Part 3Four Daughters, One Outsider

When I passed by Elliot, I stopped.

Elliot subconsciously moved closer to Juliette's side, his eyes darting away.

I looked at his handsome face and found it absurd. "Since you two are so fond of teaching people the rules..."

I turned to Shania, my tone calm as if talking about the weather. "Come to the company office and hand over all the projects you're handling at 9am. Let's see how you manage without the Fullers."

I ignored their grim expressions and led Adrian out of the bathroom.

Nicole's disdainful voice was heard from the corridor behind us. "Shania, ignore him. He's just trying to scare us. In less than three days, he'll have to beg us to go back and handle the mess over there again."

My leather shoes made a clear echo on the marble floor of the corridor.

On the way home, Adrian huddled in the corner of his seat. He tightly grasped the edge of my coat, like an overly frightened bird. "Dad, I didn't bully him."

Adrian's voice was barely more than a whisper. "Elliot was the one who asked to borrow that limited-edition watch. I told him I couldn't lend it to him because I was supposed to wear it for my coming-of-age ceremony. Then he deliberately spilled coffee on my shoes. I just told him to be careful, but the girls came over with people."

I patted his back, feeling a growing chill in my chest.

These were the four "weapons" I had carefully handpicked.

At an orphanage in the South District ten years ago, I spotted them instantly — four girls covered in wounds but with eyes full of unyielding defiance.

Shania was 12 back then. She would pick up a brick and fight a kid five years older than her over half a steamed bun.

Juliette was only eight, yet in the dead of winter with temperatures plunging well below zero, she locked the dormitory warden who bullied her inside the ice cellar.

I brought them back to the Fullers' estate.

On their first day, I pointed to Adrian, who was fast asleep in his cradle, and told them, "From this day on, he is your only reason for living. Anyone who dares to harm a single hair on his head will pay with their life."

Shania was the first to kneel before the cradle. "Dad, don't worry. We owe our lives to you. We will crush whoever dares to bully Adrian."

Their oaths still echoed in my memory.

Now, the girls were the very people crushing Adrian.

The next morning, I immediately ordered the butler, Alfred Young, to cancel all the supplementary credit cards issued in their names. I also confiscated the eight supercars they parked in the garage.

Alfred held the returned access card, looking somewhat conflicted. "Sir, the misses took Mr. Hart and moved into the lakeside villa in the East District late last night. They even called the staff to clear out Mr. Adrian's private music room so it could be converted into a gaming room for Mr. Hart."

My hand paused, still gripping the coffee cup.

That lakeside villa in the East District was the 18th birthday gift I had prepared for Adrian. He had personally selected every piece of furniture in it.

The music room housed an antique cello that Adrian treasured above all else; it was the only keepsake left to him by his grandmother.

"Get the car ready." I set down my coffee cup, my voice icy. "We're going to the lakeside villa."

When the car pulled up outside the villa, the front gate was wide open. Moving company workers were hauling boxes out one by one.

I walked into the living room and immediately saw Elliot lounging on the couch, eating cherries while wearing Adrian's favourite silk pajamas.

Shania sat beside him, her head bent as she worked on a document for him.

Hearing the sound of my leather shoes, Shania looked up. She showed not a shred of guilt when she saw me; instead, she displayed a gentle smile.