Chapter 15 Michael is Burdened with Gambling Debts and Wants to Shift the Blame?
The cold wind blew from behind Cressida, making her even more alert. She steadied herself.
She was Cressida now, Cressida of the Hamilton family, not Cameron.
According to the official story, Cressida had accompanied Cameron at the border for three years.
Back when she was at the military camp, she had deliberately used her position to spread word that her sister Cressida was visiting the border, laying the groundwork for her eventual fake death and return to Emerald City.
Besides, she and Miguel weren't familiar with each other—they'd only spent two days together during that battle, discussing tactics.
She should act completely natural now and pretend not to know him.
With this in mind, Cressida's cool, sharp features showed no hint of anything amiss.
She followed behind Patrick, walking calmly toward Miguel.
Though Cressida didn't look at Miguel again, she could feel a burning gaze examining her for quite some time.
"Greetings, Patrick," Charlie said politely with a smile. "Please don't blame me for showing up so suddenly. I heard Saul was coming to witness the Hamilton family's ancestral hall ceremony today, so I took the liberty of coming to observe."
Patrick clasped his hands: "Mr. Chambers, you're too kind. Your presence makes Rose's entry into the family registry all the more secure."
For the Chambers family to send someone was quite an honor.
The Chambers family held an extremely prestigious position in Emerald City.
Charlie glanced at Cressida but said nothing. He and Miguel were led to the front by Patrick, where the Hamilton family elders came forward to pay their respects.
Cressida stood at the back of the crowd, quietly watching their backs.
Miguel had been leading troops for years, and given his noble status, very few officials in Emerald City had ever seen him.
Patrick had never met Miguel, so even though Miguel was standing beside Charlie, Patrick wasn't particularly deferential—he probably just took him for an ordinary member of the Chambers family.
If Patrick knew that was Miguel, he would have swarmed around him already.
Rose kept turning her head to look at Cressida.
When Cressida first appeared, she was stunned.
Cressida should be on her way to find Ingrid right now—how could she be back!
The ceremony was almost complete, and nothing could go wrong at this point.
The elders were people who greatly respected rules and traditions. If the ceremony failed, they definitely wouldn't agree to let Rose enter the family registry again.
"Mother," Rose realized the problem and lowered her voice, speaking softly, "if Cressida makes a scene and Charlie sees it, won't that damage Father's reputation?"
Clio immediately felt uneasy.
She turned to Tatum: "Go find a way to get Cressida out of here first!"
Tatum was about to go when Michael stopped her.
"Let me go instead. If she dares make a scene with me in public, she'll definitely regret it." With that, he walked over on his own.
Michael would love for Cressida to fight with him now—Patrick would surely be furious and send her to the estate on the spot.
Seeing Michael approach, Cressida didn't move.
She wore a sky-blue dress, which made her face look even more calm, as if snow had fallen on it.
Michael stood beside her, about to speak, when Cressida spoke first.
"The beating you got last time—healed up that quickly?"
Her voice wasn't loud, and since she was standing at the very back, she didn't attract attention.
But Michael, hearing those words, instantly felt his temper flare.
Wanting to provoke Cressida, he forcibly held back his anger and said dismissively.
"If only you had half of Rose's kindness and generosity. Father and Mother both say she's a good daughter—only you can't tolerate her."
Cressida laughed, her gaze on Rose's back: "If Father and Mother knew that she gave you fifty thousand dollars to gamble with, and you ended up owing a hundred thousand dollars, would they still think she's a good daughter?"
Michael's face suddenly froze: "What nonsense are you talking!"
"Michael, why deny it?" Cressida turned to look at him, her gaze lingering, "I told the people at the gambling house they could come collect the debt today. It's such a happy occasion, Father's so pleased—he won't blame you, right?"
Michael's eyes filled with shock and rage as he gritted his teeth.
"You disaster! So fake after all—you want to ruin me!"
Completely enraged and losing his reason, he reached out and grabbed Cressida's throat viciously.
Nearby servants cried out in alarm and rushed over to stop him.
The commotion on their end caught the attention of those in front.
Charlie saw Michael on top of Cressida, pinning her to the ground and choking her, and immediately frowned.
"Patrick, who is your son hitting?"
Patrick's face turned extremely ugly. He couldn't spare time to answer and hurried over to break up the fight.
Only Reid weakly said: "That's Patrick's eldest daughter, Cressida of the Hamilton family."
Charlie immediately looked at Miguel beside him.
Patrick grabbed Michael's arm: "Let go right now!"
Clio stood nearby, completely panicked: "Mr. Patrick Hamilton, don't hurt Michael!"
"Bitch! This bitch wants to kill me!" Michael's eyes were bloodshot, completely irrational.
The servants pulled him up, but he lunged at Cressida again to choke her.
Even Donny came to help break it up, only to be pushed and nearly fall by Michael.
Suddenly!
A foot kicked out hard, hitting Michael square in the chest. He rolled several times and fell heavily to the side.
Cressida was able to sit up and catch her breath.
She covered her throat and looked up to see Miguel's dark clothing, with a cloud pattern embroidered in gold thread faintly gleaming.
Miguel had actually helped her out.
Clio and Rose both rushed to Michael's side immediately.
"Cressida, are you alright?" Donny hurried over to ask. He looked at Michael over there, "What made him suddenly go crazy!"
Clio saw blood foam at the corner of Michael's mouth, and she questioned Cressida somewhat urgently.
"What did you say to Michael? Why would he attack you?"
Seeing the resentment in Clio's eyes, Cressida guessed that if there weren't so many people around, Clio would have already rushed over to slap her.
Rose said hesitantly: "Usually Michael is so well-behaved. He couldn't possibly do something like this unless someone provoked him."
With just a few words, she wanted to push all the blame onto Cressida.
"Michael," Cressida said tactfully, "Mother's asking—why don't you tell her yourself."
Michael, under several gazes, felt his anger instantly dampened by half.
How could he possibly say it! If he admitted in public that he owed a hundred thousand dollars in gambling debts, how could he show his face in Emerald City?
Cressida must be doing this on purpose!
Michael glared at her viciously, but saw Cressida gently dabbing tears from the corner of her eye with a handkerchief.
Her hand covered half her face, but the tearful eyes that showed had no hint of vulnerability—only a blade-like coldness, stabbing straight at him.
Even though he couldn't see her lips, he could sense her subtle cold smile.
In that instant, Michael suddenly felt a chill.
He finally realized that Cressida had step by step forced him into a position where he had no choice but to confess publicly.