Chapter 915:
As several guests moved to help, Kailee’s voice sliced through the tension, stopping them mid-step.
“Wait! Have you all lost your minds? If we take her to a hospital, the truth will come out. Everyone will see us for what we are—pretenders posing as animal lovers when we’re nothing but hunters. Real conservationists would despise us!”
Her tone sharpened as she pressed on, each word striking deep. “You’ve all seen how those extremists react, haven’t you? What will happen when our families find out we’ve made such a catastrophic mistake?”
Her warning fell over the room like a bucket of ice, dousing what little courage remained.
“She’s right,” Felipe murmured, his voice trembling as he stared at his bloodied hands. “It’s too dangerous to take her to a hospital. I’m the one who pulled the trigger. I won’t escape punishment. I’ll take the fall for everything, and my life will be ruined.”
Jennifer stared around in disbelief. “Have you all lost your sense of humanity? She’s just a child. She’s still alive!”
“Jennifer, drop the act,” Kailee sneered, scorn dripping from her voice. “Last month, when we brought down that pregnant elephant, you didn’t seem half as merciful.”
Jennifer’s face drained of color. “That… that was different. That was an animal.”
“All lives count. What difference does that make?” a slick-haired man said, his tone low and shadowed. “If we rush her to a hospital, we’re finished. Bear in mind the International Fauna Protection Convention enforces strict rules when relatives of participants are tied to illegal hunts. Do you have any idea what the press would do?”
From the shadows, a young man who had been silent until now finally spoke. “I brought an industrial meat grinder. I planned to use it to process the gnu meat.”
His words sucked the warmth from the room.
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Jennifer recoiled, horror written across her face. “You can’t possibly do that,” she cried.
“Then we will vote,” Kailee proposed, sweeping her gaze around the group. “All those who agree with this course of action, raise your hands.”
A single hand, then another… Slowly, every person present lifted a hand except Jennifer.
Beneath the crystal chandelier, faces that normally traded pleasant small talk at exclusive charity events had taken on something grotesque.
“Very well.” Kailee inclined her head, a faint, triumphant smile curling at the corners of her mouth. “Felipe, see to the preparations at once. Everyone else, manage the surveillance and keep watch.”
Jennifer’s hands shook as she fumbled for her phone. “I’m calling the police,” she said, her voice quavering.
“Jennifer, think about your family,” Kailee said in a quiet but cutting voice. “Your father is running for senator. Imagine what would happen if people learned that his daughter was part of an illegal hunt.”
Jennifer’s hands froze midair, the phone slipping slightly before falling to her side.
Two men stepped forward and lifted Ella’s small body from the floor. Blood dripped from her wounds, staining the luxurious carpet beneath them.
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