Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Chapter 164

The door to the small room slowly creaked open.

Shawn saw a tiny room, barely dozens of square feet, shrouded in darkness.

And then the door slowly opened.

(54

55 youce

Natalie’s hair was a tangled mess, her cheeks hollowed out, and she looked nothing like her old self. One side of her face was badly swollen, with a clear handprint still visible.

Shawn’s eyes narrowed in shock.

“Jon, why is she here?” Shawn asked.

Natalie, who had been in a daze, suddenly snapped out of it, her eyes lighting up with hope.

“Shawn, please, save me!” she cried out.

As Natalie tried to grab his sleeve, that dream flashed through Shawn’s mind again.

He saw Sierra lying in the middle of a crowded street, blood streaming everywhere, her blood-soaked hands reaching out as her lips moved in a silent plea for help.

Without thinking, Shawn instinctively stepped back, leaving Natalie grasping at nothing.

Natalie froze, her eyes wide with confusion, not understanding what just happened.

Her gaze stayed fixed on Shawn, dazed, until the tears she’d been holding back finally spilled over.

After finding out David and Elouise had been arrested, Natalie planned to sneak back, grab a few things, and get out of here for good.

But Sharon had already figured her out and had been waiting inside the villa the whole time.

For days, Natalie had been locked up in that tiny, pitch-black room, just dozens of square feet, not even a bathroom. Sharon only showed up every few days to throw her some food and water, just enough to keep her alive.

Natalie never imagined that someone as gentle as Sharon could turn out to be so cold-hearted.

“Shawn, please, save me! Mom’s lost her mind! She’s been beating me and locking me up in this dark room. I’m seriously going to die in here!” Natalie cried out.

Shawn felt his heart clench, moved despite himself.

Just as he was about to speak, Sharon’s icy voice rang out from the stairwell. “Die? When Sierra came back, wasn’t it you who kept scheming, pushing me to lock my own daughter in that dark room for a whole week?

“I was blind before, couldn’t see your true colors. But now that I know exactly what you’ve done, I’m going to make sure you taste every single bit of suffering Sierra went through!”

Natalie’s face drained of color, her lips parted in disbelief.

She wanted to explain herself, to play the victim like she always did, but just as she started to speak, she caught the look in Sharon’s eyes-pure hatred, like she wanted to rip her to shreds.

Natalie clamped her mouth shut in fear, her eyes pleading with Shawn, hoping he’d still stand up for her, for old times’ sake.

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Chapter 164

If she had to stay in that dark room any longer, she’d lose her mind, even if she didn’t die.

Shawn couldn’t help but feel a pang in his chest.

Even though David and Elouise had done some pretty messed-up things, he and Natalie had a bond after all these years. When he saw her like this, it hurt him, too.

After hesitating for a moment, Shawn spoke up carefully. “Mom, Natalie knows she was wrong. Let’s just kick her ou Keeping her locked up like this is illegal.”

“Illegal?” Sharon scoffed. “Natalie had the nerve to mess with the files Jon used to investigate Sierra, and even convinced David to go after her. If she wasn’t scared, why should I be?”

Shawn’s mind went blank, like he’d just been hit over the head.

The rest of Sharon’s words faded into the background.

He thought, ‘What files did Natalie tamper with?

‘And Natalie was in on Sierra’s kidnapping, too?’

He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but when Natalie’s face turned deathly pale and she just stood there, completely speechless, it was like she’d been struck dumb by shock.

“Natalie, is what Mom said true? How could you do something like this?” Shawn blurted out, disbelief written all over his face.

When Sierra came back, everyone in the family was so worried about hurting Natalie’s feelings that they sometimes even took it out on Sierra without realizing it.

‘But why wasn’t Natalie satisfied? Why would she do something like this?’ Shawn wondered, his thoughts in turmoil.

Seeing her stay silent, Shawn anxiously turned to Jonathan. “Jon, is what Mom said true?”

“Yes,” Jonathan said quietly, his voice heavy.

Jonathan’s eyes were dark and troubled. “A while back, I noticed Sierra was acting a bit off, so I had my assistant go to Genova County to look into her background.

“But since I barely knew anything about her, it took a while to get any results. By the time we got the files, I’d already put it out of my mind.

