Chapter 190
Xander didn’t just take Athena away. He also took Ferris’s entire future with him. Marrying Athena had been Ferris’s lifelong dream since childhood.
“Atheny…” Ferris’s anguished wail pierced the air.
Gale desperately covered Ferris’s mouth, choking back tears as she pleaded, “Ferris, please… don’t cry out like this…”
Athena was gone forever. She was now the future Mrs. Cavendish. Although Gale still had no idea what was really going on, at least Athena was alive, and for now, that was all that mattered.
Ferris stared with bloodshot eyes as Athena disappeared into the distance. It feels like my heart is leaving with her, he thought, the pain almost too much to bear.
Suddenly, Ferris yanked Gale’s sleeve and cried out anxiously, “Mother, please, tell me, what in the world is going on? Why did Atheny become Mrs. Cavendish? And how did she end up so badly hurt?”
At the mention of this, Gale’s eyes welled up with tears. She sniffled before recounting the whole story to her son, though she carefully omitted Lizzie’s involvement.
Although I suspect Lizzie’s hand in this, how can I tell Ferris without any concrete proof? Besides, with Ferris’s impulsive nature, if he ever found out that Lizzie had framed Athena and did something reckless out of anger, who knows what might happen?
Gale shook her head, guilt weighing heavily on her. “It was all that monster Wade. He had ill intentions toward Atheny. He deserved to die.”
Ferris was completely shattered, his chest feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy blow. The pain was so intense he could barely breathe.
I should’ve killed Wade when I had the chance. If not for him, Athena would never have become Mrs. Cavendish. She was meant to be my bride… But I’m just a worthless cripple. How could I ever seek revenge? If it weren’t for Athena, I’d be lying cold in a coffin right now. I owe her more than I could ever repay.
“Ferris, don’t do this to yourself,” Gale pleaded, her voice trembling. Her heart broke as she watched her son in such torment.
Gale seethed inwardly, It’s all that wretched Ruth McGee’s fault. If she hadn’t seduced my husband, that bastard Wade would never have existed.
Just then, Ferris suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Ferris! Someone help!” Gale screamed in panic.
Attendants rushed forward and carefully lifted Ferris onto the waiting carriage.
The Xander Manor stood heavily guarded.
Chapter 190
Xander strode into the heavily guarded courtyard, Athena cradled in his arms. A group of imperial physicians stood waiting. As soon as Xander appeared, they all dropped to their knees in unison.
Before they could utter a word, Xander cut them off with an icy command. “Skip the formalities. Tend to Mrs. Cavendish, now!”
The imperial physicians exchanged bewildered glances, whispering among themselves, “Since when did we have a Mrs. Cavendish?”
When they were summoned by Xander, they had assumed it was for his own illness. After cooling their heels for hours, they didn’t expect to treat a woman.
Was it really necessary to make such a big fuss? one of them wondered silently.
Though the physicians were grumbling internally, none dared show even a hint of dissent on their faces.
The imperial physicians followed closely behind Xander and filed into the bedchamber. Xander gently laid Athena on the bed. With careful hands, he slipped off her cloak, revealing the bruises and wounds that covered her body.
With an icy glare at the imperial physicians, Xander commanded, “Mrs. Cavendish is gravely injured. She’s hovering between life and death. Spare no effort in saving her. No negligence will be tolerated.”
The imperial physicians dropped to their knees in terror, voices trembling as they hastily murmured in unison, “Yes, Your Highness!”
Xander stepped aside to make room as an elderly imperial physician with a white beard approached to examine Athena’s injuries.
The elderly physician frowned as he examined her. These are merely superficial wounds. The girl remains unconscious simply from exhaustion. How could this possibly be life-threatening?
The elderly imperial physician instinctively glanced at Xander, only to meet his deceptively calm gaze, eyes like daggers, piercing and bone-chillingly cold.
Those eyes were so sharp, so cold, that they seemed to cut right through him. The physician’s body trembled violently, his knees nearly giving way in instinctive fear.
Xander withdrew his gaze and took a measured sip from his cup. In a dangerously low voice, he demanded, “Dr. Harding, what is the situation?”
Egbert Harding was a seasoned veteran of palace life. Hearing Xander’s words, he immediately understood what was going on. Clearly, Xander intended to use Athena’s injuries as leverage. Egbert couldn’t help but wonder which unfortunate soul had upset Xander this time.
With a pained expression, following Xander’s lead, Egbert said, “Your Highness, please forgive me. Mrs. Cavendish is gravely injured, hovering between life and death. I dare not promise she will awaken; I can only do my utmost.”
The three imperial physicians behind him all had their eyebrows shoot up in alarm before immediately dropping to their knees, their faces etched with terror.
With a resounding crash, the cup shattered against the floor. Our hearts might as well have broken with it, the imperial physicians thought in unison, their faces pale with terror.
From above, Xander’s ice-cold voice thundered, “How dare Percival allow his son to injure my wife so grievously!”
Egbert finally understood that the unlucky fellow was none other than Percival McGee.
Rumor had it that Percival had abandoned his lawful wife, Gale, in favor of his mistresses, growing completely estranged from her. He even moved out to live with his mistresses in a separate residence. He completely neglected both his wife and his heir. Of all his children, he only doted on the son born to his mistress. Now that this favored son had caused trouble, disaster was surely looming.
At that moment, Nelson hurried in from outside. Nelson bowed respectfully to Xander and reported, “Your Highness, Mr. McGee has gone to the imperial palace.”
“How dare he play the victim first,” Xander sneered coldly. Rising to his feet, he commanded, “Dr. Harding, come with me to the imperial palace. You’ll bear witness for me.”
Egbert hastily responded, “At once, Your Highness!”
Xander then turned to Nelson and commanded, “Deliver a message to Mrs. McGee; tell her the day has come to redress her years of grievances.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Nelson replied respectfully.
Xander strode out of the room with long, purposeful steps, leaving Egbert scrambling to keep up, nearly breaking into a run. They hurried all the way to the gates of the Xander Manor, where horses stood ready and waiting.
Egbert was caught off guard. We are actually riding horses? he thought.
While still lost in thought, he saw a blur. Xander had already swung himself onto the horse and settled firmly in the saddle. He yanked the reins and barked, “Go!”
The horse shot forward like lightning. Egbert hastily scrambled onto his horse and galloped after Xander toward the imperial palace.
In the Throne Hall, Arthur Cavendish sat erect on the imperial throne with a commanding presence. He lowered his gaze, his eyes settling on Percival, who was kneeling in front of him.
Hulking and broad-shouldered, Percival knelt on the floor. He pleaded, “Your Majesty, I beg you to uphold justice for me. Lady Athena is tyrannical and lawless. My son merely exchanged a few words with her, yet she brutally beat him to death. I implore Your Majesty to grant my son justice!”
With that, he bowed his head to the ground. Arthur’s brows knitted as he demanded with imperial gravity, “Is this true?”
He glanced at Thanatus Harold, who stepped forward and leaned in to whisper a few words into Arthur’s ear, “According to reports, Wade attempted to assault Lady Athena, and she killed him in self-defense.”
Thanatus relayed the message calmly to the emperor, his face betraying not a hint of emotion.
Arthur gave a slight nod, now fully apprised of the situation. For a moment, Arthur was at a loss. Athena had already been betrothed to Xander as his future wife, but now that she was involved in a homicide case, he wondered what was the rightful way to deal with it.
“What utter nonsense!” a commanding voice thundered from beyond the hall doors.
Clad in imposing black-and-gold robes, Xander strode into the hall with a commanding presence.