"Awoooo—!" The furious howl tore through the air behind her, echoing across the forest. Ashley’s grip tightened on the wheel as she glanced at the rearview mirror, only to find the wolves gone, swallowed by the thick cloud of dust trailing in her path.
But she didn’t dare relax. The silence felt too fragile, too deceptive, and she kept her guard high as the road stretched endlessly before her.
...
When Ashley finally reached the place where Maddison claid her mother was being held, her breath caught, the sight before her cutting deeper than she expected. It was her own lakeside villa, the ho that was ant to be her marital ho with Nathan.
A bitter irony settled in her chest; after everything, after all the distance she had run across his territory, she had been led back to where it all began. But she couldn’t bring herself to laugh right now; only a dull, tightening ache spread in her heart.
This ti, she didn’t slip in through the back. She walked straight to the front, her steps steady despite the storm within. And it seems like the earlier chaos at the granary had clearly reached Nathan; his car was gone from the garage.
Whether he had left or simply chosen not to be here, it no longer mattered. Maddison had brought her mother into this place, and that alone was enough proof. If there had been any doubt before, it was gone now. Nathan and Maddison were working together, and this... this was just another move in the cruel ga against her.
With her resolve hardened, Ashley walked straight into the villa. To her surprise, Nathan hadn’t even changed the door code; she slipped inside without pause. And there, waiting as if she had never moved at all, was Maddison.
Reclined on the sofa, she sipped her juice leisurely, her gaze fixed on Ashley with unsettling patience, as though she had known all along that Ashley would co.
"Well, I’m glad you ca back..." Maddison smiled widely and slowly as she savored the changing expression on Ashley’s face.
A chill crept beneath Ashley’s skin. There was sothing wrong with that smile, like a serpent watching its prey.
And it felt like one careless mont, one lapse in vigilance, and it would strike. Ashley didn’t look away. She held Maddison’s gaze, refusing to give her even the slightest opening.
"Where’s my mother?" Ashley’s voice ca out hoarse and a little tense.
"What’s the rush?" Maddison replied lightly, leaning back into the softness of the sofa. She crossed one leg over the other, fingers loosely intertwined over her knee, watching Ashley with a quiet, almost indulgent amusent.
"Maddison... what are you playing at?" Ashley pressed, though the steadiness she fought to hold slipped at the edges. Her voice trembled despite herself, the weight of Maddison’s calm unsettling her more than any threat. Beneath it, a slow dread unfurled in her chest, tightening with every passing second.
As Ashley studied Maddison’s microexpressions, the slight curl of her lips, the cold gleam in her eyes thick with contempt and quiet venom, she realized just how much she had changed in the span of a single month.
Gone was the frail, hollow girl who once looked as though a passing wind might break her. In her place sat soone entirely transford. Maddison’s skin now held a soft, healthy flush, her once-thin fra filled out with strength that lent her an effortless beauty.
Her long brown hair had been cut to her shoulders, the damaged ends gone, leaving it sleek and glossy. She looked... refined. Almost unrecognizable.
And yet, those eyes remained the sa. Without them, Ashley might not have known her at all. Even her mannerisms had evolved; the subtle grace in her movents spoke of discipline, of etiquette carefully learned and mastered. She carried herself like soone who belonged on a throne—composed, elevated, untouchable.
And Ashley... standing there in contrast, disheveled and worn, felt the difference all too clearly.
Her gaze then fell to the necklace resting lightly against Maddison’s throat, and her breath caught. It was the healing artifact Blake had once searched for so relentlessly, the one he bought for fifty million as her coming-of-age gift.
It was supposed to be ant as a promise. A symbol. A piece ant to guard her life. Now, it lay on Maddison as though it had always belonged there.
But Ashley rembered. Eight years ago, when she had saved Blake from a rogue attack, he had sworn to give it to her, not just as protection, but as proof of his brotherly love.
And yet, sowhere along the way, that promise had been erased, along with everything she once believed she held in his heart. She had told herself she had accepted it, that she was never truly his sister, not by blood, not by right.
But seeing this... it still hurts.
As if sensing Ashley’s gaze, Maddison’s fingers drifted to the pendant at her throat. She traced it idly, then smiled, sharp and mocking. Without warning, she tore it free and let it fall, and then her heel ca down hard. The gem shattered beneath her Alpha strength, splintering into lifeless fragnts across the floor.
Ashley’s face drained of color.
Maddison’s smile only widened. "Oops... my hand slipped," she said lightly, the gloating in her voice laid bare, unapologetic. She tilted her head, feigning indifference as she glanced at the broken pieces. "Oh well. If it’s ruined, then it’s ruined. Big brother said he can always get another." Each word pressed in like a blade, deliberate and cruel.
"I didn’t co for this. Where’s my mother?!" Ashley forced out through clenched teeth. Her voice held, but beneath the surface, the hurt was already bleeding through, no matter how hard she tried to contain it.
Maddison let out a soft chuckle at the strain beneath Ashley’s composure, then lifted her hands and clapped once—a simple signal.
At once, several warriors stepped forward while dragging a woman between them by her arms. She could not even stand; her legs trailed uselessly along the floor, her head hanging limp so her face remained hidden. Blood stained her clothes, dark and heavy, and the sight alone spoke of suffering too cruel to imagine.
Before Ashley could fully grasp what she was seeing, Maddison rose and approached them with unhurried ease. She reached down, seized a fistful of the woman’s hair, and yanked her head up.
Ashley’s breath hitched, then broke into a gasp.
Ashley surged forward, desperate to shove Maddison away, but before she could take more than a step, two warriors appeared behind her. She hadn’t even sensed them. Hands clamped down on her arms, iron-tight, and a brutal kick to the back of her knees forced her down.
Her body buckled, and the sharp crack of her knees striking the floor echoed through the room. To Maddison, it sounded almost like music.
"Let go of my mother... please!" Ashley’s voice broke as she pleaded, the last of her restraint unraveling. She saw the hatred and madness swirling in Maddison’s eyes.
And in that mont, fear took root deep in her chest. She didn’t know what Maddison would do next... and all she could do was beg.
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