“That day, my assistant brought the documents over, and Natalie happened to see them. She took the files and altered Sierra’s records, which only made things between us even messier…”

As he spoke, Jonathan looked straight at Natalie, his tone like a judge passing sentence. “Natalie, the Sterling family has never done you wrong.

“The law can’t touch you for what you’ve done, so you’ll spend the rest of your life locked up in this dark room.

Jonathan didn’t even look back at Natalie’s desperate face. He slammed the door shut, leaving her in darkness.

**

Once New Year’s Eve was over, the second day of the new year rolled around in no time.

When Sierra first inherited WonderWild Zoo, the place was falling apart. But after she spent a fortune fixing it up and upgrading the facilities, now it actually felt like a proper zoo.

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Chapter 164

54

E55 vouche

The zoo opened at eight, and Sierra, Thomas, and the rest of the crew were there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

By then, the entrance was already packed with people as far as the eye could see.

After the ribbon-cutting, Sierra and Thomas headed off, leaving hundreds of staff to handle the ticket checks.

WonderWild Zoo had set up plenty of different routes for visitors, so even though people had been waiting in line for ages and were pretty grumpy, the moment they stepped inside, all their complaints melted away.

Inside, there were over a thousand free shuttle buses, all roomy and comfortable.

There were more than a hundred shops, including free rest areas, restaurants, snack stands, and over a thousand kinds of zoo-themed merchandise.

Visitors had expected everything to be super expensive, but to their surprise, the prices at the shops were only a few bucks higher than outside.

The rest areas had free stuff, and there were plenty of extra women’s restrooms and nursing rooms.

As for the merchandise, except for the big stuffed animals, nothing else cost more than 10 bucks.

Seriously, these days, a legit fridge magnet would cost at least 20 bucks.

People who were all set to post rant threads about the zoo suddenly felt all their complaints melt away.

They thought, ‘WonderWild Zoo is just awesome! So cool! Absolutely the best!

’12 bucks for a ticket, but it honestly feels like a 120-dollar VIP experience!’

By the end of the first day of the soft opening, WonderWild Zoo shot straight to the top of the trending list, and the comments section was packed with people recommending it like crazy.

Netizens: [Guys, I’m telling you, you have to visit this zoo! It’s honestly so comfortable, and the prices are super affordable. Yeah, stuff’s a little more expensive than outside, but the bang for your buck is unreal!]

[Bro, you think we don’t want to go? All the tickets for next week are already sold out!]

[Why does it feel like the whole country’s at this zoo? Don’t you folks have your own zoos back home?]

[Just went there. Had to wait in line for at least an hour because it was packed! I was all set to complain, but WonderWild Zoo’s facilities are seriously next level.

[The security guard told me Sierra saw people online saying there weren’t enough women’s restrooms, so she had a ton more built. Adding a hundred restrooms isn’t cheap!

[Plus, the animals’ living spaces are the best I’ve ever seen. They’re super clean. The keepers really care about them, and the animals themselves are adorable and full of personality.]

[Speaking of the animals, the ones at WonderWild Zoo are just hilariously quirky. Quickie will be all polite one second, and then roast you the next.

[And Biggie, the bear? I swear, I’ve never seen a bear with such a savage mouth. It’s always beefing with the lion next door!]

[Wow, glad I’m not the only one who thinks these animals are totally unhinged! Milo, the eternally hungry snow leopard, has had such a rough life. It’s even learned to greet visitors just to score some snacks.]

[And over in the swan area, there’s the ugliest toad you’ve ever seen, always pressing up against the glass to stare at the swans.

[Whenever the keeper opens the door, it sneaks in and starts croaking at a swan like it’s confessing its love!]

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Chapter 164

[And Pip… I never got why a zoo would sell raincoats. Like, it’s not a theme park or anything, right?]

The internet was flooded with rave reviews for WonderWild Zoo, and Sierra could finally breathe easy.

Now, tickets were selling out every single day, and the merch business was absolutely on fire.

WonderWild Zoo instantly became the gold standard for zoos across the country.

5

65 vouches.

Three days later, a directive dropped from the top. Zoo directors nationwide would do cross-inspections. Sierra lucked out and got assigned to a trending zoo in Harborty, setting off the very next day.

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12:30 Sat, Jan 10 RG