all, he was such a spoiled, selfish young man.
But to my surprise, he actually went.
Maya sent someone to check, and he was indeed kneeling by Mother’s grave, refusing food or water, never sleeping, remaining upright.
On the third day, a torrential rain poured down.
He was soaked to the bone, developing a high fever, swaying precariously as he knelt, but still he didn’t leave.
Maya asked me, “Are you really not going to see him? If this continues, someone might die.”
I sat in my warm office, looking at the drizzling rain outside, and took a sip of hot coffee.
131 AM
<
I sat in my warm office, looking at the drizzling rain outside, and took a sip of hot coffee.
“He won’t die.”
I didn’t soften.
What was this compared to the pain he had inflicted on me?
This was just the first price he paid for his foolishness and malice.
Three days later, he couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed at the cemetery. He was discovered by a patrolling security guard and sent to the hospital.
When he woke up, the first thing he did was call me again.
I finally answered.
On the other end, his voice was weak and hoarse, carrying a hint of humble hope.
“Stella… I did it… Can you… can you forgive me?”
“Forgive you?”
I let out a soft laugh.
“Julian Cross, have you misunderstood something?”
“I asked you to kneel not for you to beg for my forgiveness.”
“But for you to recognize who you truly are, and where everything you now possess came from.”
“Now, have you recognized it?”
A long silence followed on the other end.
I could imagine his desperate expression at that moment.
“I never intended to take your life.”
I continued calmly.
“I’ve already had my assistant rent a small apartment for you in the suburbs and deposited two hundred thousand dollars into your account.”
“That money should be enough for you to live on for a while.”
“From now on, whether you live or die is no concern of mine, or the Cross family’s.”
“You go your way, I’ll go mine.”
“Don’t ever come looking for me again.”
With that, I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I hung up the phone and then blocked his number.
The world was finally at peace.
withdrew all investments from that Michelin restaurant. The VP, along with the core team, collectively resigned and started anew with me.
In less than six months, my new restaurant quickly established itself as the new benchmark in the industry, thanks to its superior service and
cuisine.
As for Julian Cross’s restaurant, having lost its core team and financial support, coupled with the negative publicity from the Tiffany Reed
