Chapter 376
Joseph's eyes were dark and foreboding as he pressed the barrel of his gun against Audrey's forehead. "I'm not in the mood for idle chatter. Out with it. Who's the puppeteer behind this charade?" His voice was as cold as ice. "One... two..."
Audrey crumbled under the pressure, her voice barely a whisper. "It was Miss Theresa," she confessed, her body collapsing onto the cold floor. "Miss Theresa supplied me with the drugs. She instructed me to lace her corn chowder with them. She assured me it wouldn't be lethal, but any injuries would fester, the flesh decaying down to the bone."
A gasp escaped Walter's lips as he absorbed the sheer cruelty of the Hernandez women. His gaze instinctively sought out Cassie, only to find her smiling, a chilling sight. "So, can you see the bone where I'm injured?" she asked, her voice laced with a bitter humor.
Audrey recoiled at the sight of Cassie's disfigured face, unable to bring herself to look again.
"Get lost," Joseph commanded, delivering a swift kick to Audrey's chest before striding towards the grand hall.
As Walter watched Joseph's retreating figure, he could sense an impending storm brewing.
He clenched his teeth and knelt before Cassie, his voice desperate. "Miss Brooks, I implore you to intervene. Today, Joseph cornered the Hernandez mansion to save you, inciting the wrath of old man Hernandez. If anything happens to Celeste, the Hernandezs won't show him mercy. If they align with other New York elites against him, Joseph's downfall is inevitable."
Cassie was taken aback.
Joseph had besieged the Hernandez estate for her sake?
She hadn't anticipated him going to such lengths, waging war against the entire Hernandez clan for her.
But... so what?
She was the one who had been forced into this mess; she was the victim. Why should she concern herself with his predicament?
"What do I care if he's finished?" Cassie retorted, her eyes brimming with resentment. "What did I do to deserve being vilified as the other woman, to be degraded—and now even my face is marred. If not for Joseph, I wouldn't be in this predicament."
Joe interjected, his voice laced with desperation. "But if something happens to the second daughter, and Joseph is ruined, the Hernandezs won't spare you either. Not you, your friends, or your company."
Cassie gritted her teeth in frustration.
She despised Celeste, yet here she was, being asked to intercede on her behalf. The irony was not lost on her.
But what other choice did she have? She had chosen this path, and she had no one else to blame but herself.
Walter, sensing her internal struggle, quickly added, "Miss Brooks, revenge is a dish best served cold, and now isn't the time when you're on the ropes. You and Joseph are in the same boat.”
"Alright, I'll go," Cassie finally conceded.
Within the closed confines of the grand hall, Joseph made his entrance.
Mabel spat out her words with a bitter taste. “So you've rescued Cassie, haven't you? Now get out and never return to this estate. The Hernandez family doesn’t need an ingrate like you; I should pretend I never gave birth to you.”
Joseph paid her no mind, his gaze icy as it swept over everyone in the room, finally resting on Celeste who was cowering at the back.
Feeling his malevolent stare, Celeste instinctively turned to flee.
“Celeste, move and see what happens,” Joseph warned, aiming his gun at her retreating figure.
Startled, her knees gave way and she quickly sought refuge behind Grandma.
“Joseph, have you lost your mind?” Mildred's voice was filled with disbelief and sorrow. “Are you having one of your episodes again, daring to point a gun at your own aunt?”
“Cousin, are you sick in the head? My mom didn’t do anything to you,” Juliette interjected, her anger palpable.
“Why don’t you ask her what she’s done,” Joseph retorted, taking deliberate steps toward Celeste. “Tell me why you had Audrey drug Cassie’s meal to ruin her face completely.”
The room fell into a stunned silence, broken only by Liam's dazed murmur, “Impossible.”
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