Chapter 16 Reunion Ruined: She Is Unlucky and Cannot Be the Daughter of the Hamilton Family
Cressida's face showed tears about to fall, but her heart was ice-cold and completely calm.
In her past life, when she was drugged with bone-softening powder and Michael broke all ten of her fingers one by one, he had whispered in her ear—
"If you don't marry into Silverpeak City, where would I get the money? How else could I hide from father and mother and cover up those hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling debts!"
That was when Cressida learned that Michael had become addicted to gambling.
At first he was just curious, but later Rose gave him money and encouraged him to gamble lavishly, and he could never shake off this bad habit.
Starting from fifty thousand dollars, then a hundred thousand dollars, then more and more, until finally he owed a million dollars!
The gambling house grabbed hold of him, this nobleman, and forced him to pay up, otherwise they would go make a scene at the Hamilton Mansion.
Michael got scared, and when he wanted to confess to the family, Rose stopped him.
It was Rose who told him that as long as Cressida married far away to a rich man in Silverpeak City, they would give a lot of money, and then they could hold back a portion to help him pay off his gambling debts, and Patrick and Clio wouldn't know.
That's why Michael was so decisive when he struck.
In his eyes, Cressida was a worthless person, and being able to exchange her for money was the only useful thing about her.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Michael broke out in cold sweat.
"I, I..." He couldn't say it.
Miguel, who had been silent all along, spoke in a cold voice: "You dare to strike your own sister, but don't dare to say why. Such cowardice doesn't seem very brotherly."
Clio always protected Michael, and she immediately panicked: "Who exactly are you, coming to someone else's home to hit people, kicking and injuring my Michael, and now insulting him with words? Whose rules are these?"
If it were normal times, she could still handle things calmly.
But with everything going wrong today and such a huge mess, Clio had already lost her composure.
"How dare you!" Charlie, who had been smiling just moments ago, suddenly scolded sternly, "This is Prince Russell. How dare you be so disrespectful?"
Everyone was shocked.
Among the state ministers present today, there were only Saul and Charlie.
Only these two had seen what Miguel looked like.
When the Hamilton family heard Miguel's identity, their eyes showed astonishment.
Patrick was the first to come to his senses and led everyone in bowing: "Greetings to Prince Russell!"
People all around knelt down.
Cressida was about to kneel when Miguel supported her.
She was slightly surprised and looked up. Miguel wasn't looking at her, just calmly withdrew his hand.
"Clio, if you have any opinions about my rules, feel free to share them."
"Your Highness, please calm down! I wouldn't dare!" Clio was terrified, nearly fainting.
She was being held up by Tatum, which kept her from passing out.
Miguel was the second son of Doyle and Autumn. He had led troops abroad for many years and had the highest prestige besides Doyle's heir.
To say Miguel had no rules—unless Clio was tired of living.
"So, why exactly did you strike your own sister? Are these the rules The Hamilton family teaches?" Miguel's gaze fell on Michael again.
Michael trembled, his lips losing all color.
He was brave but foolish, easily provoked, and lacked courage.
Facing the imposing Miguel at this moment, he was scared out of his wits.
Rose suddenly kowtowed, her voice choking.
"Your Highness, if you must blame someone, blame me. It's all my fault that harmed Michael. When I entered the family registry, it made Cressida unhappy. Michael tried to explain for me several times but failed, and last time he was even injured by Cressida."
"This time was also for me, yet he dared to strike. Cressida, you can hit me or scold me, but Michael is our brother—please don't blame him."
Michael, covered in cold sweat, was like a drowning person who had suddenly surfaced and finally found direction.
"Yes, yes!" He quickly agreed. "I just said a few words for Rose, and Cressida got angry. She said Rose was a bitch of unknown origin. I was angry that she cursed so terribly, so I couldn't help but strike. It's all my fault for being too impulsive."
Having found his anchor, Michael learned to make excuses and conveniently fabricated false charges against Cressida.
Clio also joined in the accusation: "Cressida! Why can't you just learn to be more generous? Now everyone has seen our family's joke—are you satisfied?"
"Mother, do you believe what they're saying?" Cressida's tone was calm.
No matter how emotionally they spoke, with tears streaming down as they accused her of wrongdoing, she remained composed.
Cressida: "You never told me about Rose entering the family registry. How could I be angry about it?"
Everyone was shocked, and Clio's expression changed slightly.
She had forgotten about this.
However, Clio only faltered for a moment before steadying herself.
The person who had deliberately lured Cressida out of the mansion using news about Ingrid was Tatum, and no third person knew about this.
So no matter what Cressida said today, if she, Clio, didn't admit it, that was that.
"Cressida, don't lie. How could you not know?"
"I think she really didn't know!" Donny walked out leaning on his cane.
When Clio saw Donny, her expression suddenly became extremely bad.
Donny told everyone about encountering Cressida when he came to The Hamilton Mansion.
He questioned Clio: "If Cressida knew, how could she have gone alone to find Ingrid? Clio, you handled this matter too poorly!"
Donny was straightforward by nature, and having said this in front of so many people, Patrick's expression turned iron-blue.
Patrick stared at Clio without saying a word, but his reproachful look already said everything.
Things had come to this point, and Patrick could only step forward and bow to Miguel.
"Prince Russell, it's all because I failed to teach properly. My family has had such a mess—it's truly my fault."
"But ancestral matters cannot be treated carelessly. The ceremony is almost over. After today, I will definitely teach my family members properly."
With that, he also bowed to the people around: "I've made you all witness our family's embarrassment. Please be understanding."
The implication was that they would still enter Rose into the family registry first.
After all, no matter how chaotic the scene or how displeased Miguel was, Rose hadn't done anything wrong, and they couldn't find fault with her!
However, at this moment, a short, sharp whistle suddenly sounded.
Others didn't hear it, but Cressida did.
In just a few blinks, a black shadow swooped down from the sky, flying straight at Rose.
Rose screamed and stumbled over her dress while dodging, falling to the ground.
"It's Miss Hamilton's red-tailed hawk!" Some servant shouted.
The red-tailed hawk targeted Rose's pigeon-blood red earrings, scratching and clawing with its sharp talons.
Rose covered her face tightly with both hands, crying miserably.
Clio was extremely anxious and ordered the servants: "Hurry and catch that bird!"
Jade appeared from somewhere, bravely wielding a broom to drive away the red-tailed hawk.
The hawk was forced to fly around wildly until, with a crash, it knocked over a ceremonial jar.
The elderly Hamilton family elder gasped.
He exclaimed: "Unlucky! This is truly unlucky! The ceremony has failed—the ancestors don't approve!"