?Chapter 1166:


    After spending a moment ying with it, Brenna handed the cat back to Lorna.


    “Make sure it gets something to eat,” she said.


    Momentster, Brenna’s phone buzzed with a call from the front desk. Reception let her know that Mack had arrived and was asking to see her.


    Brenna told them to send him up.


    Mack soon made his way into Brenna’s office.


    He had gone out of his way to look sharp for the asion.


    “You’ve set yourself up here, Brenna. I couldn’t help but notice the crowd outside—what, about five hundred employees now? Just how much does yourpany pull in every month?” Mack spoke casually, treating Brenna not as a CEO but as the young girl the Barrett family had once taken advantage of.


    Brenna offered no immediate reply. She simply watched as Mack roamed about, inspecting her office at his leisure.<fn7abf> Official source is fin?novel</fn7abf>


    Mack continued, “Word is, you’ve done well for yourself. You’vended some big contracts recently, and I heard your profits are up. You even managed to take some resources from Denis. Clearly, you are skilled. With all this growth, wouldn’t it make…”


    “Sense to bring in someone you know to handle affairs for you?” Brenna’s tone remained even and cool. “We just finished hiring. Every position is filled.”


    Realizing she wasn’t going to make this easy, Mack tried a gentler approach. “You remember I used to be the vice president of the Barrett Group. Why not let me help you out? You gave Isabe a job; surely you can do the same for me. Think back to when you were a child at the Barrett house. Our parents never let you eat enough, but I’d sneak you food. I always looked out for you. You should feel grateful toward me.”


    Mack reminded Brenna of his past kindness toward her.


    Brenna sat quietly for a moment, weighing his words. “So, you really believe you were kind to me before?”


    With a low chuckle, Mack replied, “Absolutely. I wasn’t like Alec or Ruby. They were harsh and used you, but I always tried to protect you.”


    Brenna fixed her gaze on Mack, wondering how he could carry himself with such superiority in front of her. He oozed arrogance, as though he believed she owed him something. It felt as if she were the one asking for his support, not the other way around.


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    “So, am I right about that?” Mack lifted his chin and released a heavy sigh. “You never would have made it in the Barrett family’s household without me. My parents would have drained you dry.”


    After a pause, he asked, “Remember what life was like when you lived with us?” Brenna nodded, recalling each detail. “I do. Alec forced me to keep sketching. Whenever I could note up with a new design, he would refuse to let me eat. If he thought my work was dissatisfactory, he would beat me. He refused to let me attend school, all so I could work and earn him more money. I remember all of it. Ruby never made me design, but that did not mean she was any kinder. When money ran low, she turned me into the family maid. I was the one who cooked, cleaned, and did all the housework.”


    “See, you remember. Out of everyone, I was the only one who never forced you to do anything.” Mack tried to make himself sound like Brenna’s protector.


    Brenna wore a faint smile. “Maybe you did not force me to do anything. But every time your grades slipped and your parents scolded you, you took it out on me. I have not forgotten the way you used to hit me with a hanger until I bled. No matter how much I begged, you did not stop. My tears just made you angrier. Even when your parents saw you hitting me, neither one of them stepped in to help.”


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