Chapter 94
When Athena spoke to Fiona, she was suppressing her anger. She always looked especially calm when she was mad, but her eyes seemed to carry shards of ice. Just one glance was enough to chill someone to the bone. Still, her anger wasn’t directed at Fiona.
Fiona had always been timid, treading carefully in this deep and rigid household. Athena wouldn’t stoop to making things hard for someone so pitiful.
“Go back,” she said, looking at Fiona.
She then turned to Nicolas and said, “The sins of the father shouldn’t be borne by the child. Whoever is at fault should be held accountable. What kind of ability is it to use a child to stab at Grandmother’s heart?”
The child was the future of the Monson family. Though Margaret would protect the child, she wouldn’t be manipulated by anyone.
Fiona bit her lip but said nothing. She held the child in her arms and left, eyes red with unshed tears.
Nicolas’s face immediately tightened. Athena saw that even his molars were clenched. What she had just said was no different from stabbing him in the face.
She stood at the doorway, her gaze sharp as it swept over the crowd in the courtyard. Her voice was calm. “I’ll make this clear today. None of you can take Grandmother’s possessions. Even if I don’t want them, I won’t let outsiders get a single thing.”
The word “outsiders” made Willow’s body tremble.
Athena said, “If Grandmother falls ill from all this, then I’ll write a formal complaint and bring it to the authorities. Let them decide the outcome.”
At this, Nicolas could no longer hold back. He abruptly stood up and scolded her in a deep voice. “Athena, are you insane? Do you want to shame the Monson family?”
“If you’re not afraid of disgrace, why should I be?” she shot back. What truly angered him was how she had ruined his plan. And he feared she might actually go through with the absurd idea of suing the duke’s estate. After all, Athena now had nothing to lose.
She met his ferocious gaze and said, “If you all still had any shame, you wouldn’t be kneeling in front of Grandmother’s door, pressuring her like this. You can do such things, but are afraid of others talking about it?”
“You…” Nicolas was rendered speechless. Because at the end of the day, they were in the wrong. But there was no other way.
He took a deep breath, trying to reason with Athena. “You’ve always been an obedient child. Why are you being so petty this time? True, taking from the dowry was wrong, but Willow was also raised in this household. That dowry should rightfully include a share for her too.”
“You want to give her a dowry? Fine. That’s your business. But you shouldn’t reach into Grandmother’s pocket for it,” Athena sneered. Looking at their seemingly aggrieved faces, she felt sick to her stomach. “If Grandmother refuses, you all try to force her. Then you pretend to be respectful, just to squeeze more out of her.”
Athena continued, “You don’t care about Grandmother, only her status. Once you’ve drained her wealth, when she has nothing left, will you still call her your honored elder?”
Athena’s words were like blades, cutting through everyone’s hypocrisy.
Eloise turned pale. She tried to defend herself. “Athena, how could you think of us like this…” Her body trembled as if she might faint at any moment. Still clutching her chest, she forced herself to speak. “Are we truly so disgraceful in your eyes? Do we care only about profit, and not about family?”
Nicolas’s face darkened. “You’re nothing like my sister. The Monson family could never raise such a defiant and disrespectful child. We were wrong to think we could teach you well. You were rotten from the roots.”
“Mother, Nicolas,” Willow cried, her face covered in tears. She sobbed. “This is all because of me. Let Athena blame me. Please don’t hurt Mother and Nicolas again. I beg you.”
And then, she bowed to Athena.
Suddenly, her chin was seized by Athena’s fingers. She gripped so hard, it was as if she intended to tear Willow’s jaw right off.
Willow let out a pained cry, forced to look up at Athena. She whimpered, “Athena…” Tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked utterly pitiful.
“Athena, what are you doing? Let go of Willow!” Eloise was terrified. She still remembered how viciously Athena had beaten Willow the other day. She couldn’t understand how the once gentle and adorable Athena had become so frightening. When she struck Willow, it was with the intent to kill. If Shen hadn’t arrived in time, Willow might’ve been beaten to death.
Athena ignored her. She gripped Willow’s chin and sneered. “You always know how to muddy the waters. The fault clearly isn’t mine, yet you somehow push it onto me. If you just said you didn’t want it, would Lady Eloise and Lord Nicolas still have the gall to be here?”
Athena pushed Willow away. Her face was ice-cold. “You’re the real instigator. Yet you pretend to be the victim. Don’t tell me that in this entire house, there’s nothing left but what Grandmother has?”
Willow fell to the ground, crying out as she clutched her arm.
“Willow!” Eloise rushed forward to help her. The mother and daughter clung to each other, weeping.
Athena didn’t even glance at them. She said coldly, “It’s not like this house doesn’t have other sources of income. I know of at least a tavern, a cloth shop, all turning profits. Not to mention the most profitable one, the jewelry store.”
As Athena listed them one by one, the color drained from their faces with each word.
Eloise’s lips trembled. Every word hit her like a hammer to the heart. She didn’t dare meet Athena’s gaze and tried to defend herself. “Athena, things aren’t as you imagine. Yes, the shops were profitable once, but those were in the past. For the last three years, the Monson family’s been in decline. And your brother…”
“Mother!” Nicolas suddenly cut in, stopping Eloise from saying more. She seemed to wake from a dream, clamping her hand over her mouth. Her eyes flicked around helplessly before she slumped to the floor in despair.
Eloise cried in silence, as if burdened by great sorrows and misunderstood by Athena. But Athena had caught the implication in her words. She asked, “This has to do with Lord Nicolas?”
She looked at Nicolas, who remained stone-faced and silent. But his eyes were full of menace.
“He’s holding back. Why?” she thought.
Athena wondered what was so grave that it had to be hidden from outsiders, that he’d go so far as to scheme for her grandmother’s title deed. Athena was silent for a long moment. Her eyes dimmed. Then she suddenly said, “Nicolas, just how big of a mess have you made!”