Snap out of her memories, Hazel reached the back, where a large deciduous tree stood. Taking a deep breath, she swiftly climbed the tree, jumped onto the wall, and lightly leaped over it, entering the backyard.
Relying on her memory, she entered the villa from the backyard. Inside, she noticed the place had been redecorated, even more magnificent and grandiose.
It seemed William had been doing better these past four years. William was a senator, but a senator who would only listen to the conglomerate, and she wondered which unscrupulous conglomerate he had hooked up with in the last few years to make him richer and richer.
The villa was eerily quiet, with only the voices of servants coming from the kitchen. Hazel silently made her way to a room near the nanny's quarters and quietly pushed the door open.
It was her room.
As soon as she entered, she was met eye to eye with a large dog. She surveyed the surroundings; her former room had been turned into a dog kennel.
The fierce dog, squinting its eyes, immediately showed its hostility, stood up, ready to bark.
Quickly crouching down, Hazel picked up a dog toy from the side, made a gesture, and accompanied it with a fierce expression.
The ferocious dog looked at her and suddenly obediently lowered its eyes, wagging its tail at her.
Seeing this, Hazel smirked triumphantly.
On Wind Island, many people lacked self-care skills, but there were also many talented individuals, most of whom had special abilities, they had been abandoned there by others. Over the past four years, she had learned many skills from others, including tree climbing, combat, and taming wild beasts.
Hazel picked up some dog food from the side and sprinkled it into the dog bowl, rubbing its head. The big dog obediently lowered its head and began to eat.
Hazel moved aside the dog tent, squatted down, and touched the wall with her fingers, counting several slots from bottom to top before lightly pressing inside.
A brick suddenly popped out.
She set the brick aside and took out a wooden box from the hidden compartment, dusting off the top and opening it.
Inside were some items she had saved before, including money she had earned from helping classmates with handicrafts and homework, as well as a button left in her swaddling clothes when she was abandoned.
From a very young age, Hazel knew she wasn't the biological daughter of the Haynes, and she was grateful for their adoption. So she always gave in to Chloe's demands, like a maid to her every whim.
Chloe disliked her having money and forced her to hand over whatever she earned every time.
So Hazel didn't save much secretly. But it was more than enough for a cab fare.
Hazel put the brick back, surveying the dog kennel, a sly glint appeared in her eyes. She had finally made this trip and had to leave a "gift" for her 'family.'
Night fell.
The iron gates of the villa slowly opened. Two luxury cars drove in, servants approached to open the doors,
William and Kathy, his wife, stepped out of the car.
"Dad, Mom…" The other car door opened, and a young girl emerged, dressed in her school uniform-a blue sweater paired with a skirt, showcasing her slender legs. She dashed into Kathy's arms. It was their beloved daughter, Chloe.
"Why are you back so late? Doesn't school end early?" Kathy asked with a smile, holding Chloe's hand as they walked inside.
Entering the foyer, William handed his suit jacket to a servant and sat down on a leather sofa, leaning back. He looked at Chloe. "I heard you went to The Black Group today?"
"Yeah, but unfortunately, I didn't see Chase. However, the person who received me is my fan. She said she'll do her best to arrange a meeting for me with Chase," Chloe replied. Confidence filled her delicate face.
At twenty-two, Chloe was a third-year student at Capital University, with 60 million followers on Country A's most popular video app. Her voice was melodious, and her singing was praised as divine. However, she wasn't content with just being an internet sensation. Leveraging William's connections, she actively engaged in charity work, persuading corporations to donate money and goods. While she hadn't graduated yet, her positive image was already widely recognized.
Next, her goal was to marry a man who matched her beauty-a man like Chase, the top figure of the first conglomerate. William had introduced her to several scions of wealthy families, but she found none to her liking. She insisted on marrying the strongest man in the country-Chase.
"Nicely done," William nodded approvingly.
Sitting nearby, Kathy looked at Chloe with some curiosity. "Chloe, aren't you dating Bryan?"
Chloe looked disdainful, playing with her newly manicured nails. "How can Bryan be compared to Chase? The Black Group is the first conglomerate."
When she was eighteen, she had liked Bryan. However, when Bryan confessed to Hazel, it infuriated her, she then immediately had her father sell Hazel to an old man. She pursued Bryan for a while, using every means to win him over, until Bryan finally agreed to date her.
Initially, she had been quite happy, but four years had passed, and she had grown tired of him.
Frowning, Kathy asked, "How dare you set your sights on Chase?"
"Mum," Chloe replied impatiently, "I don't have the means to know Chase yet, but once I do, I'm sure I can win him over."
"He's not someone a little girl like you can easily control. Even though your father is a senator, I've heard that even the president has to watch his step around him. Do you know how ruthless and insane he's been these past few years?"
"Isn't that just a necessary measure to eliminate dissent? I'm not going against him, so why would he treat me like that?"
"You're being naive," Kathy said uneasily.
"Come on, she's so talented and beautiful, what's wrong with her having ambition? What's wrong with aiming high?" William, always ambitious himself, fully supported Chloe. If Chloe could become Chase's wife, he'd be the most famous father-in-law in the country.
"Yeah, Mom, you never encourage me." Chloe pouted. "Whatever, I'm going to take a shower."
With that, Chloe turned and went upstairs.
Not long after, a scream echoed from upstairs.
"Ah-!" The sound came from the bathroom.
William and Kathy exchanged a glance, then stood up and hurried upstairs.
Inside the bathroom, Chloe, wrapped in a towel, stood trembling beside it, pointing at the floor. "Mom, Dad, look!"
They saw blood footprints appearing on the previously clean floor, leading out of the bathroom.
Chloe was so frightened she jumped into Kathy's arms, and even Kathy was visibly shaken.
William remained composed. He walked outside and saw footprints forming in Chloe's room as well, one after another, gradually appearing as if someone were walking.
The footprints led all the way to the wall.
Several of Chloe's portraits hung there, suddenly, there was a loud "bang," and the glass of one of the frames shattered.
The face in the photograph seemed to be split into countless pieces.
"Ah!" Chloe and Kathy clung to each other in fear.
"Quiet!" William barked in annoyance. The blood footprints started multiplying again, extending outward.
He followed them downstairs, tracking them to the doghouse.
William pushed open the door with force.
A large dog was crouched in front of the dog tent, and mist began to form on the floor in front of it.
This time, it wasn't footprints; it was a string of words -I'm back!
In the brightly lit hall, all the servants were summoned.
"Did anyone come today?" William sat in the center of the sofa, his face grim.
"No, sir, we've been here all day," the servants replied in unison, shaking their heads.
"Has anything out of the ordinary happened at all?"
"Nothing, everything's been normal."
William coldly dismissed them with, "Alright, you can all go."
The family of four sat in the living room.
Trembling, Kathy picked up a glass of water and took a sip. "The doghouse used to be Hazel's room. Could it be…?"
"Mom, why are you bringing up that name?" Chloe interrupted sharply.
As soon as Hazel's name was mentioned, Chloe's fear seemed to vanish, replaced only by annoyance. "It's been four years; she should've died in the slums long ago."
"And what if she's back?" William scoffed. "She's always been a coward, only capable of petty tricks."
In William's memory, Hazel had always been submissive and tearful, always kneeling in fear whenever he got angry.