From Secret Wife 163

Posted by admink, ? Views, Released on February 10, 2025

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Chapter163.

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One was the heir to Los Angeles‘ elite, another ruled the underground forces overseas, and the third was the head of Seattle’s most powerful family. The clash of their different energies, refined, sinister, and cold, filled the room.

Yet, the center of attention, Hazel, was leisurely enjoying the pasta Johnson had made for her, completely unfazed by the tension at the door.

Sebastian saw her eating, and a flicker of sadness passed through his deep blue eyes. She hadn’t opened the door when he knocked earlier. Had she done it on purpose? He wasn’t the naive young man he used to be, and the deliberate distance she had been putting between them only fueled his obsession with understanding why she had left all those years ago.

He had just returned to Los Angeles and had asked his mother about it.

But Alanna stuck to the same story.

According to her, Hazel had simply wanted to return to the mainland, but Sebastian didn’t buy it. Their three years together had been harmonious. They had been the best of friends!

His sharp eyes landed on the bottle of healing liquor Gabriel was holding. His mind quickly pieced things together.

“Haze, are you injured?” he asked, stepping forward.

Johnson blocked him.“Mr. Stevens, it’s not appropriate for you to enter a woman’s room so late.”

“Sorry,” Sebastian paused in his tracks.

His gaze remained locked on Hazel inside the room, but all the words he wanted to say got stuck

in his chest.

Johnson, aware of Hazel’s preferences, had made the exact amount of pasta she liked!

After finishing the last bit of soup, Hazel felt warmth spread through her stomach, and drowsiness began to take over. She stood, carrying the bowl to the door.

She handed it to Johnson and softly reminded him, “Get some rest.”

Johnson wanted to stay and protect her but, noticing her expression, he obediently returned to the room next door.

He left the door ajar in case she needed anything.

That left just Gabriel and Sebastian at the door. Hazel looked at them as if they were strangers. Her voice was cold.“Do you need something?”

Gabriel, ever proud, couldn’t bear to face her coldness any longer. He placed the bottle of healing liquor on a cabinet by the door and, without saying a word, turned back to his room.

He wasn’t the type to chase after someone.

***

Now, only Sebastian remained.

He held the gift Abbie had prepared for Hazel.

He had checked it. Inside was a beautiful jade bracelet, with no signs of anything inappropriate

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“Haze, this is a bracelet from Grandma,” he said.

“She said it’s a family heirloom, a charm that will keep you safe.”

Hazel calmly unwrapped the exquisite gift in front of him. The bracelet inside was stunning and clearly valuable.

But it reminded her of the time Abbie had tried to slap her while wearing the same bracelet.

She picked it up and examined the small chip on its surface. It was a mark from when she had dodged the slap all those years ago, and Abbie’s hand had hit a cabinet. This wasn’t a gift. It was a warning. Abbie didn’t want her anywhere near Sebastian, and she wasn’t afraid to make that clear.

Abbie still saw her as that helpless little girl, the one who couldn’t fight back. Wasn’t she just trying to play the role of the perfect grandmother in front of her grandson? Back then, Hazel had gone along with it, partly because Abbie was her grandmother’s old friend, and partly because Abbie had genuinely supported her education.

But later, Hazel accidentally overheard the truth: her grandmother had promised Abbie a precious artifact in exchange for funding Hazel’s education until she graduated from college. That was why Abbie had swooped in to take her in so quickly.

All that kindness, that supposed “old friendship,” had been nothing more than a transaction for something Abbie had coveted.

Now, as Hazel looked at the beautifully wrapped gift box in Sebastian’s hands and the warmth in his eyes, she was tempted to spill the truth, to shatter the illusion.

But then it hit her. What could be more painful than letting him discover it for himself? Sebastian noticed the chip and seemed surprised.“I didn’t know it was damaged. I’ll get you a new one.”

Hazel placed the bracelet back in the box and stated bluntly, “Sebastian, this bracelet isn’t a gift. It’s a warning.”

Sebastian’s expression darkened.“What do you mean?”

Hazel’s voice was icy.“It means my grandma doesn’t want you near me. So, please keep your distance.”

“Haze?” He reached out as if to ask more, but the door was already closing. Sebastian stared at the exquisite wooden gift box in his hand, then quickly returned to his room and called his friend Roy. Roy was an expert at digging up information and privately employed several private investigators.

Since Sebastian’s first call, Roy had already set people to work uncovering the past. However, given that it had been over a decade, some things weren’t easy to track down. The best they could do was gather information from former servants who had been with the Stevens family when they left.

Even with these limited sources, Sebastian was still shocked by some of the revelations.

“Prepare yourself, my friend,” Roy’s voice was low, but it caused a storm of emotions to rise within Sebastian.

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Back in her room, Hazel’s expression turned cold.

Meanwhile, Gabriel had also uncovered the painful truth about Hazel’s past in Los Angeles,

Abbie had adopted Hazel, treating her like a granddaughter, showering her with the same love and care she gave her own grandson.

This had been the talk of the town back then.

And it gave Abbie a flawless reputation.

The Stevens family had so much wealth that the money spent on Hazel was a drop in the bucket.

But for young Hazel, it was an astronomical sum.

The once proud daughter of the Robinson family had been reduced to a different person during those three years in Los Angeles.

Matthew watched as Gabriel’s expression grew colder and darker, silently lowering his head. He had been shocked by the contents of the information when he first received it. Abbie actually expected a minor girl to repay the money she had spent on her. What was even more disgusting was that, despite spending only a few hundred grand, she demanded Hazel pay back ten times that amount, almost a million!

It was worse than loan shark rates.

The extracurricular activities that Sebastian had shared with Hazel, such as horseback riding and golf, and the dresses she never even wore were all turned into a monetary debt by Abbie, forcing Hazel to repay it all.

Before sending her away, Abbie even made Hazel sign an IOU!

“Abbie!”

Gabriel spat out the name with bitter hatred.

He finally understood why Hazel’s eyes had been dead when he first met her. His voice was frigid as he instructed, “Notify Enrique to sink the Stevens family’s shipments in the harbor. Also, seal off their docks.”

Then he remembered something about Abbie’s daughter, Annabella, who had married into Seattle’s Reed family.

Gabriel had heard from his aunt that Annabella’s life in the Reed family wasn’t easy. Her husband, Payton, had so many mistresses he could form a football team, and there had been several deadly incidents as a result.

“Send Annabella the news about Payton’s illegitimate child abroad.”

Sebastian’s father, Calvin, and mother, Alanna, were once the golden couple of Los Angeles.

Everyone knew how Calvin had nearly severed ties with his family for the woman he loved. The scandal had nearly caused a break in the family line, but Abbie had worked to smooth things over. Only then did Alanna marry into the Stevens family.