Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Anna stepped through the front door of the Briggs estate with her heart pounding. Her palms were cold. Her lips pressed into a tight line. Waiting for her in the sitting room were all the people who had raised her....or pretended to.
Her grandfather sat at the center, his cane leaning against the armrest. Beside him were her adoptive parents. Michelle’s parents stood to one side, their expressions a mix of cold fury and disappointment.
The silence was thick. Tense. Judgmental.
Her grandfather gestured for her to go closer to him,band stood up with the help of his cane.
She took a step forward and tried to smile. “Grandpa...”
SLAP!
The sharp sting of his palm across her cheek cut off her words. Her face snapped to the side, and she gasped, her hand flying to the spot instinctively. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.
Before she could recover, her mother stepped forward and landed a second slap on the other side of her face.
“Shut your mouth!” her mother shouted. “Haven't you come here to tell lies to cover your filth?”
“I..... I didn’t do anything wrong,” Anna stammered, trembling. “Someone knocked me out. I woke up in a room.... I didn’t even know where I was at first…”
“Stop it!” her father roared. “You brought disgrace on this family! Do you know how many deals we’re about to lose because of you? You humiliated us!”
“If we had known how useless you’d turn out to be, we would never have adopted you,” her mother spat.
Michelle’s mother marched forward, her voice shrill with rage. “What she needs is punishment. Real punishment. You think a slap is enough for this kind of shame?”
She turned to her husband. “Twenty lashes. On her bare back. That should teach her a lesson she’ll never forget.”
Anna’s eyes widened. Her knees nearly gave way.
Her grandfather nodded slowly. “Yes. That sounds appropriate. Bring the whip.”
“I’ll do it,” Michelle’s father offered. “Your hand’s too old for this, Dad. Let me.”
Anna took a step back, panic flashing in her eyes. She could barely breathe.
“No.... no, please. You have to listen to me. It wasn’t me. I didn’t betray anyone. Michelle actually....Michelle drugged me.”
A beat of silence.
Then Michelle’s mother stepped forward, eyes blazing. “How dare you? How dare you say such a thing about the only person who cleaned up your mess?! If it wasn’t for Michelle, we’d have lost the entire Harrison deal!”
“Michelle calmed Sam down,” her father added. “She saved this family’s dignity. And this is how you repay her?”
Anna looked around, her chest rising and falling quickly, searching every face for even a glimmer of doubt. But all she saw was rage. Condemnation. Disgust.
She realized then.... they were going to torture her no matter what she said.
Suddenly, she felt numb with no desire to fight. They were the only family she knew. If they wanted to kill her, so be it."
Meanwhile, outside the estate gates, a sleek black car pulled to a stop. The moment Henry Duke stepped out, he adjusted his cuffs and looked around with his usual cool detachment.
The first thing he noticed was a couple near the garden—laughing softly, talking, looking far too comfortable.
They both froze the moment they saw him.
“Uncle!” Sam called out in surprise, quickly getting to his feet and jogging over. Michelle followed, smiling brightly like she was meeting royalty.
Henry narrowed his eyes.
Of course. He had suspected when Colby mentioned the Briggs name, but seeing Sam now only confirmed it. His sister’s son. The smug disappointment of their entire bloodline.
“Uncle!” Sam grinned. “Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually come. I told Mom to invite you, but—well, this is such a surprise!”
He motioned toward Michelle. “This is Michelle. My bride-to-be.”
Henry raised one hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Where’s the main house?”
“Oh—it’s that way,” Sam stammered, pointing behind him.
Without another word, Henry turned and began walking away.
Sam tried to follow.
“Stay away from me,” Henry snapped, not even looking back.
Sam halted, stunned. Michelle touched his arm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly. “Why’s your uncle so cold?”
Sam shrugged. “Maybe he’s angry about Anna’s scandal. Maybe he came to make sure she’s punished.”
Michelle’s eyes lit up. “Good. Let him. She deserves everything coming to her. Maybe if your uncle sees how disgusting she really is, he’ll back us. Imagine—if we get his approval, my parents will finally get a contract with his company, and I’ll be Grandpa’s favorite.”
Inside the grand living room of the Briggs estate, Anna was still on her knees, her arms pinned behind her back as Michelle’s father took the long black whip from a servant.
Fortunately for her, her grandfather had insisted that she be whipped with her clothes on.
Michelle's father rolled his sleeves, cracking his knuckles with a cruel smile.
“Maybe now you’ll learn respect,” he said, raising the whip high above his head.
But the lash never came.
The front doors burst open with a loud bang, and a deep voice cut through the air like thunder.
“How dare you?!”
Everyone froze.
All heads turned toward the door, where Henry Duke now stood, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, his eyes dark with fury. The air in the room changed instantly. Power had entered, and it demanded silence.