"Ss, you''ve gone too far this time." Gideon''s eyes were bloodshot as he red at Ss, his anger boiling over. He didn''t bother crawling forward anymore, nor did he attempt to stop Ss.


    He knew Ss well enough to understand that when he made a threat, he meant it. Ss might really drug him and throw him to those people.


    With no other options left, Gideon felt cornered into making a painful decision involving his mother.


    Ss met Gideon''s gaze, a smirk ying on his lips.


    "You care about your mother, don''t you?" he taunted. "Funny how when pushes to shove, you''re willing to let her take the fall for you. Maybe you don''t care about her as much as you pretend to."


    "I''ll give you a choice," Ss continued. "If you go in there and take her ce, I''ll let her go. Nothing will happen to her. So, what''s it going to be? Are you going to choose?"


    "Ss, you sick bastard!" Gideon spat, his voice shaking with rage. "You''re a monster! How could you do this to my mother, to us? Have you forgotten all the kindness my grandfather showed you? How he helped you when you needed it? How can you be so heartless?"


    Gideon was nearly hysterical, unable to believe what was happening. This kind of thing shouldn''t happen to them.


    Ss chuckled coldly. "Weren''t those ns meant for my wife? I''m just returning the favor. You think it''s okay to use such vile tactics against my wife, without her consent or mine? Now that the tables have turned, you don''t like it very much, do you? I''m giving you a choice now, something you never gave her."


    Gideon''s face was a mask of despair. He couldn''t argue against the truth of Ss''s words; they were caught in their own trap.


    "Apologize to your uncle, Gideon," Gabriel interjected, his voice stern "You brought this on yourself.


    been with your uncle long enough ve


    know better."


    Ss threw a nce at Gabriel. Seeing Calliope with the credit card he''d given her softened his stance slightly. At least Gabriel seemed to know which way the wind was blowing.


    Then came Fleur, dragged out of the room in a daze, clothes disheveled and eyes vacant. Her gazended on Ss and she shivered before her eyes darted to Calliope.


    Suddenly, like a woman possessed, she lunged at Calliope, but her dislocated


    arm rendered her helpless.


    Damien and the others quickly restrained her, pinning her to the floor.


    Ss looked down at her, his expression icy. "You brought this on yourself."


    "Ah—" Fleur shrieked, her voice raw and frantic. "Calliope, you witch, it''s all your fault! You did this to me!"


    "Ss, you devil! Kill me if you dare! If you don''t, I''ll get my revenge someday!"


    Fleur was hysterical, her screams tearing through the air as she struggled against the pain and humiliation she had just endured.