16
“Dig out her eyes! Cure Sister Diane! Avenge Wendell!”
“Traitors to the Weber Family must be executed on the spot! We won’t let scum like her endanger us again!“}
“Brothers, kill her!“$
My expression turned to stone.
All those years I’d devoted to the Weber Family were thrown away like trash. The rage within me churned like molten lava, threatening to erupt.
A young man from the Weber Family lunged toward me, fists flying toward my face. I struck back immediately–my punch cracked across his jaw, dropping him like dead weight. Without hesitation, I straddled him and clamped a hand around his neck.
He thrashed under me, foaming with hate. And then I saw his face. Familiar.
The boy I once saved.§
Now twisted with loathing, he spat at me through clenched teeth. “You evil woman! I’ll rip out your eyes and give them to Sister Diane! She’s the real mistress of the Weber Family! I’ll kill you!”
Ridiculous.
He worshipped Diane as if she were some saint. This, despite the fact she sold off Weber Family assets to enrich her own family. What spell had she cast on them to earn such blind loyalty?
And what about me?”
I helped build Andrew’s empire from nothing. Every step he took upward was paved with my sacrifice. And now they repaid me like this?”
Enough.
I slammed my fist into the boy’s stomach. He groaned and passed out from the pain.
Before I could rise, another man came from behind, a short–handled bayonet raised to strike. My reflexes–honed in the asylum’s brutal training–kicked in. I dropped to the ground, rolled aside, and struck his calf with my baton. He crumpled, howling in agony.
I kicked his weapon away, grabbed my second baton, and slammed it into the back of his neck.
He collapsed.
I bent down, pulled his hair back–and paused.§
Another familiar face.§
He had once been exiled from the Weber Family for causing trouble. I was the one who spoke up for him, the one who helped him return, the one who paid for his sick mother’s medicine.}
And now he called me a traitor before falling unconscious, even spitting at me as he did.
I stood and dusted off my hands. Raised my head, eyes sharp, voice cold.
“Next”
The crowd faltered. They were beginning to hesitate.
From the sidelines, Marco watched me mow down one opponent after another, agile and unrelenting. His raised hand–once ready to help–slowly lowered.
Relief flooded his face.
So she hadn’t broken. His sister, his beloved Geneva, hadn’t surrendered after all.
But… when had she stopped needing his protection?
What had she gone through all these years?}
He’d thrown himself into special training five years ago, determined to become strong enough to shield her. He never looked back. Never asked what became of her. And now, the girl he remembered–gentle, quiet, blindly in love–was gone.
In her place stood a weapon.”
He leaned toward his men, “Find out everything Geneva went through over the past five years. Every detail. Report it to me immediately.”
As his subordinates moved, Marco folded his arms, eyes fixed anxiously on his sister’s petite figure in the eye of the storm.
Then, from the crowd, a shadow stepped forward.
Dr. Leander White.
He moved silently through the chaos and took a seat in front of Marco. Though he wore a doctor’s coat, Marco knew better. Leander was more than he appeared–an enigmatic power from the outer city. His influence had long dominated Yancheng, and yet, he’d stayed in Chicago, never revealing his full hand.
Now he sat, eyes locked on the bride drenched in fury and defiance, never looking away for even a second.”
Marco’s heart clenched.
He didn’t like the look in Leander’s eyes.”
More Weber Family members rushed forward, only to be thrown back one after another. Fear finally crept into their expressions.
“When… When did Geneva become like this? Wasn’t she always just a weakling?“}
*She was just a canary! How the hell is she this strong?“%
12:18 PM
Guests who had come to enjoy the drama now stood frozen, unsure whether to cheer or run.
Andrew remained silent at the edge, stunned.
The little girl who used to cry whenever he raised his voice, who clung to him like a lost puppy, was now someone he couldn’t recognize.
He looked down at Diane, still clutching his hand. Ever since she arrived in the Weber Family, things had gone downhill–but he always forgave her. She was his childhood sweetheart, the bright, dazzling girl he chased like a moth to flame.”
Unlike Geneva–quiet, shadow–like, always at his side.§
So he threw Geneva away. Let others mistreat her. Watched her be humiliated.
Now, as he watched her fight like a demon in white, defiance}
