Chapter 45
Emily thrashed wildly, straining to break free and stand. But the two guards pinned her down like a boulder, squeezing the air from her lungs.
Sean sauntered over, arrogance radiating from him. “Thought your bones were made of steel. Turns out you’ll lower your
head after all.”
He loomed over her, chin jutting. “Stubborn as you are, your apology’s worthless. Bow to Lydia and me. Swear you’ll never cross us again.”
Emily remained silent, her jaw clenched tight, face ghostly pale. Her eyes burned into Sean, just like she used to stare down those “classmates” who’d stepped on her to impress the teachers.
That look sent a jolt through Sean. It reminded him of how she’d gone wild at Hiltin Hotel, like she wanted to kill him. Rage spiked, and he backhanded her hard.
“What’s with that stare?” he shouted. “I’ve given you chance after chance. Don’t be so damn ungrateful.”
Andrew’s expression hardened. Emily was a Bennett. Even though Gale had let Sean “handle” her, slapping her in front of them was an insult to the whole family.
Matthew reacted fast. “Sean, how could you strike her? Even if you’re covered in injuries, feeling wronged and angry, you can’t do that.”
The rebuke doubled as an excuse, softening Sean’s recklessness. Andrew had no leg to stand on now.
Sean came to his senses and hastened to explain, “Dad, I’d never hit a woman. But look at her-there’s not a hint of regret in her entire attitude.
“It’s fine for me. After all, I’m just injured, and a few months in the hospital will fix it. But she pushed Lydia-she was trying to kill her.
“Thank goodness Lydia got lucky and walked away unscathed. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have seen Lydia standing here alive
now.”
Instantly, everyone recalled Lydia’s “suffering.” They looked her way and saw her biting her lip, head bowed, as if fighting
back tears.
Andrew bit back his words. He glanced at Emily’s bruised cheek and frowned. ‘With her attitude, she definitely needs a wake-up call,’ he thought.
Sean relaxed as he saw the Bennetts’ tension ease. He strode over to Emily, grabbed her hair, and snarled, “Not gonna apologize to me? Fine. I’ll let that go. But you’re going to bow and apologize to Lydia.”
He dragged her toward Lydia, growling, “I gotta knock some sense into you. Otherwise, you’ll keep picking on Lydia. I won’t stand for that.”
The sharp, searing pain from her scalp finally broke through Emily’s stoic mask, but she clenched her jaw and remained
silent.
As Sean pulled, the bodyguards let go, letting him yank Emily right in front of Lydia. “Apologize to Lydia, now!” Sean barked, shoving Emily’s head toward the floor.
Emily grabbed his arm and wrenched it downward. With no guards holding her, she wasn’t about to let him push her
around.
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Chapter 43
She lunged at Sean, not caring if her scalp tore clean off. She sank her teeth into his arm-hard.
Sean howled in pain, and the cold, calm faces around them finally flickered with shock.
“Sean!”
“Emily, what the hell are you doing?”
“Emily, let go!”
Everyone scrambled over.
The two bodyguards snapped out of it and moved to pull Emily off, but she bit down harder. When they tugged at her, Sean screamed louder, scaring them into freezing in their tracks.
Helen and Matthew looked sick with worry. Too scared to grab Emily directly, they started hitting her instead.
“Let go of him, you bitch!” Helen shouted.
Sean was writhing in pain, swinging fists at Emily’s head while screaming for her to let go.
But no matter what they did, Emily held on-her bite vicious, as if she was trying to rip off a piece of flesh.
She blocked out everything around her. Only one voice echoed in her mind. “Emily, don’t be scared. Even if you can’t win, sink your teeth in. They’ll only stop when they’re scared of you.”
Gale and Emma pulled Lydia back, shielding her to keep her safe.
Andrew stepped in front of them, watching Emily’s wild outburst with a mix of shock and wariness. He’d never seen her like this-like a stray dog, jaws locked and refusing to loosen.
Lucas had seen Emily lose it earlier, but this still made his blood run cold. “Emily, have you lost your mind? Let go!” he
shouted.
Emily’s eyes still burned with rage, her jaw clenched like a vise. It was like she had only one thought right now-hold on, or they’d tear her to pieces.
Lucas froze under that glare, a cold prickle creeping over him. He couldn’t wrap his head around how she had changed so much in just two years.
“Lucas,” Lydia whispered, her voice shaking. “Emily looks terrifying. Can you make her stop? I’m freaking out.”
Lucas snapped out of it, rushing to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Lydia. I won’t let her hurt you.”
He ran over to join the scrum, trying to yank Emily off. He didn’t hit her like the Sinclairs did, but he didn’t stop them either.
When pulling didn’t work, his eyes darted, searching for a way. Suddenly, they landed on an ashtray on a nearby table.
All he could think about now was putting a stop to this, fast, before Emily could hurt Lydia. Without hesitating, he grabbed the ashtray and swung it at Emily’s head.
Just as he was about to bring that ashtray crashing down, a panicked shout cut through the chaos. “Stop!”
A figure barreled into Lucas, sending him sprawling into the table. The ashtray flew from his hand, grazing Emily’s ear before shattering on the floor.
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Everyone spun around instinctively, only to see Charles standing at the door, supported by Bob. The guy who’d just knocked Lucas down was one of the bodyguards Charles brought.
Charles didn’t spare anyone else a glance. His finger trembled as he pointed at Matthew and Helen, roaring, “Get them off Emily. Don’t you dare hurt her!”
His bodyguards jumped in, yanking Matthew, Helen, and their goons apart. But no one dared touch Emily-not while her teeth were still locked into Sean’s skin.
With Bob’s help, Charles stumbled toward her, his eyes raw with grief.
Lucas shook off the pain in his leg and stepped in their way. “Grandpa, stay back. Emily’s lost it. She’s-”
Smack! A sharp slap cracked across Lucas’s face, cutting him off mid-sentence.
