Chapter 457/Stolen Innocence of Twenty-Three Years

Chapter 457

Violet’s POV

Thomas’s eyes locked onto mine, completely blown wide with overwhelming shock. His voice cracked, trembling as he forced the words out. "My... child?!"

My lips curved into a sharp, venomous smile. "Oh... Thomas," I replied, my voice dripping with icy mockery. "If I had ever carried a child of yours, I would have ripped it out and killed it with my own bare hands!"

Morgan unleashed a raw, guttural roar, his rage eating him alive. "Do you think this is a joke?! Is this really a time for your sick humor?!"

I tilted my head, my expression unreadable and bone-chillingly cold. "And why shouldn’t it be?"

Thomas shifted his frantic gaze toward Steve, who was standing right beside Julie. He looked back at me, pure suspicion clouding his face. "Is... is this boy your son too?"

"Mmm..." I hummed with a cruel, taunting edge. "You didn’t know about him either, did you?"

Morgan’s blood boiled to a fever pitch. He whipped around to glare at Thomas before snapping his eyes back to me, the veins on his neck bulging. "Did he know?!"

"Of course he knew!" I affirmed smoothly, laying it out with absolute simplicity.

In a fraction of a second, Morgan lunged at Thomas like a ravenous beast. His heavy fist clamped around Thomas’s crisp collar, yanking him off his feet as he snarled violently into his face. "You hid my own daughter from me all these fucking years, you bastard?!"

Before the chaos could escalate any further, the heavy front door swung open. Frank stepped through the threshold, his iron grip secured around Mirdreth’s arm. Her entire face was wrapped tight in stark white bandages from her recent facial surgery, leaving only her wild, bloodshot eyes exposed.

I laced my fingers together, sitting up with regal arrogance. "Mind your manners, gentlemen... Our special guest has finally arrived."

The men froze, their breathing heavy as they stared at the bandaged figure in sheer astonishment. The moment her eyes landed on me, a wave of pure hysteria overtook her. She tried to throw herself at me, but Frank’s brutal grip held her anchored in place.

"You fucking whore!..." she shrieked, her voice raspy and broken behind the cloth. "You killed my husband!"

I cast a gaze of hateful pity over her ruined form. "Your goddamn husband got precisely what he deserved, my dear Mirdreth."

Turning my head slightly, I looked at Steve and Julie, who were watching the entire nightmare unfold with hitched breaths. I issued a quiet, unyielding command. "Steve... Julie. Go upstairs. There are other matters we need to settle privately."

Julie slammed her foot against the floor, her chest heaving as she revolted. "I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying right here until I see where this sick circus ends!"

"There is nothing left here that concerns you or your brother," I stated, my tone cutting through the air like tempered steel, leaving zero room for argument. "Upstairs. Now."

She spun around, her chin held high in defiant stubbornness. "I’m going to Robert!"

Morgan’s head snapped toward her, an aggressive instinct flaring up instantly. "What the hell do you mean you’re going to Robert?!"

She met his fierce glare with pure ice. "None of your damn business!"

I softened my gaze just enough to slip a subtle plea beneath my words. "Julie... please, go upstairs."

Steve stepped forward with calm composure. He reached out, his hand gently wrapping around Julie’s forearm, nudging her toward the staircase. "Julie, please... no more trouble. Let’s just go."

I tracked their retreating figures until they vanished into the upper hallway. Only when the floorboards above went silent did I move. Smoothing my skirt with deliberate grace, I sank into the plush leather sofa, crossing one leg over the other.

"Now..." I murmured, leaning back with supreme elegance. "It’s time for my foolish sister to realize I was never as naive as she believed."

Morgan took a heavy, aggressive step toward me, his chest heaving. "I want my daughter!"

I held up a single index finger, cutting him off mid-breath. "You will keep your mouth shut, Morgan... and you will listen."

Mirdreth spat her words through the bandages, her voice laced with venom. "You’re a poisonous viper!"

A faint smile touched my lips at the insult. "Do you remember the day you were raped, my dear sister?..." I asked, my voice dropping into a deadly, hypnotic calm. "The day you sent me in your place so the exact same thing would happen to me?"

Morgan’s entire posture locked up tight. His pupils dilated in sudden, horrific realization. "What?!"

I kept my eyes fixed on Mirdreth’s pale, trembling form. "And because my sister is utterly brainless... she assumed I had no idea about the trap she had set for me."

Mirdreth’s voice dropped to a terrified whisper, the confidence completely draining out of her. "Did... did you know?"

