Chapter 4

Isabella quickly lowered her head, looking as flustered as a startled deer, as if she would immediately hide at the slightest movement in the forest.

"Mr. Brown, I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

William said nothing. In the dim light of the car, he took his time studying Isabella carefully for the first time.

Isabella had a classic oval face, delicate arched eyebrows, bright eyes, and white teeth, with wavy hair casually draped over her shoulders. With features like these, she was no less attractive than those wealthy daughters.

However, because she had been slapped several times, Isabella's face was red and swollen, squeezing her originally round and pretty eyes until they were barely visible, making her look somewhat comical.

William suddenly remembered that day when he had called that employee named Lily into his office to learn about Isabella's general situation.

Lily hadn't said many good things about Isabella, practically mocking her with every sentence, even hinting in a few remarks that Isabella had hooked up with an old man—otherwise, how could Isabella have so many kiss marks on her?

William narrowed his eyes slightly as the wild night of sex replayed in his mind.

Was he the old man Lily was talking about?

In the silence, Isabella could clearly feel William's gaze examining her. His stare felt like a boulder pressing on her shoulders, making it hard for her to breathe.

She shouldn't have done anything to offend William, right? Why was William looking at her like this?

Under extreme pressure, Isabella couldn't help but carefully speak up.

"Mr. Brown, I wonder if you called me up here because you have something important to tell me?"

The corner of William's eye glanced at her sideways as he casually played with the ring on his index finger.

"Where do you live?"

The sudden question caught Isabella off guard.

So William was planning to have the driver take her home?

William usually looked extremely serious at the Brown Group, like some kind of man-eating monster, but looking at him now, he seemed somewhat more human.

Isabella didn't refuse, showing a pleasing smile on her face.

"28 Willow Street. Thank you, Mr. Brown, for being willing to take me home. I'll remember Mr. Brown's kindness for the rest of my life!"

William looked away, gazing indifferently out the window.

A drizzle had started outside, hitting the car window and slowly sliding down, adding a touch of haziness to the night scene.

"You don't need to remember my kindness. In the future, just focus on working for the Brown Group, and the Brown Group naturally won't treat you unfairly."

Hearing this, Isabella completely relaxed and also turned to look out the window.

The car was completely silent, with the heater blowing warmly. Isabella gradually let down her guard and grew drowsy.

The road to Willow Street was a bit rough, and the car swayed considerably. Isabella's body tilted, and she fell onto William, her swollen cheek resting against his broad shoulder.

The driver saw this scene through the rearview mirror and broke out in a cold sweat.

She was really bold.

In the past, whenever any woman dared to touch William, whether intentionally or not, William would definitely fly into a rage.

Next, she would have a hard time—maybe William would throw her out of the car directly.

But after another stretch of silence, not only did William not get angry, he even extended his slender fingers and poked Isabella's smooth forehead with obvious disgust and disdain.

His force wasn't light, but Isabella just groaned softly. Her head moved back a bit, but then she found another comfortable position to lean against him.

The driver clearly saw William's face gradually darken, his patience completely exhausted.

But the anger from William that the driver expected never came.

William just picked up his tablet and lowered his head to review project materials, while Isabella's soft breathing spread throughout the car.

The rain outside grew heavier, but inside the car was unusually quiet.

The driver couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise.

Was he seeing things?

Was this still the cold and distant William?

After some time, Isabella felt someone gently pat her shoulder.

She opened her eyes and clearly felt a chill rushing in from outside the car, making her shiver.

Turning her head, she saw the driver looking at her with a smile.

"Miss, we've arrived at your place. It's raining so hard outside, please take this umbrella."

The driver handed her a black umbrella.

Isabella nodded groggily and was about to get out of the car when she suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the seat beside her.

It was already empty.

"Where's Mr. Brown? Has he already gotten out?"

The driver smiled.

"Mr. Brown had some business to handle at the Brown Group midway, so I made a special detour to bring you back."

Isabella couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

William had already reached the position of CEO, yet he still worked so hard. No wonder the industry had a term for William—workaholic.

Although this term didn't quite fit William, all the employees at the Brown Group knew that the Brown Group had previously faced a crisis, and it was William who single-handedly pulled the entire Brown Group back from the brink of bankruptcy.

Isabella opened the black umbrella and got out of the car. After thanking the driver, she went upstairs.

The place she rented was a 430-square-foot studio apartment. Though small, it had all the necessary furniture. Although the surrounding environment wasn't great, she was already very satisfied.

After her mother fell seriously ill, there was a period when she couldn't even come up with five hundred dollars, let alone rent a place to live. She could only sleep on the family bed at the hospital every day.

Later, she finally saved up some money and rented this place.

Now that she had the money for her mother's medical expenses, as long as she kept persisting, the difficult times would eventually pass.

After Isabella entered the door and put down her bag, she walked straight to the sofa, collapsed onto it, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time, at the top of the Brown Group building, standing in the busy district, William held a glass of red wine, gently swirling it. The huge floor-to-ceiling window reflected his cold face.

The next second, his secretary, Chase, hurried in.

"Mr. Brown, we've investigated clearly. That night, Isabella indeed entered your room by accident. Originally, she was forced by her father to sell her eggs."

William's cold eyes narrowed slightly. He tilted his head back and took a light sip of red wine, the powerful aura emanating from him impossible to ignore.

"Have you found out about the drugging?"

Chase shook his head.

"The person who drugged you that night was a server at the hotel, but now their whereabouts are unknown."

William snorted softly, then drained the red wine in one gulp, his eyes gradually darkening.

The glass suddenly cracked under his grip.

"Keep investigating. No matter who it is, they must be found!"

The next morning, Isabella went to the Brown Group as usual.

At eight o'clock in the morning, William was organizing a meeting to discuss several recent projects at the Brown Group. Isabella arrived at the conference room five minutes early.

Isabella was about to take out the proposal she had prepared yesterday. She hadn't had time to review it yet when the proposal was suddenly snatched away by a hand.