Chapter 144

Isabella trembled with rage, her fists clenched tight.

She had pleaded with Bianca countless times, but the girl remained unmoved.

"You just stood there and took her beating?"

Evelyn strode in on stiletto heels, her sharp gaze pinning Bianca in place.

"Evelyn?"

Isabella immediately shielded Bianca, her eyes wary.

Evelyn's lips curved as she looked past Isabella. "If it were me, she'd be leaving on a stretcher."

"You've trained for years. Black belt in taekwondo."

"Why didn't you fight back?"

Isabella whirled around. "Nonsense! If Bianca knew those skills, how could Beatrice—"

She cut herself off mid-sentence.

Bianca's face turned ashen, her lips trembling wordlessly.

"She does." Evelyn's voice held absolute certainty.

That day in the lab, Bianca's reflexes when shoved had betrayed her.

Evelyn had followed with her drink, just in time to catch Beatrice's threats.

When she pressed record, it reminded her of her own past.

Brandon's fists. Vincent's cold indifference.

But she chose to return violence with violence.

Bianca had the ability yet chose to play the sacrificial lamb.

"What does Beatrice have on you?"

Bianca's pupils contracted violently.

A bitter smile twisted her lips. "Those things...would destroy me."

Not just her grandmother's life.

But that unspeakable secret.

The nightmare coiling around her like a venomous serpent.

No one could save her.

This was her fate.