<b>Chapter </b><b>780 </b>


    Mari had her gaze locked onto Glynnis‘ hideous face; she was not blinking, as if staring down the devil itself.


    Her eyes, once dulled by torment, suddenly gleamed with a fierce rity that seemed to ignite Glynnis‘ rage even further.


    “You stupid cow! Don’t you dare look at me with those eyes!”


    Glynnis‘ eyes bulged with fury as she was about to deliver another kick, but Edith grabbed her arm.


    “Enough already, Glynnis. You want to blow off steam, I’ll give you a


    minute.”


    At that moment, Frank yawnedzily, “Edith, why on earth did you drag us out to this godforsaken ce? For a reunion, you could’ve at least picked somewhere ssy.”


    Alston gave him a cold side–eye. “A ssy ce for this kind of show? After all these years, your brain’s still in diapers, Frank.”


    “Son of a-”


    Frank was about to throw a punch when thedy in the red dress stopped him with a shake of her head.


    The Bartley family was riding high in Elmsworth’s corridors of power, and these spoiled brats had no virtue; all they have was a knack for kissing up to the right people.


    “Ms. Edith<b>, </b>stop keeping us in suspense. Why did you call us here?” the guy in the blue suit asked with a cheeky grin.


    Edith, ying them like a fiddle, jauntily walked over to a dusty old piano in the corner. She lifted the cover to reveal keys that were as


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    1011<b>:</b><b>09 </b>


    pristine as the day they were made.


    As her fingers danced across the keys from left to right, an eerie discordant melody filled the cavernous living room.


    Mari curled into a ball, and her tear–streaked face was etched with terror and despair.


    She bit her pale lips until they bled, but it couldn’t stop the dark memories from corroding her sanity.


    Back in the day, every time she was bullied in the abandoned music room, Edith was always the one ying the soundtrack to her torture. The physical and mental abuse had left her with deep psychological scars, and even the sound of piano music could send her into a panic.


    “The reason I brought you all here today was that, first, I’ll admit I’ve missed you,” Edith said, while flipping her well–coiffed brte curls with a seductive sneer. “Second, I want to know which one of you back–stabbed me. Who’s the traitor?”


    The room fell into a stunned silence.


    Thedy in the red dress snickered, “Edith, where’s thising from?”


    Edith let out a coldugh and pulled out her phone, which revealed a video clip of herself bullying Mari from ten years ago; in the video she was pping Mari mercilessly while their ssmates watched. “I remember you were all there. Time to fess up.”


    Silence.


    <b>“</b><b>If </b>you won’t admit <b>it</b><b>, </b>fine,” said Edith, with a venomous grin. “Girls, you’ll p this idiot around. Boys, you’ll take turns with her. I’ll record


    <b>11:09 </b>


    it all. Then we’ll have dirt on each other. Square. And I’ll let bygones be bygones.”


    Mari felt as if she was plummeting into an abyss; it was like a never–ending fall into a hellish nightmare.


    All the men at site exploded in panic, including Alston.


    Edith had promised him that Mari will be all to himself. How did it


    turn into a free–for–all?


    “Edith, have you lost your mind?! This is rape; it’s prison time!”


    Frank wanted no part in it. “I’m out. I don’t need this kind of risk. Settle your own scores. I’m gone!”


    “You’re going nowhere,” Edith’s eyes darkened. “I’ve locked down the vi. If anyone leaves, I’ll bury them here. And who’d find a corpse in


    the middle of nowhere?”


    They were in a panic, sweating bullets, and when someone tried to call for help, they found no signal.


    The Fairhaven family, as one of the four big families, had ties in both the underworld and the upper world.


    They were terrified, cause they knew the stakes.


    “Don’t worry, Mari won’t be leaving this vi alive tonight.”


    Glynnis‘ grin was as wicked as it was insane.


    “Then we’re <b>all </b>in the same boat. What happens tonight will stay our little secret forever.”


    Though the words were convincing, they hesitated to act.


    “Heh, you’re all big shots on your own turf, but now, you’re all spineless,” Edith mocked, with her gaze settling on Alston.


    11:00


    The humiliation he’d endured from the Ashbourne and Abernathy families and his father had filled him with a seething rage. And now,


    an obscure affection for Mari added fuel to the fire.


    Since Alston had be her fiancé, his desire to possess her grew


    uncontroble.


    With a twisted excitement, Alston approached the motionless girl, and untied the rope that had chafed her ankles raw.


    The guys in blue suits and white tracksuits were entranced, and their minds were filled with censored images.


    Mari’s face was numb, and her eyes were void of light.


    With his fingers digging into her hair, Alston forced her to look up at him, demanding her attention.


    “Mari, the time has finallye for us to consummate our


    marriage. Don’t be scared, I’ll make it as pleasurable as I can for you.”


    His voice trailed off as he could no longer contain his desire. With a ferocity born of passion, he captured her bruised and bloodied lips, and easily pried her mouth open.


    Her taste was as sweet and soft as a forbidden fruit, utterly addictive.


    Jareth, that lucky devil, had really been fed like a king!


    Meanwhile, his other hand fumbled with the zipper of his jeans, desperate for release.


    Edith had mentally prepared herself to see her lover with the woman she loathed most, but at sight of this, she still felt jealousy ring uncontrobly within her.


    Clenching her teeth, she grabbed Mari’s beloved teddy bear; a wicked smile yed at the corner of her eyes as she shook it at


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    Mari.


    In the next second, Edith viciously tore off the teddy bear’s head, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it in a fit of rage!


    “Ha! That’s the way to do it! I’ve always hated that cursed thing!” Glynnis cheered, while pping her hands in approval.


    Suddenly, Mari’s eyes, red as if stained with blood, snapped open, and tears of rage rolled down her cheeks.


    “Ahh-!”


    Alston let out a terrified scream; he mped his hands over his mouth when scrambling up from the floor.


    Sweat drenched his forehead, and he mumbled incoherently, with blood seeping through his fingers!


    Mari’s chest heaved violently; her eyes, fierce and vengeful like a wild animal’s, were fixed on Edith before she spat forcefully onto the ground.


    Upon seeing the red substance, everyone recoiled in horror.


    It was half of Alston’s tongue!


    Edith and Glynnis were paralyzed with shock, too afraid to even move.


    They never imagined that just destroying a toy would unleash the beast lying dormant within this girl!


    Mari<b>, </b>with her lips smeared with blood, stumbled to her feet and charged at Edith with a primal rage.


    “My ear! Oh my ear!”


    Edith had her head mmed against the wall as Mari tackled her,


    who <b>bit </b>down on her ear with a viciousness that made her scream like


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    a banshee.


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