?Chapter 343:


    We were utterly overpowered. There was no choice but to endure his punches and kicks until we bothy crumpled on the floor.


    Frank shook his hand and walked out the door, never once ncing back at the wreckage he had left behind. The air around us grew cold, suffocating, heavy with despair. How had everythinge to this?


    “If only I had known, I would have throttled Makenna back then! Then none of this would have happened!” Irene’s voice seethed with bitterness as she turned her grief toward me. “This is all because you were too merciful to let Makenna live.”


    I closed my eyes in exhaustion, waves of regret washing over me. Irene was right. Makenna wasn’t even my daughter. I shouldn’t have spared that troublemaker.


    Irene suddenly stopped crying, her eyes turning fierce. She clenched her teeth and dered, “Since Jessica is suffering, Frank and Makenna should too!”


    With fierce determination, Irene slowly rose from the floor and said firmly, “I’m going to expose them to His Majesty. Let everyone see the truth about Makenna and Frank’s rtionship! They caused Jessica’s pain; it’s only right that they face the consequences.”


    Makenna’s POV:


    As I followed Dominic into the grand hall, a sense of dread washed over me.


    Leonardo sat on his high throne, frowning, his gaze sharp and piercing. To his side stood my father, Connolly, and my stepmother, Irene, both wearing expressions of bitter resentment.


    The air in the hall felt heavy, almost suffocating.


    It was clear to me then that something was terribly wrong. My gut screamed that Dominic’s vague warnings of “trouble” were a severe understatement.


    As soon as Irene saw me, she wasted no time and spoke to Leonardo. “Your Majesty, I must bring Makenna’s actions to your attention! She has been romantically involved with Frank for quite some time. To enjoy the pce’s luxury, Makenna reced Jessica and gained entry into the pce!”


    Connolly, his voiceced with hatred, reinforced her ims. “Your Majesty, I can confirm this. My daughter Makenna hadmitted to Frank even before her arrival at the pce!”


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    Hearing their harsh usations made my heart sink. It confirmed that he no longer regarded me as his daughter.


    However, their ounts were clearly wed.


    I let out a scoff, my gaze turning cold. “That’s absurd. If there truly had been a romantic rtionship between Frank and me, if I had indeedmitted to him, then why on earth would Jessica have married him?”


    Connolly and Irene exchanged puzzled looks, caught off guard by my question.


    Irene quickly grasped at straws, retorting, “It’s only because Jessica is too kind. When she saw how heartbroken Frank was after you ended things, she couldn’t stand by and stepped in to marry him instead.”


    Then, raising her voice intentionally, Irene used, “Makenna, I never thought that even as the princes’ sex ve, you would brazenly carry on a secret affair with Frank here in the pce!”


    Connolly supported her im again. “Makenna, you are my daughter, but I cannot stand by as you deceive the princes and continue your wrongdoing!”


    Fuming with anger, I stared at them.


    Their ability to twist the truth was unparalleled.


    Just as I was about to defend myself, Leonardo’s booming voice stopped me in my tracks, reverberating throughout the hall.


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