Chapter 800: You Deserve to Suffer These Things

Debra's face was whiter than anything she'd ever seen in her worst nightmares.

Sincerely apologize to that idiot and beg for forgiveness? She'd rather take a bullet.

She turned to Byron, but he was glaring at her with barely contained rage, refusing to meet her desperate, pathetic eyes. He was clearly done with her too.

With Byron shut off to her, she grabbed at the only lifeline she could find. She collapsed to the floor, threw her arms around Patrick's legs, and sobbed.

"Dad! I know I was wrong... I swear I'll never do it again! Banishing me from Mugden forever, keeping me from being by your side — isn't that punishment enough already? I've already paid for what I did... We're both your daughters. Don't I deserve even a shred of dignity? Does he really need to grind me into the dirt completely before he's satisfied? Dad!"

The way she wailed and screamed, anyone who didn't know better would think she was the one who'd been wronged.

Patrick frowned and tried to pull her up. There were servants watching from outside, and this was an embarrassing scene. But Debra had her arms locked around his legs like a vice, and he probably couldn't have shaken her loose even with a kick.

"Edward, the punishment you've outlined is already more than enough. Let's drop the in-person apology." Patrick called out, his voice sharp and impatient.

The words sounded like a suggestion. The tone was an order.

Edward's eyes went cold and hard. His lips pressed into a flat, unforgiving line.

Debra's puffy, swollen eyes suddenly lit up, and the dead ash in her chest sparked back to life.

So Patrick still had a soft spot for her after all. He was giving her a way out.

Once things blew over and Grandpa cooled down, she'd have a real chance of coming back to Mugden and picking up her comfortable life right where she'd left off.

She was still savoring that thought when Edward spoke, his voice like ice.

"She leaked Molly's medical condition to someone with malicious intent. She let Molly's breakdown become public knowledge. She hurt Molly deeply. You really want to sweep this under the rug without a word? I don't accept that."

"Edward, don't think becoming president means you can do whatever you want!"

Patrick's eyes went red, his anger breaking through. "I'm your father. At the end of the day, you answer to me."

"Debra is your daughter. Isn't Molly?" Edward's voice stayed level and cutting. "You pick favorites. You let an innocent Molly suffer. And Debra, who caused all of this, gets let off the hook again and again — coddled, forgiven, the punishment raised up just to be put back down gently. Where does that leave Grandpa and everything he feels about this? How is that any different from spitting in his face?"

Patrick had played the father card to put him in his place. Edward turned around and played the grandfather card right back.

"You—!" Patrick's breathing went ragged with fury.

Byron said nothing, but the look he kept fixed on Edward was steady and clear. He was fully behind him.

"You're not wrong — Debra and Molly are both my daughters. That's exactly why, as their father, I can't stand watching my own children tear each other apart. We're family. How long can this go on?"

Patrick's expression curdled with contempt. His voice turned bitter. "And more than that, I refuse to watch my daughters destroy each other over some playboy like Eric. My daughters are the most well-bred young women in Mugden, whatever their faults. Who does Eric think he is? He was never good enough to be my son-in-law to begin with."

Edward's eyes narrowed, and beneath his elegant cuffs, his hands balled into fists, tendons pulling tight.

Patrick pushed on, pivoting the blame toward Eric like he'd found solid ground. "Molly lived with Eric for all that time, and he never gave her a proper title. On top of that, the Clark family put her through hell. I haven't even settled that score yet, and now my own house is falling apart."

"Debra made mistakes in this, no question. But isn't the Clark Group the one that bears the real responsibility?"

Patrick's talent for twisting an argument was something else. He was wrestling back control of the room. "For all we know, Jessica put Debra up to it — talked her into it, manipulated her, maybe even threatened her."

"And even if not, it was the Clark family who staged the whole thing and spread Molly's condition around. Edward, instead of going after the Clark Group, you're turning on your own family. What is that — you only throw punches inside the house?"

Debra sniffled on cue, channeling her dead mother's tearful act, crying like some fragile, pitiful little flower.

"This is settled. She goes abroad, and that's the end of it. I will not have more chaos in this family." Patrick's tone left absolutely no room for argument.

Edward's dark eyes were still, his teeth grinding slowly against the tip of his tongue, holding his anger down.

But he wasn't a man who acted on impulse. He knew that if he kept pushing, he'd only trigger Patrick's stubborn streak and drive him further into Debra's corner.

"Fine. The apology in person is off the table."

With that, Edward crossed the room toward Debra in a few long strides. Then, in a move that surprised everyone, he reached out and helped her to her feet.

Debra stared at him, completely lost, and shakily straightened up.

But the moment she found her footing, a rush of air cut past her ear.

Crack—!

Without a word, Edward swung his arm and slapped Debra clean across the face — the same face that was already a swollen mess. The impact was brutal.

The blow hit her so hard she couldn't even scream. Blood welled at the corner of her mouth. Her ears filled with a chaotic roar, like a swarm of flies erupting inside her skull.

Edward was no ordinary man. He'd been an elite soldier. The strength in that hand was like iron.

It wasn't just that a woman couldn't handle it — a grown man would've been rattled senseless. The force was nothing to take lightly.

The servants watching from outside went dead silent, too stunned to breathe.

Well.

He was a real class act, this one. He helped her straighten her face before he hit it.

"That one's for Molly. For being vicious enough to betray your own little sister. You don't deserve to be called human."

Before the words had even finished, he landed a second slap. It sent Debra crashing to the floor again, and this time she couldn't get back up. "That one's for Eric. Everything you did put my closest friend through hell. You had that coming."

"Debra. If you ever go after anyone around me again, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth. And when that day comes, not even God can save you."

He delivered the final warning with complete calm, then walked over, took the handles of the wheelchair himself, and left with Byron and Tyler.

Patrick stood alone, frozen in place.

When he finally came back to himself, he turned to Debra, jaw clenched, and let his frustration loose on her.

"You rotten, backstabbing piece of work. Get off the floor, pack your things, and get the hell out of this country!"

"Dad... Dad..."

Debra pressed her hands over her burning ear, her voice rising in panic. "I can't hear. Edward hit me so hard I can't hear. I can't hear anything!"

Patrick's pupils shrank. A cold dread shot straight through him.