?Chapter 697:


    Pathetic. His weakness made me want to strike him again, just to vent the fury burning through me like a sickness. My fists clenched at my sides, aching to crush something—anything.


    This was all because of Makenna. That wretched bitch! If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have been dragged through the mud like this—humiliated by Dominic, punished by Leonardo, mocked by everyone.


    And now, as if to twist the knife deeper, she had taken the kid with her.


    The thought alone sent a fresh wave of anger surging through me. My chest tightened as I ground my teeth painfully.


    I was seething, ready to explode, when another subordinate came barreling toward me. His face was pale, his voice quaking as he delivered the news.


    “Mr. Harrison! I just found out… Makenna gave the kid to an old pce servant. She’s raising him now.”


    “An old servant?” I echoed, my lip curling into a sneer. “Well, well, well…” My voice dripped with venom, the malice in it curling like smoke. “Let’s go. I think it’s time we had a little chat with this old woman.”


    Pain scorched through my back with every step as I limped forward, my subordinates trailing behind me. I bit down on the agony, my mind fixed on one thing: revenge.


    But fate had other ns. Halfway there, Makenna absentmindedly bumped right into my chest.


    She gasped and staggered back, clutching her head with one hand and muttering an apology.


    Then she looked up and froze. Her face shifted in an instant, and the soft apology hardened into cold disdain. She moved to sidestep me without a word, trying to disappear as quickly as she’de.


    But I wouldn’t let her off so easily.


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    “Leaving so soon, Makenna?” I mocked, blocking her path. “Why so eager to leave as soon as you see me? Yesterday, you were a guest at my horse farm, and now you’re too good for me? You’re quick to turn your back, aren’t you?”


    Herugh was icy,ced with disdain as she circled around me, her eyes gleaming with amusement.


    “It seems the punishment wasn’t enough. I thought you’d be bedridden for at least ten days. Yet here you are, wandering the pce like nothing happened.”


    Her words stung, striking me where I was most vulnerable. My scowl deepened, lips curling in anger.


    “You think just because the princes back you, you can rub my face in the dirt? Do you think their affection for you willst forever?” I spat in a low growl, eyes burning with fury.


    But Makenna was unfazed. She met my gaze with a sneer of her own. “So what? Maybe I’ll deal with you before I lose their affection.”


    Something cold prickled at the edges of my rage at her words. A feeling I didn’t want to name. Fear. Her gaze pinned me in ce—determined, ferocious, and for the first time, the thought crept into my mind like a whisper: What if she was right?


    Makenna’s POV:


    I shot a cold, seething re at Antoni. If looks could kill, I would have strangled him right then and there.


    For a split second, his usually confident gaze faltered, the slightest tremor of fear flickering across his arrogant face. It was brief, but it was there—clear as day.


    A smirk tugged at my lips. Satisfied, I stepped forward, deliberately brushing past his shoulder as I walked away with purposeful strides.


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