Lost Me, Gained Regret (Jane and Bryant Ferguson) novel Chapter 178

The car rolled to a graceful stop before a grand estate, its façade imposing and majestic. Quick on his feet, the driver stepped out to open our doors.

Kathy, her posture ramrod straight, a testament to her upbringing, led the way in black kitten heels, guiding me through the main entrance. "Ms. Webster, I've invited you here today for a favor."

I asked, "What kind of favor?"

"You'll see soon enough." Her words piqued my curiosity, though I've never been one to pry too deeply.

But as we meandered through the garden, and I glimpsed through the glass of the scene unfolding in the family's private chapel, I was stunned. Mark was on his knees, his back a canvas of brutal wounds, yet his expression bore no trace of pain or rage, only an unsettling calm, like the still surface of a dormant pond.

The irate matriarch, standing over him, lashed out again, her voice seething, "Mark, don't think for a second I can't deal with you! If you die, I'll adopt another heir to continue the Larson family!"

"Then do so," Mark replied, his tone a mix of deference and disdain, not moving an inch, enduring the pain with clenched teeth.

I felt a sympathetic twinge of pain and was about to step forward when Kathy held me back, leaving me to inquire awkwardly, "Is... is that his... mother?"

But I remembered Mark telling me his mother had passed away!

"That's my mother," Kathy explained with a calm that mirrored Mark's, her voice soft, "He's shunned the Larson family's influence for years, only to tap into it last night to teach Lloyd and his gang a lesson for you."

"What?" I was utterly confused.

I hadn't contacted Mark since being kidnapped the night before. Why?