FULL NOVELXO Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Zoey was already freaked out and shouted weakly, “Newman! I like Anna.”
A deadly chill emanated from Newman, freezing the atmosphere in the bedroom solid as Zoey’s voice trailed off.
Newman, twirling his bracelet, moved with an air of refined elegance, “What’s the problem with sleeping around and marrying Athena?”
Zoey deflated like a punctured ball, his head drooping. He didn’t dare defy Newman’s orders! At that moment, Anna’s body was burning up. She couldn’t help grabbing at her collar, desperate to rip her clothes off.
A whole bottle of the potion in her gut was like igniting a fire in her belly. She needed a man!
Her body limp, she leaned onto the bodyguard closest to her. Kent, seeing the drug taking effect, signaled the bodyguards to release Anna’s hands.
Once her hands were free, Anna immediately lifted her shirt from her stomach. Newman saw the dense, dark red scabs covering Anna’s lower abdomen. These marks crawled across her skin like centipedes clinging to her.
Zoey’s eyes bugged out in disbelief. No wonder Anna insisted on blindfolding him last night, claiming she was shy and wanted the lights off.
In the pitch darkness of last night, Zoey, after having his fill of fun, had fallen into a deep sleep, oblivious to the ugly marks on Anna’s body.
Newman’s cold voice broke the silence, “Turn her over; show me her back.”
The bodyguard grasped Anna’s shoulders, spinning her around.
Newman ordered again, “Pull up her shirt.”
The bodyguards pushed her shirt up to her shoulder blades, revealing a back densely covered with long, dark red scars.
“Holy crap!” Zoey exclaimed, feeling like he’d been scammed.
Newman watched coldly, the repulsive centipede–like scars on Anna’s body reflected in his eyes, which were filled with fury.
Others might not know, but Newman was all too aware that the fool had similar marks on her body. Only, the centipede–like scars on the fool were lighter in color.
Back in the day. Cornelia had asked Everglade City’s famous doctor to cure the fool’s idiocy, but, the doctors said she was poisoned, leading to mental impairment and unsightly skin marks. And the poison she suffered from could only be cured by the medical sage Adonis.
Did Anna and the fool suffer from the same poison? Newman’s prayer bead twirling stopped as the uncontrollable Anna lunged at him.
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After all, he was the most handsome man in the room. The bodyguards grabbed Anna’s arms. again, keeping her from getting anywhere near Newman.
Like a deity on high, Newman was unapproachable. He asked, “What’s the deal with these scars on your body?”
Anna, in a daze, responded, “Scar? Athena poisoned me!”
Athena had just woken up and glanced at her phone. She had a couple of missed calls Dempsey family villa.
from the
Her secretary had also sent her a message; Simon instructed the secretary to change Athena’s morning schedule, insisting she must come to the villa before 9 AM.
Athena obviously didn’t take Simon’s words seriously. With her stitches removed, Athena donned a windbreaker, stretched her long legs, and straddled her heavy motorcycle.
She put on her helmet and sat on the motorcycle, waiting a while before seeing the kid with the backpack saunter up.
“Kevin, you took forever in the bathroom just now,” as a mother, she naturally cared about her son’s bathroom habits, as it concerned his health.
“I was memorizing on the toilet and lost track of time,” Payne stuck out his tongue.
He had switched identity with Kevin again, because after a few days of tutoring. Payne realized that if Kevin were to take the kindergarten tests, he would flunk every subject.
Athena noticed her Kevin’s clumsy mounting of the motorcycle. Without overthinking it, she lifted the kid with one hand, positioning Payne in front of her and securing them together with a safety belt.
Before fitting Payne’s helmet, she ruffled the kid’s soft, silky hair, “Kevin, about today’s test at the kindergarten, no matter how it goes, mommy’s always got your back!”
*Mommy! Trust me, I’ll ace it for you!” Payne looked into Athena’s eyes, sparkling with determination.
Athena smiled lightly, “Just do your best.”
After dropping off Kevin at kindergarten, Athena finally headed for the Dempsey family villa. Crossing the front yard, she found people in the living room who had been waiting for her for some time.
In the living room, Simon sat in the grandmaster’s chair, his eyebrows drooping heavily, his expression grave.
David sat to the left of the old man, his eyes flicking to Athena as she entered, quickly putting on a serious face..
“What urgent matter did you ask me to be here for? You’ve got thrée minutes to state it.” Athena lowered her gaze to check her watch. She gestured for the servants to bring a chair and serve
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some tea.
Simon asked in a deep voice, “Do you know what day it is today?”
Athena sat down, accepting the tea from a servant, “Grandpa Simon, just spit it out. No need for riddles.”
The old man frowned deeply, his forehead creased with wrinkles, “Today decides whether Kevin can continue studying at the international kindergarten. We Dempseys are the top family in Stardale City. Any child from our family is extraordinary. Since when does a kid face the threat of expulsion from kindergarten?”
The old man’s nagging went in one ear and out the other. Athena’s fan–shaped lashes drooped, the rising steam from her teacup veiling her delicate little face.
“Grandpa Simon, Kevin’s gone for his test, and the results haven’t come out yet.”
“And if the kid’s results come back and the kindergarten labels him as intellectually disabled, where does that leave the face of the Dempsey family?”
Simon had a grim look on his face as he rapped his knuckles on the table, laying it on thick to Athena, “I called you over here to brace yourself, ‘cause if your boy gets pegged with a learning disability and gets the boot from kindergarten, the Dempsey family sure as heck won’t claim that embarrassment of a kid. Once Anna ties the knot, her kids will be the heirs to the Dempsey family. I’d say you better hand over the reins sooner rather than later, let Anna get her feet wet with the ins and outs of the Dempsey business.”
Athena couldn’t help but crack up at the old man’s words. After handing her teacup to a servant, she quipped, “Grandpa Simon, you’re still holding out hope for Anna?”
David chimed in with a scowl, “At least Anna wouldn’t be shacking up with some no–name rando and popping out a kid that’s slow enough to get kicked out of preschool!”
Athena’s gaze turned frosty, a chilly air pooling in her eyes. “Uncle David, watch your mouth, or I
won’t be so nice!”
David exploded like a firecracker, growling. “Am I wrong? Athena, what, you gonna rough me up with a rolling pin or something?”
With a smirk playing on her lips, Athena responded teasingly, “Uncle David, why would I ever lay a hand on you? I’ll just relocate you out of HQ, have you living out your golden years in some factory on the outskirts!”
In a flash, David’s face went ashen. Athena was a shark in business; she’d already booted David from the board, and he was convinced she had the chops to kick him out of the Dempsey Group HQ for real!
Just then, a servant burst in, all flustered, “Mr. Simon Dempsey, Mr. David Dempsey, Ms. Anna Dempsey’s been dumped at the front gate!”