Chapter 370
"So now you know shame, but what good does it do?" Juliette sneered. "You have really ruined Joseph."
"He's usually so composed; how did he end up like this?" Isaac mused. "After all the effort our parents put into him..."
Walter banged the table hard with anger. "You can't stay in Madison any longer. Now, I'll give you two choices: one, I'll give you a plane ticket to leave Madison and never come back—I'll have your Madison citizenship revoked. Two, you stay, but I'll make your life a living hell."
She looked up sharply, momentarily lost.
Leave Madison, no longer be a Madisonian?
When Joseph tormented her to the brink of death, she hadn't thought of escaping. But tonight, learning that Joseph had offended the entire New York elite for her, could her conscience allow her to leave?
"I want to know what will happen to Joseph?" she clenched her fists after a pause. "Will you all save him?"
"That's up to him. If he remains stubborn, then I have no grandson." Walter snorted. "But now, he's tarnished his reputation, broken the legs of nine scions of New York's prominent families, and managed to get the high society to shun him completely. The elite families are pressuring us—the Hernandezes' century-old reputation is in shambles. It'll be a wonder if he survives his life at all."
She looked around at the members of the Hernandez family. Not one face showed worry for Joseph, not even his mother, Mabel.
Suddenly, she felt a twinge of pity for Joseph; no wonder he was so cold and ruthless, having grown up in an environment like this.
"Joseph is your grandson; in the end, is the reputation of the Hernandez family or blood ties more important…"
Cassie reached her breaking point and stood up, her figure ramrod straight: "You are his grandparents, and you," she accused, pointing to the solemn woman before her, "his very own mother. How can you be so heartless? When he brought honor and profits to the Hernandez legacy, you all adored him. But in his darkest hour, instead of helping, you choose to spit on him, to abandon him. Well, now I've really seen the true colors of the Hernandez family."
"How dare you?" Walter thundered, his anger boiling over as he hurled a glass at her head.
This time, no one intervened to shield her.
Pain nearly knocked Cassie unconscious, and blood streamed down her face in a shocking crimson tide.
Clamping her fists tight to maintain alertness and a detached demeanor, her eyes acutely sharp, she challenged them. "Am I wrong, though? Shouldn't a family that aims to grow strong be united and respectful towards one another? Only through solidarity can a family truly thrive in the long run."
The room was momentarily stunned, silent, taken aback either by the ferocity of her injured visage or the piercing truth in her words.
After a pause, Mabel snapped irritably, "Cassie, we let you leave Madison to spare you, but it seems you're throwing our mercy back in our faces."
Cassie afforded her a small, sardonic smile. "Thank you for thinking I still have any dignity to preserve. I've been without it for a long time, and I'm telling you, I'm not leaving."
Liam frowned a glint of worry in his eyes. "Cassie, just go. It will be a living hell. The Hernandez won't let you go; they'll lock you in the cellar, and it's a nightmarish place."
"Oh, don't worry about me. I've survived far worse," Cassie responded coolly, fearlessness etched onto her composed face.
Yet, her resolve only deepened Liam's admiration—and his reluctance to see her choose this path. "Even if you stay, it's meaningless. You'll lose your freedom forever."
"At least I'll still have my conscience." Cassie met his gaze, unwavering.
"Do you even have a conscience?" Celeste sneered derisively.
"The grievances between me and Joseph are beyond your comprehension," Cassie replied, distinctly aloof.
"Walter gestured with a disdainful wave. "Take her away and lock her up."
Pushed by the guards, Cassie was escorted out.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
