Chapter 7N
Veronica stood frozen as if stunned by Damien’s sudden coldness.
“Damien, I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she said softly, her voice gentler than before.
Still, Damien did not respond.
He silently stepped toward his daughter’s body and reached for the jade pendant around her neck. The jade pendant was carved into the shape of an exquisite butterfly.N
“This might reveal the truth,” he said in a low, steady voice.
Gently, he ran his fingers over the pendant and murmured, “It was a birthday gift from me.“N
“There’s a highly sensitive recording device hidden inside. I had it custom–made.“}]
“I was worried she might be bullied at school, so I prepared this for her in advance.” “Maybe… maybe it can help us now.”
Damien was right. There was indeed a recorder inside the butterfly jade pendant.}
At one time, Damien had cherished his daughter like the most precious treasure in the world.
He had given her everything he could. We had made every preparation to keep her safe.}]
However, everything changed in less than a year when Veronica returned from abroad, bringing her son. From then on, Damien’s heart was no longer with us, no longer with his wife and daughter.
He had never once listened to the recordings in the pendant.}
He tugged at it gently and the pendant split cleanly in two, revealing a hidden USB port within.”
A laptop was quickly brought over and as soon as the device connected, audio began to play from the speakers.
It was my daughter’s voice.
“Mom hasn’t eaten in two days. The food they gave us wasn’t enough and she gave it all to me.”
“I told her I couldn’t eat it alone, that I wanted to share with her, but she refused. Why hasn’t Dad come to get us? Why do these bad people keep beating Mom and me?“}
“It’s better now since they don’t hit Mommy as much anymore, but they still hit me a lot. I try not to cry, but Mom cries so sadly. I told her I was not afraid of pain, but that only made her cry more. I wish I could see Dad.“}}
“Every time they hit me, Mommy listens to them so they won’t hurt me more. Daddy, can you hear me? Please come get us. Don’t let them hurt Mommy again.“}
“My right hand was cut off. It hurt so much I couldn’t stop crying. Mommy said it would grow back like a gecko’s tail, but I’m not a little kid anymore. I know it won’t.”
“I told them my dad is powerful, that he’ll make them pay for this. But they just laughed. Why aren’t they afraid?”
“Today, I went to the man guarding the back gate. He promised that if I accompanied him and made him happy, he would help rescue my mom. I agreed. But he changed his mind. He said I wasn’t good enough and told me to go back and learn from my mom.” Pats!!
Veronica yanked the pendant from the computer, cutting off the recording.
Her face had gone pale, her hands trembling as she stammered, “I’m furious, absolutely furious. So this is what’s really been happening behind the scenes of the Women’s Virtue Class?“}}
She pointed at the mentor and continued sharply, “How dare you treat Vivian like this? I won’t let this go.”
Damien’s eyes were bloodshot, his jaw clenched tight. “Seal off the entire Women’s Virtue Class. No one is allowed to leave.”
Grabbing a chair, he advanced toward the mentor, his voice low and seething. “As for you…”
He brought the chair down hard on the mentor’s legs.”
A scream rang through the room. Obviously, her leg was broken.
Veronica clenched her fists, her voice trembling with rage. “Good job, Damien. We have to make them pay. We must avenge Elise!”
The mentor lay writhing on the floor, fear overtaking her. Her eyes darted between them as she sobbed, “Ms. Sterling, how could you burn the bridge after crossing it?“%
“You gave me fifty thousand dollars… to make sure Vivian Winslow and her daughter were taken care of!“&
