?Chapter 1592:


    She had once told Marc that Choria was her home and that she never wanted to leave. But now, facing William, she dered it without a moment’s hesitation.


    William came to a halt. He turned to face her with the eyes of someone regarding an animal already condemned, his voice utterly t. “Do you think that if I don’t agree, you’ll still be able to stay in Choria?”


    His words made Jazlyn’s breath catch, but she refused to be pulled away so easily. What would be of her son if she left now?


    “Mr. Briggs, I’m begging you,” she cried, throwing all her strength into clinging to a nearby utility pole and refusing to let go, every shred of dignity abandoned. “I will prostrate myself before you for the rest of my life. Just keep my son out of prison, please.”


    Her relentless pleading caused William’s expressionless face to turn to ice.


    “She’s too noisy,” he said coldly, ncing at the two guards holding Jazlyn. “Remove her tongue.”


    Jazlyn, who had been wailing only moments before, fell instantly silent. She stared at him, unable to believe he had actually said such a thing.


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    Remove her tongue?


    William had always struck her as a refined man — a gentleman who would never resort to physical violence. Despite the extreme things she and Marc had done, he had never once ordered anyone beaten or maimed. Yet now he spoke of tearing out her tongue with chilling calm.


    “Do you not understand what I said?” William’s scowl deepened as the guards remained motionless.


    Even Ste, standing just beside him, felt a shiver run down her spine when she realized he truly meant it. She knew William’s moods were unpredictable and that he was not in a good temper, but she hadn’t expected him to order something so severe in front of her. She felt no pity for Jazlyn. She simply felt that William shouldn’t dirty his hands over someone like her.


    Ste stepped forward. “Just get rid of her. Nothing else.”


    She chose her words carefully, uncertain whether William would ept the suggestion. The bodyguards, who had been deeply reluctant to carry out the original order, felt immediate relief wash over them.


    William shifted his gaze from Jazlyn to Ste and held it there in silence. Something stirred in his eyes — not anger, not resentment at being contradicted, but an emotion he couldn’t quite name himself.


    He knew Ste was interceding for Jazlyn. What he couldn’t understand was why. After everything Marc and Jazlyn had put her through over the past few years, she should have despised Jazlyn more than anyone. Unless — even now — some instinct still pulled Ste toward Marc’s side.


    Ste had never had the chance to fully exin herself to William since regaining her memories. In his eyes, she was still the Ste whose memories had been frozen at the moment she loved Marc most deeply. Seen that way, her plea for Jazlyn almost seemed natural.


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