Chapter 150: What are you doing?

Chapter 150: 150: What are you doing?

After spending several exhausting minutes finally convincing Alan and Cassian to wait for her at the airport, Nova breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Escorted by Prince, she left the new estate and headed toward his family’s grand mansion to conclude her remaining business.

?As they approached the heavy entrance doors, a sickening sound stopped them dead in their tracks.

Crack!

The sharp, violent snap of a whip was followed immediately by the agonizing, echoing cry of a grown man.

?Prince froze. He exchanged a dark, bewildered glance with Nova before throwing the double doors open. The scene waiting inside was a nightmare he had never anticipated.

?Mrs. Elena stood in the center of the foyer, wielding a heavy leather riding whip. She was beating Mr. Benson mercilessly. The older man knelt on the marble floor, his shirt torn away, his back a gruesome canvas of fresh, bleeding gashes overlapping older, faded scars. His face was soaked in tears and sweat, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he weakly begged for mercy.

?"Dad!" Prince roared, the sheer shock shattering his composure. He sprinted forward, catching his father’s collapsing frame before he could hit the floor.

?Mrs. Elena jumped, completely stunned by Prince’s sudden appearance. The whip slipped from her trembling fingers, clattering loudly against the marble. Fear paralyzed her legs, forcing her to take a clumsy step back. "It... it wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!" she stuttered frantically.

?Prince lifted his gaze. His eyes were bloodshot, swirling with a murderous, unhinged rage. "It wasn’t you? Was it your shadow, then?" he snarled, his voice dropping to a freezing, lethal whisper.

?Cornered, Elena’s panicked eyes darted to Nova, who was watching the scene unfold with absolute, chilling apathy. Elena pointed a shaking finger at her. "It was her! She called me and threatened me! She said she didn’t like how dull her father-in-law was and ordered me to teach him a lesson! I didn’t want to do it, but she swore she would harm my daughter if I refused! I had no choice but to obey her!"

?Nova’s jaw dropped in genuine, speechless amusement.

?Anah materialized beside her, floating with her arms crossed. "Holy mother of audacity! This human just vomited an entire script of lies without a second of hesitation. What a specimen," she commented in sheer disbelief.

?"Honestly, I am actually impressed," Nova murmured softly in her mind. She kept her gaze fixed on Prince, waiting to see his reaction before she made her move.

?Prince let out a low, dark laugh that lacked any trace of humor. He glared at his stepmother, his eyes promising absolute agony. "You don’t even blink when you spin your pathetic lies, do you?" he spat. He looked down, his hands trembling as he noticed the layers of old and new wounds on his father’s broken body. "How long has this been going on?"

?"Trust... trust me, Prince, it... it wasn’t my intention! I... I didn’t—"

?"Mrs. Elena," Nova interrupted, her voice slicing smoothly through the panic. "Are you seriously trying to make me your scapegoat? I haven’t even settled the score regarding those incompetent bastards you sent to assassinate me in the alley, and now you are trying to frame me for this? That hardly seems fair." She stepped gracefully into the room, taking a relaxed seat on a velvet armchair.

?Elena stared at Nova in pure horror, her face draining of all color. "You... you understand English..." she whispered, her knees finally giving out as she collapsed onto the floor. "You can speak English..."

?Nova smiled. She stared at the bloody leather whip resting on the floor. As if answering her silent command, the weapon twitched, launching itself smoothly through the air and directly into Nova’s awaiting grip. She clenched the handle, a freezing, predatory smile curling on her lips.

?"Do not be so surprised," Nova stated calmly, rising to her feet and stalking toward the trembling woman. "Let us settle our personal scores first, before you settle your family debts with Prince. I will keep whipping you until the ambulance arrives."

?"I need to take my father to the hospital right now. I cannot wait for an ambulance," Prince said, his voice thick with suppressed emotion and unshed tears. He looked up at Nova. "I am sorry, my princess. I cannot accompany you back to China today."

?"It is fine. Once father-in-law is stabilized, you can contact me," Nova assured him softly. "Go ahead. I will ensure she is still breathing by the time you return."

?Prince nodded sharply. He carefully scooped his father into his arms and carried him out to his car, speeding off toward the hospital.

?Back inside the grand foyer, Nova stretched the leather whip between her hands, snapping it taut. "Well, it seems I cannot beat you until the ambulance arrives. Lucky you," she murmured, her dark smile widening into something truly sinister. "I suppose I will just have to beat you until I am thoroughly satisfied."

?"You... you cannot touch me!" Mrs. Elena shrieked, scrambling backward. "I am Benson’s lawfully wedded wife! He will be heartbroken if he finds out I was brutalized by some ordinary daughter-in-law! He will absolutely oppose your marriage to Prince if you lay a single finger on me!"

?Nova threw her head back and laughed—a beautiful, terrifying sound. "Mrs. Elena, perhaps you are confused. Father-in-law is a remarkably meek man who submitted to whatever cruel fate you handed him. Otherwise, do you genuinely believe you would have ever possessed the power to beat him so inhumanely?"

?She stepped closer, her shadow falling over the pathetic woman. "Furthermore... if Prince’s biological mother hadn’t died in that tragic car accident, do you think a parasite like you would ever be living in such glorious wealth? Forget about your husband opposing me. You are only alive right now because Prince genuinely believed you loved his father. But he just witnessed exactly how brutally you treat him. Do you truly believe he will let you continue living?"

?Mrs. Elena gasped, all the remaining strength draining from her bones. "No... I... I just wanted him to be more obedient! I didn’t intend to actually harm him!" she sobbed.

?"I do not intend to harm you either," Nova said, raising the whip high above her head. "But you simply must experience a taste of the ’good life’ you have been providing him."

?The leather lashed down with a brutal, sickening crack.

?"Ahhhh! Do not beat me! I am begging you! Please!" Mrs. Elena screamed, writhing on the marble.

?"Oh? Screaming already? We have barely begun, Mrs. Elena. Do try to save your voice," Nova chided coldly. She brought the whip down again, and again, relentlessly tearing through the woman’s expensive clothes and slicing into her skin. The rhythmic sound of the beating echoed mercilessly through the empty mansion.

?Nova did not stop until the heavy front doors creaked open and Liora stepped inside.

?"Mum, I want to move in here for a while, I—" Liora froze mid-sentence. Her designer handbag slipped from her shoulder, hitting the floor with a dull thud as she took in the horrific, bloody state of her mother writhing on the ground. "What are you doing, Sister-in-law?!" she screamed in absolute shock, rushing forward to cradle Mrs. Elena’s barely conscious form. "Mum! Mum, are you alright?!"

?Nova’s smile widened gracefully. She casually tossed the bloodstained whip onto the marble floor, completely unbothered by the chaos she had orchestrated. "I have no words for you, dear sister in law. When Prince returns, the two of you can explain yourselves to him. Goodbye for now."

?Without sparing them another glance, Nova turned on her heel and strode out the front doors. As she passed the estate security, she delivered one final, freezing command: "Do not let either of those women leave this property. Under any circumstances."

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