Nova locked eyes with Ashton, who was surrounded by his thugs. Her voice had a slight tremble as she asked, "What are you trying to do?"
Ashton arrogantly lifted his chin, "Isn't it obvious?"
He gestured casually, and his lackeys got the hint to keep smashing up the villa's expensive furniture.
Evelyn wailed, "My jade vase, that cost a fortune!"
She watched the pieces scatter across the floor, feeling like it was money draining away.
Mark was visibly distressed, pleading desperately, "Mr. Wilde, please stop. What have we done to anger you so much? I apologize!"
Ashton's cold gaze fixed on Nova's angry face, and Mark immediately understood the implications.
"What did you do to piss off Ashton this much?"
Mark demanded, his voice echoing in the large room, his eyes burning with anger. If he wasn't so concerned about keeping his cool, he'd have already given Nova a piece of his mind.
Nova s

When Nova saw Mark coming at her, she quickly shifted her stance, smoothly dodging his swinging hand. Mark's hand whooshed through the air, missing her completely, and he nearly sprained his arm from the effort.
Mark, his face red with embarrassment and anger after missing his target, looked like he was ready to explode. He couldn't believe Nova had dodged him.
Taking advantage of the moment, Nova stepped back to put some space between them and locked eyes with Mark, her voice steady and firm, "Mr. Wilde is the one who started all this trouble, bringing people to trash your house. You should be dealing with him, not picking on someone like me who can't fight back."
It was clear to everyone what she really meant, Mark was a bully who only targeted the weak and was too scared to mess with someone with connections like Ashton, so he was trying to pin everything on her, the kicked-out daught

Nova was too thrifty to catch a cab, especially after the subway incident.
They might still be on the lookout for them.
She sighed and trudged over to the bus stop.
Mark's call beat the bus there.
Seeing "Dad" pop up on her screen felt like a joke.
She rolled her eyes and quickly dismissed the call.
Strange, hadn't she made herself clear last time? Why was he still ringing her up?
Nova tried to think of any reason Mark might be calling her relentlessly but came up empty.
She was halfway through blocking his number when his texts came through.
Mark: Come home right now!
Mark: Are you trying to give me a heart attack by not picking up?
It seemed Mark had conveniently forgotten their last encounter.
After what seemed like the hundredth call, Nova picked up, ready to cut ties once and for all.
She didn't even get a word out before Mark started shouting, "You ungrateful child! What are you up to that you can't answer your own father? Get back here now, there's a crisis!"
Nova scoffed.
Ungrateful child?
What a joke.
"We're done here. I have no ties to that house. Please, don’t call me."
She was about to hang up, but then Mark mentioned "Margaret," and she hesitated, phone glued back to her ear. "What did you just say?"
"If you don't come back, you might never see your grandma again!"
Nova shot up from her seat, her heart pounding. Now she could hear more than just Mark's ranting—there were sounds of Evelyn crying and things being smashed.
"What's happened?" she demanded.
But the line went dead with a string of beeps.
"Damn." Mark's phone was probably in pieces.
Nova couldn't worry about cab fares at that moment. She quickly hailed a taxi, jumped in, and called her boss to explain she had an emergency and couldn't come in today.
Her boss, sensing her urgency, agreed without hesitation.
As Nova returned to the Chu residence, her heart dropped. The carefully nurtured plants in the yard were knocked over, and the usually bustling housekeeper was conspicuously absent.
All she could think was, "Nothing better have happened to Margaret."
As she rushed out of the taxi, the driver shouted, "Miss, you haven't paid!" He worried he'd encountered a fare-dodger today.
Frantically, Nova pulled out one hundred bucks and threw them into the front seat, not even waiting for change before she sprinted toward the villa.
Inside, the scene was pure chaos.
Several strangers were ransacking the place, decked out in black tees, sunglasses, and covered in tattoos.
Ashton sat on the sofa, sipping tea, overseeing the mess with a smug look. "Look who's back! Thought you didn't care."
Nova's stomach churned. Trouble was written all over this.
"What's going on? Where's Margaret?" she demanded, her eyes darting around, but Margaret was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is …?" She fell silent.
Realization dawned on her—she'd been duped.
She wouldn't have come back if Mark hadn't mentioned Margaret.
Ashton stretched, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hello, there. Young lady."

Nova locked eyes with Ashton, who was surrounded by his thugs. Her voice had a slight tremble as she asked, "What are you trying to do?"
Ashton arrogantly lifted his chin, "Isn't it obvious?"
He gestured casually, and his lackeys got the hint to keep smashing up the villa's expensive furniture.
Evelyn wailed, "My jade vase, that cost a fortune!"
She watched the pieces scatter across the floor, feeling like it was money draining away.
Mark was visibly distressed, pleading desperately, "Mr. Wilde, please stop. What have we done to anger you so much? I apologize!"
Ashton's cold gaze fixed on Nova's angry face, and Mark immediately understood the implications.
"What did you do to piss off Ashton this much?"
Mark demanded, his voice echoing in the large room, his eyes burning with anger. If he wasn't so concerned about keeping his cool, he'd have already given Nova a piece of his mind.
Nova shot Mark a cold look and snapped back, "Since when do I need to report everything to you? I

Chapter 20: Where's that rich guy?