Chapter 23
Emmett twisted her hand back, his fingers wrapping around the ring with a sharp, forceful grip.
“You‘ re not worthy of this ring!” he spat, believing that by taking it, he was taking back the promise, reclaiming the future that belonged only to Athena. From now on, his heart would only belong to Athena.
But Aliana refused to let go. With desperation burning in her eyes, she clung to the ring as though it was her lifeline.
“This is mine! Don‘ t you dare take my things!”
At that moment, Aliana‘ s true nature bared itself, unashamed, unwilling to surrender. She had already lost everything: her dreams of wealth shattered, her reputation torn apart, her endorsements stripped away. She didn’t even know if
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Chapter 23
she would make it out of there alive. But the ring was the only thing she had left, the only thing that could offer her any hope. She fought fiercely to keep it.
The operating room was cramped and suffocating, and Aliana staggered, her body a mess of bruises and cuts, desperately searching for a corner to hide in.
Emmett watched her without a flicker of emotion, coldly observing the woman who had fallen so far from grace.
“Do you like wearing it?” he sneered, a cruel smile playing on his lips as he signaled for a few subordinates to enter.
“Cut off the finger with the ring on it,” Emmett ordered, his voice as cold as ice.
Outside the operating room, Emmett sat alone, his thoughts as turbulent as the storm inside. His hand, still bleeding from the earlier injury, was being tended to, but his mind was far from the pain.
The anguished screams from within the
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room barely registered in his ears. It was a sound he could hardly bear, but he knew the floor was reserved for the Davidson family’s VIPs, ensuring no interruption.
His mind wandered to the first time he met Athena, to the tender memories of their youth, to everything he had once shared with her. His chest tightened, and his heart ached with a gnawing emptiness that no action could fill.
“I’m sorry… Athena, I miss you… I love you…”
The proud, untouchable young master of the Davidson family now sat there, broken, crying like a helpless child. Just as he had when he was little, but this time, no one was there to comfort him.
Only Athena wasn’t afraid of him. When he was consumed by pain, Athena would hold him close, her voice soft as cotton, comforting him with the wisdom of someone far older.
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Chapter 23
It wasn’t until a subordinate placed the severed ring on a tray in front of him, the bloodied finger beside it, that Emmett‘ st mind snapped back to the present.
The ring no longer held any value. It had been tainted, its meaning twisted. He dismissed it with a wave, leaving his subordinates to decide its fate as for Aliana’s finger.
Emmett‘ s face hardened, his voice colder than ice. “Throw it out to the dogs.”
A subordinate, having witnessed the entire scene, dared to speak. “What should we do with the woman?” He gestured toward Aliana, who had fainted in the operating room from the torment.
Emmett‘ s lips twisted into a cruel smile. He stood slowly, the weight of his words.
like a death sentence.
“Perform a little operation on her brain and send her to a mental hospital.”
Athena was gone, and there should be no
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Chapter 23
trace of Aliana left in this world.
Aliana was a public figure, a constant presence in the eyes of the media. Since the beginning of her livestreaming career, her every move had been scrutinized, and now, the media had gathered like a storm outside the hospital, blocking every possible exit.
Emmett cast a glance at the dark, restless. crowd through the window before taking the hidden VIP passage without hesitation.
When he returned to the Davidson
family‘ s old mansion, the first thing he encountered was the sharp strike of his grandfather’s cane, followed by the weight of family discipline.
The old man, despite his years, had the strength of a seasoned warrior, and with a single blow, Emmett was sent crashing to the ground.
“Beast! Do you even see what you‘ ve become? What unspeakable horrors have
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Chapter 23
you committed?!”
Emmett lay there, bloodied, a pitiful sight, as though the world had already judged him a criminal.
“Grandfather, Aliana is not dead, nor is she pregnant,” Emmett muttered, his voice tired, drained of any further words.
The old man let out a long, heavy sigh, a mixture of relief and regret. He had spent his life trying to instill goodness, fearing that his grandson might one day cross a line that could never be uncrossed.
