Avril couldn\u2019t help but mutter, \u201cWhat a bunch of fools.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paxton\u2019s face tightened. \u201cLeopold, you were in a coma. How could you possibly know all this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard it with my own ears, Dad!\u201d Leopold insisted. \u201cI don\u2019t know how, but even though I couldn\u2019t move, my mind was clear. I heard everything that evil woman did while she was \u2018caring\u2018 for me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It dawned on Vivica. She looked at Larissa. \u201cThat silver needle\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa\u2019s lips curved into a cold smile. \u201cThat\u2019s right. I woke Leopold up a long time ago. Just his mind, not his body.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words struck Honora like a bolt of lightning, and she began to tremble uncontrollably. It can\u2019t be\u2026 Leopold has been aware this whole time?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finley finally understood what Larissa meant when she said he would regret giving the cure to Honora. And he did. He regretted it deeply. He had given the only cure to a manipulative monster who had played his entire family for fools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Vivica had felt any lingering affection for Honora before, it was now completely incinerated by rage. She loved her adopted daughter, yes, but no one came before her sons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without a shred of doubt in her son\u2019s words, Vivica shot to her feet, marched over to the kneeling Honora, and kicked her squarely in the chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou little stray! How dare you do this to my son! You deserve to be skinned alive! We took you in, raised you, and this is how you repay us?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The kick was delivered with all her strength. Honora, frail to begin with, crumpled to the floor in a pathetic heap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa watched, not with satisfaction, but with a sense of bitter amusement. She was glad she had never tried to compete with Honora for this family\u2019s affection. One wrong move, and she could have ended up just like her\u2013cherished one moment, discarded the next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora\u2019s insides screamed in agony. She clutched her chest and looked up at Leopold, her eyes filled with tears. \u201cLeopold, you said you were conscious\u2026 but couldn\u2019t it have been a hallucination\u2026?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA hallucination?\u201d Leopold\u2019s eyes burned with hatred. \u201cYou vicious woman, are you trying to frame my sister again? I am certain it wasn\u2019t a hallucination!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLeopold,\u201d Honora pleaded pitifully, \u201cwe grew up together. You know who I am. How could I ever hurt you\u2026?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She then turned to Larissa, her expression defiant. \u201cThis is another one of your tricks to drive us apart, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa laughed coldly. \u201cDrive you apart? You\u2019re not worth the effort.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou little stray! Still trying to frame my daughter at a time like this? You\u2019re asking for death!\u201d To prove his loyalty to Larissa, Paxton ignored the pain in his side, strode over to Honora, grabbed a handful of her hair, and slammed her head against the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:29\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crack echoed through the silent room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAaargh!\u201d Honora screamed in pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone except Larissa and Haskell flinched at the sudden violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kiernan watched from the sidelines, his face impassive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paxton yanked Honora\u2019s head up by her hair, forcing her to look at Larissa. \u201cHow dare you plot so\u00a0<\/p>\n
much behind my back!\u201d he roared. \u201cDid you really think I was a fool? Using my money to support your deadbeat father and hire assassins to kill my daughter! Now, you will get on your knees and beg her for forgiveness!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, please listen to me\u2026\u201d Honora whimpered, clutching her bleeding forehead as she shook her head frantically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up! Don\u2019t call me Dad! I am not your father!\u201d Paxton roared. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for you, I would have never turned against my own daughter!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Avril winced. \u201cGod, that was a fast switch\u2013up. It\u2019s actually terrifying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Honora brought it on herself,\u201d one of her friends whispered back. \u201cShe was just an adopted daughter, but she wanted it all. She didn\u2019t want to marry the disabled Mr. Palmer, but she also wanted to keep living the high life with the Judsons.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. She enjoyed twenty years of luxury for free and still wasn\u2019t satisfied. She not only schemed against the real heiress but also went after Leopold. Calling her an ungrateful brat is an understatement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, she deserves whatever she gets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paxton continued to slam Honora\u2019s head against the floor while looking up at Larissa. \u201cLarissa, Dad is getting justice for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa\u2019s lips curved into a chilling smile. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Desperate to win her forgiveness, Paxton\u2019s resolve hardened. He dragged Honora up and slammed her head down again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once, twice, three times\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blood streamed down Honora\u2019s forehead, her pleas and screams growing weaker with each impact. Finley stepped forward and grabbed his father\u2019s arm. \u201cDad, stop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 371 Avril couldn\u2019t help but mutter, \u201cWhat a bunch of fools.\u201d\u00a0 Paxton\u2019s face […]<\/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-30893","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\/30893","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=30893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}