I gave a slow, delicious nod, savoring the horror on her face. "Of course I knew! I went there to take your place the very next day entirely of my own free will. And when that pathetic excuse for a boss saw me, he leaned in close and whispered in my ear: ’Did you enjoy what I did to you yesterday?’... So I just nodded softly and went back to work."

A suffocating shock paralyzed the room. Thomas’s voice trembled as he struggled to process the sheer madness of it. "Why... why didn’t you run?!"

I lifted my eyes to him, cold and unbothered. "Because even though my own sister threw me to the wolves... I was fully intending to kill that bastard with my own hands."

Mirdreth let out a terrified gasp, shrinking back. "You’re fucking insane!"

I ignored her completely, continuing the story with smooth, measured pacing. "I had never taken a human life before... but I had absolutely no issue with him being the very first corpse I left behind. Just as I was preparing to lock up the restaurant and put a bullet in his head... something completely unexpected happened."

The air in the room grew thin as everyone held their breath.

"Morgan and Thomas walked into the restaurant," I continued, my voice carrying a dark, intoxicating charm. "And I thoroughly enjoyed the hunger burning in their eyes as they looked at me. They were devouring me with their glances. Right then, I caught a glimpse of the heavy iron concealed beneath their coats, and I whispered to myself: ’Perhaps I should alter my plans entirely.’"

Morgan stood frozen, the color completely drained from his face. "Are you saying..."

I cut him off with a frigid smile, giving a faint nod. "Yes... I used your presence so you two would do my dirty work for me! That’s why I walked into his office and let things play out exactly as they were meant to. You two stormed in, you blew that disgusting man away, and I played the fragile little girl crying, fainting, and acting terrified."

Thomas took a step back, staring at me in utter disbelief. "It was all an act?!"

"Yes," I affirmed with chilling certainty. "And when we went to that hotel afterward, I wasn’t unconscious like you both thought. I heard every single word of the conversation between you and Morgan."

Thomas gasped for air, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "Did you... did you know I was married?!"

"Of course I knew," I replied simply.

Morgan released a low, menacing growl, glaring at me as if I were a monster from a nightmare. "You’re a complete psychopath!"

I tilted my head, looking at him with absolute composure. "And yet... you fell in love with this psychopath."

"I never fucking loved you!" he denied fiercely, his jaw clenching hard.

My smile widened, my tone dripping with quiet irony. "Don’t lie to yourself, Morgan."

From behind her bloodied bandages, Mirdreth let out a ragged, broken sob. "You aren’t human!"

I shrugged my shoulders, utterly unbothered. "Perhaps."

Thomas took a hesitating step toward me, a mixture of heartbreak and raw obsession burning in his eyes. "You knew I was married... then why did you leave me when Elizabeth found out about us?"

I looked at him with sheer contempt. "Did you honestly think I ever loved you, Thomas?"

His breath hitched, a painful crack breaking his voice. "Didn’t you?!"

My eyes delivered the answer long before my lips spoke. "No... never."

He swallowed hard, his posture slumping. "Then why were you with me?!"

"Because I saw how desperate you were for me," I answered, my words slicing through him like a blade. "And at that point in my life, I needed someone with deep pockets."

His face flushed with deep humiliation. "But I loved you! I always chose you, Violet!" he rasped out, his voice breaking.

Morgan cut in with a bitter, venomous laugh, staring down at me with raw disgust. "You’re incapable of loving anyone but your damn self!"

I offered him a soft, intoxicating smile that pushed every single one of his buttons. "I loved you once, Morgan."

Morgan went completely rigid, his muscles locking up tight at the unexpected declaration. Then, a roar of pure denial burst from his throat. "Liar!... You cheated on me with Thomas!"

I leaned back against the plush leather cushions, completely at ease. "Since twenty-three years have passed... I suppose I’ll tell you what actually happened that night."

He flicked his wrist dismissively, his tension spiking. "I don’t want to hear a damn thing!"

"You will listen!..." I commanded, my voice dropping into an authoritative tone that demanded absolute silence. "That day, Thomas kidnapped me. He drugged my drink and staged the entire scene to make you believe I had slept with him."

Morgan’s eyes blew wide in sudden horror. He whipped his head around toward Thomas, looking at him like a man possessed. "What?!"

I extended my index finger, pointing straight at the broken man standing before us. "Tell him, Thomas... tell him how you orchestrated the whole thing."

Thomas dropped his head, completely defeated. Shame washed over his weathered features as his voice trembled, confessing to the crime.

"Yes... I did it all. Because I loved her... because I couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving me, and I couldn’t stomach the idea of you ever touching her again!"