Sapphira grows increasingly anxious as Larissa fails to answer her calls late into the night. Her worry turns to dread at the thought that something might have happened to her daughter, and she demands to speak with Vivica immediately. When Sapphira and Neville arrive at the west wing villa, they encounter Vivica, Paxton, Leopold, and Honora, who are on their way to the ancestral hall to formally disown Larissa. Vivica greets them coldly, mocking the situation and inviting them to join.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sapphira confronts Vivica about visiting Larissa earlier and questions what was said or done, as Larissa has now gone missing. Vivica denies any wrongdoing and accuses Sapphira of implying she had a hand in Larissa\u2019s disappearance. Honora watches the tension with cruel delight, while Leopold dismisses Larissa\u2019s absence as her avoiding the disownment papers out of regret. Vivica taunts Neville and Sapphira, suggesting Larissa prefers her as a mother and that she and Paxton would not accept Larissa anyway.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The conflict escalates as Sapphira warns Vivica that she will hold her responsible if anything happens to Larissa. Vivica responds defiantly, insulting Sapphira and refusing to back down. Neville tries to calm the situation by telling Paxton to control his wife, but Paxton sides with Vivica, mocking Neville\u2019s childlessness. Sapphira remains focused solely on Larissa\u2019s safety, threatening consequences if harm comes to her daughter. Vivica sneers at the threat, claiming that if Larissa suffered, it would be her own fault and not hers to bear.<\/p>\n
Chapter 48<\/p>\n
Sapphira\u2019s worry gnawed at her as she glanced at the clock. \u201cIt\u2019s so late,\u201d she murmured, anxiety thick in her voice. \u201cIf Larissa were alright, she would have called by now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her fingers trembled slightly as she dialed Larissa\u2019s number once more, hoping for an answer. The call went unanswered again. \u201cStill no response,\u201d she said, her heart sinking deeper. \u201cSomething must have gone wrong. I need to speak with Vivica immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thought of anything happening to Larissa filled her with dread. If harm came to her daughter, Sapphira knew she would never forgive Vivica.<\/p>\n
When Sapphira and Neville reached the west wing villa, they almost collided with Vivica, Paxton, Leopold, and Honora, who were just stepping out. Vivica\u2019s lips curled into a mocking sneer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeville, Sapphira,\u201d she greeted coldly. \u201cWhat a surprise to see you here. Perfect timing, actually. We were just on our way to the ancestral hall to formally disown Larissa. Care to join us?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sapphira\u2019s eyes flashed with suspicion. \u201cVivica, did you visit Larissa this afternoon?\u201d she demanded, her voice edged with accusation.<\/p>\n
Caught off guard by the hostility, Vivica replied smoothly, \u201cYes, I did. What\u2019s your point? I was merely giving her a chance to acknowledge us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLarissa is missing,\u201d Sapphira said, her voice trembling with urgency. \u201cShe\u2019s not answering her phone. What exactly did you say to her? What did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivica\u2019s annoyance flared. \u201cWhat are you suggesting, Sapphira? That I had something to do with her disappearance? Are you really accusing me of kidnapping her?\u201d<\/p>\n
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Honora\u2019s face behind them, her eyes gleaming with cruel delight.<\/p>\n
Still not back at the Judson estate? It seems Finley gave that country girl a lesson she won\u2019t forget, she thought, smirking to herself.<\/p>\n
Leopold\u2019s tone was thick with disdain. \u201cAunt Sapphira, Larissa isn\u2019t missing. She\u2019s probably regretting her decision and trying to avoid signing those disownment papers. Ha! She was so confident yesterday. Looks like she\u2019s already having second thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivica chuckled darkly. \u201cNeville, Sapphira, it appears Larissa would rather accept us as her true parents than you. What a shame to see all your sincerity wasted, only to be betrayed. But don\u2019t worry, Paxton and I wouldn\u2019t accept a daughter like her anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she enjoyed the tension, Honora was eager to see the disownment finalized. That Larissa\u2026 she wouldn\u2019t really back out now, would she?<\/p>\n
Sapphira\u2019s expression hardened. \u201cVivica, I\u2019m serious. Larissa is my daughter now. If anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of backing down, Vivica\u2019s defiance only grew stronger. \u201cWho\u2019s scared of whom? You\u2019re just a barren old woman trying to steal someone else\u2019s daughter. How dare you come to my doorstep and lecture me!\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville\u2019s face darkened at Vivica\u2019s harsh words, his voice cold and sharp. \u201cPaxton, control your wife. Tell her to watch her tongue.\u201d<\/p>\n
But after everything with Larissa, Paxton no longer cared about keeping peace with his older brother. \u201cBro, Vivica isn\u2019t wrong. You don\u2019t have children. If it\u2019s not Sapphira\u2019s fault, then whose is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sapphira\u2019s sole concern was Larissa\u2019s safety; her own reputation was irrelevant. \u201cIf Larissa is harmed, none of you will escape unscathed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivica sneered, refusing to yield. \u201cAre you threatening us? Playing the devoted mother so well, aren\u2019t you? If something happened to her, she brought it on herself. It\u2019s nothing to do with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 48 Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 48 Summary Sapphira grows increasingly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}