Chapter 1516:
“Kneel.”
Lyla’s pulse raced, but disobedience was unthinkable. With a sharp, audible thud, she collapsed to her knees.
Lucian’s voice carried no warmth.
“Do you comprehend the weight of your mistake?”
In desperate haste, Lyla bobbed her head, her voice quivering.
“Dad, I will never commit such errors again.”
Whatever turmoil brewed in her heart, standing in Lucian’s presence left her no choice but to echo his words as if they were law.
Lucian’s expression hardened, his warning slicing through the air.
“If you dare repeat this, I will send you back to Exile Island.”
The instant he spoke those dreaded words, Lyla’s entire frame convulsed with terror, her pupils blown wide, betraying a dread she could not mask. Exile Island—an infamous open-air prison where the world’s most deranged criminals roamed: killers, madmen, predators. That nightmare was a place she had vowed never to return to.
Lyla’s first breath of life had been taken on Exile Island; her birth parents were convicts. In her desperation to flee, she had set fire to her shelter and plunged into the sea, only to later be rescued and adopted by Carola. If Lucian cast her back into that forsaken land, a miserable death would be her inevitable fate.
With frantic urgency, Lyla lifted her left hand, swearing as though her very soul depended on it.
“Dad, I swear I will never provoke Elena again. Please, believe me. I will stay close to Mom and act with obedience.”
Her voice trembled with earnestness, her eyes rimmed with unshed tears, presenting a portrait of pitiable devotion.
Lucian gave no hint of belief or doubt. Without another word, he rose, leaving Lyla kneeling in silence to wrestle with her fear.
Only when Carola later awoke, discovering her daughter punished on the cold floor, did she rush forward, gathering Lyla up from her knees.
Ⲟⲛ𝓵𝔂 𝓿𝓲𝓪 𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓽𝓮: g⍶𝓁𝓃𝗈ν𝓮𝗅𝓈⦚ⅽ𝗈𝗺
At Harper Manor, the household buzzed in anticipation of Louis’s arrival with Kiera.
Jolie held delicately in her hand a bracelet meant for her future daughter-in-law, while the servants waited with baskets brimming with petals, their eyes trained on the grand entrance. Jeffry and Ellis lingered at the doorway, their fists full of confetti, ready to celebrate.
Suddenly, the butler hurried in, his breath short.
“Someone approaches!”
Jolie leaned forward eagerly.
“Has Louis brought Kiera home at last? Everyone, prepare yourselves. Once the proposal is sealed, shower them with petals—”
The butler interrupted, his tone cautious.
“It is not Mr. Harper and Miss Johnson. The visitor is associated with the Stanley Group.”
“Stanley Group?” Jolie echoed, bewildered, before turning to her husband.
“Darling, do you have dealings with them?”
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