Rejected By Her Family, Claimed By The Masked CEO

The next morning, Abigail and Madeline stood in front of Oliver’s mansion with tired faces.

Neither of them had slept well. After everything that happened at the party, both of them had too many questions and almost no answers.

Madeline sighed before pressing the doorbell.

Not long after, the large door opened. A maid bowed politely. "Good morning, Miss Abigail. Miss Madeline. Young Master has been expecting you."

Abigail raised a brow. "Expecting us?"

The maid only smiled and stepped aside. The two ladies walked inside. The living room looked as luxurious as always, with expensive paintings, crystal decorations, and giant windows that let in the morning sunlight.

But what surprised them wasn’t the mansion. Oliver was sitting comfortably on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Beside him sat Miranda, calmly drinking coffee as if she had been there for hours.

Abigail and Madeline exchanged confused looks.

Miranda noticed them first. "There you are!" she said with a bright smile, waving at them. "Come in."

Abigail narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here this early?"

Madeline sat beside Abigail while staring at both of them suspiciously.

"Forget that," she said. "Where did both of you disappear to last night? Abigail and I looked around after the party, but you were nowhere."

Oliver didn’t even raise his head. Before he could answer, Miranda smiled sweetly. "We were discussing something very important."

"Very important?" Abigail repeated.

Madeline frowned. She had a feeling Miranda was hiding something.

Still...

Since both of them looked perfectly fine, she decided not to push the matter. She came here for another reason. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the three of them.

"I think Madam Perry is hiding something from us."

Oliver’s fingers stopped moving across the keyboard. He slowly lifted his head and looked at her. "Took you long enough."

The room became quiet. Abigail frowned immediately. "What does that mean?"

Oliver closed his laptop and placed it on the table. "It means all of us noticed something was strange."

Abigail’s eyes narrowed. She pointed at him with her hand. "Do you know Michael is Henry?"

Both Miranda and Madeline widened their eyes at the same time. "Michael is Draco?" they asked together.

Oliver chuckled softly. "It’s common sense. Michaelson... Michael..."Then he spread both hands. "Henry Michaelson."

Another few seconds passed.

Miranda suddenly turned toward Oliver with disbelief. "You mean..."

Oliver nodded "The surname was already there."

Abigail’s eyes widened. "...I never thought about it." she mumured and then frowned.." Then, why don’t you tell me? Miranda, shift away from that place right now!" Abigail yelled. She quickly removed her shoe and held it like a weapon.

Miranda burst into loud laughter and quickly moved away from Oliver.

Oliver immediately jumped over the sofa. "Wait! Violence isn’t the answer!"

Abigail chased after him with her shoe raised high. "You knew all this time? you big head!! come here!!"

"I thought your brain worked!"

"You big head!"

Oliver ran around the living room while laughing. "You can’t catch me!"

Madeline couldn’t help laughing too. The maids standing nearby quietly lowered their heads, pretending they couldn’t see their young master running for his life.

"This is attempted murder!" Oliver cried dramatically.

"You deserve it!" Abigail replied.

Miranda’s laughter slowly turned into a small smile as she watched the crazy scene. This was exactly what they had done since childhood. Even after she joined their group, things stayed the same. She had to accept that Oliver would never act this way with her, and that truth hurt more than she wanted to admit.

She sighed quietly. When she looked up, she noticed Madeline watching her. Miranda forced a smile and moved to sit on another couch far away from where Oliver had been.

Tired from running, Oliver finally grabbed Abigail’s hands and sighed. "I don’t know how you didn’t notice it sooner. Phoenix and Dragon are the most dangerous gangs around."

"And White Fox," Madeline added, rolling her eyes.

Oliver scoffed. "I’m a good person." He turned back to Abigail. "This is why I can’t interfere even if I don’t like him. He is too dangerous for you. He has multiple identities too. I heard he created the Michael identity because Madam Perry was terrified of him and kept pushing him away."

Abigail yanked her hands free and frowned. "What?"

Oliver went back to his seat and let out another sigh. "Things are more complicated than you think. I couldn’t find much about her background, and she has deeper connections than we imagined."

Abigail sat down, feeling very confused. She was still shocked from what Madeline had told her about Madam Perry hiding from Henry’s father. "She was afraid of Henry’s father... but..." She paused, thinking carefully. "I could see the emotions hidden in her eyes the moment she peeked out. It looked like something she wanted badly but felt too scared to have."

Abigail sighed again. "But why didn’t she tell us?"

Miranda clenched her fists as she listened to them continue the conversation. Then she suddenly cleared her throat. "Abigail, I’m thinking of coming back to your company as your assistant."

Abigail paused and glanced at her. She let out a small sigh. "Whatever."

Miranda chuckled. "Don’t worry. This time something will be different." She smirked a little as she said it.

...

At the same time...

Madam Perry looked at her wristwatch for what felt like the tenth time.

She couldn’t stay still. She kept walking around her small living room with restless steps. "No..."

She whispered."I have to leave."

She quickly opened her wardrobe and pulled out a large traveling bag. Without caring about folding anything neatly, she stuffed clothes, shoes, handbags, and important documents inside.

Her movements became faster and faster. After zipping the bag shut, she grabbed the handle and hurried toward the front door.

She reached for the doorknob then opened the door. Her entire body froze. An elegant old woman stood outside with a gentle smile on her face.

Several bodyguards dressed in black stood silently behind her. The old woman’s smile grew warmer. "Hello, Pearl, It’s been a long time."

Madam Perry’s face instantly turned pale. Her lips trembled. She took an unconscious step backward.

Her voice came out as nothing more than a frightened whisper. "Old Master Michaelson’s wife?"