Chapter 24
It had only been a little over a month since Lavender last came home, but everything already felt different. The estate was filled with unfamiliar servants.
A servant blocked her at the door.
“Who are you? Without Ma’am Cyanne’s permission, outsiders aren’t allowed inside.”
Lavender’s unease grew. Something was definitely off.
“I’m the eldest daughter,” she said, her voice cold. “Since when do I need a servant’s approval to enter my own home?”
“Leave!” the servant barked.
But they didn’t move. Instead, several men in black–clearly bodyguards–stepped forward.
“Ma’am Cyanne gave strict orders. No one gets in.”
Beige tugged at Lavender’s arm and whispered, “Avy, something’s really wrong. I already told my brother when I got here. Maybe we should wait for him?”
The more resistance they encountered, the heavier the dread settled in Lavender’s chest.
Her mother’s voice echoed in her mind. “Lavender! Save us!”
She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now… things were clearly worse than she imagined.
“I’m afraid waiting might cost us. Someone inside could already be in danger,” she said grimly.
Beige sighed and raised her hand, signaling the bodyguards behind them.
Red had made sure to assign Lavender a team of trained professionals for protection. Compared to them, the Winslets’s guards didn’t stand a chance–they were taken down in
moments.
Without hesitation, Lavender pushed the door open and ran straight upstairs.
She burst into the master bedroom–and froze.
Both her mother and her father were lying in bed, frail and unmoving. The room stank of decay and neglect. Her father’s eyes were shut tight. Only her mother was awake, barely holding on.
“What happened to you? Where’s Cyanne?” Lavender asked, horrified.
Her parents, once meticulous about cleanliness, now looked like broken shells of themselves.
Tears streamed down Josephine’s face. “Lavender! Cyanne–she’s not human! She tried to
kill us!
“We were wrong. I never thought she could be this kind of person! All these years… I. trusted her blindly!
“Lavender, please! Save us!”
For our Wedding Anniversary, I Gifted Him Divorce Papers
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Beige, standing by the door, didn’t hide her disdain. “Now you come crying to my sister–in–law? Where were you when she needed you? Funny how you suddenly remember your ‘real‘ daughter when you’re desperate. You didn’t care about her before.”
Josephine bit her lip in shame. “L–Lavender… I’m sorry. We were wrong… We wronged you.”
Even now, Lavender didn’t add insult to their injury.
“Save the apologies. Let’s get you both out of here first.
“Beige, help me. Take the right side.”
Though clearly reluctant, Beige nodded and stepped forward.
Just as they were about to lift Josephine, the older woman’s eyes widened in terror. She struggled to speak, her voice a rasp, “L–Lavender… behind you!”
The warning came too late.
A hard blow struck the back of Lavender’s head. In an instant, her vision went dark until
she collapsed.
When she came to, she was tied to a chair.
Desmond sat across from her in a wheelchair, his face twisted with anger that hadn’t been there before.
“Desmond! What are you doing?!” she shouted.
“Avy,” he said quietly, “you promised me. You said we’d be together forever. How could you lie to me?
“You’re marrying Red? He’s the one who crippled me–and you still chose that bastard?!” Lavender trembled as she looked at him. “You betrayed me first, Desmond. If you have any sense left, let me go before Red finds out! This isn’t going to end well for you!”
Desmond only let out a bitter laugh.
“Avy, do you know how much effort it took to trick you into coming here? There’s no way I’m letting you go now!”
