Larissa Judson and Haskell Palmer novel Chapter 598

The Lincoln Estate.

In the spacious great hall, Helena was serenely sipping her coffee, her grandmotherly expression underscored by an unmistakable air of authority. The tranquility was shattered by the sound of frantic footsteps as the butler hurried in, his face a mask of panic.

"Madam Helena, it's terrible! Josette has collapsed in the family chapel!"

Helena’s brow twitched. She let out a cold scoff. "Bring her to me."

Though her voice was soft, it carried an absolute, unquestionable command.

Ever since her second son, Jagger, had been sent to prison, a volcanic rage had been simmering within Helena.

Josette, as Jagger’s wife, had become the unfortunate target of her fury. She was confined to the chapel, stripped of her freedom, and forced to pass her days in that cramped, cold space. Helena tormented her relentlessly, allowing her only one meal a day—nothing more than stale bread and watery soup. To compound the misery, Josette was forced to copy passages from the Bible from dawn till dusk, a penance for her supposed "sins."

A moment later, Josette’s listless body was dragged into the room like a discarded rag doll and unceremoniously dumped on the cold marble floor.

Helena sat impassively on the sofa, her sharp eyes fixed on the woman like a hawk.

Josette’s face was ashen, her body so gaunt and frail it looked as if a strong gust of wind could topple her. It was a pitiful sight.

But there was no pity in Helena’s heart.

"Fetch a basin of water," she ordered coldly. "And throw it on her."

"Forgive you? Who's going to forgive my son!" Helena’s voice thundered with rage. "If you hadn't given the Lincoln family a grandson, I would have dealt with you far more harshly than this!"

Terrified by Helena’s fury, Josette trembled, her face pale as a sheet. She bowed her head, not daring to breathe, terrified of provoking the formidable matriarch any further.

"For every day my son spends in that prison," Helena snarled, her words like hammer blows, "you will never know a moment of peace in this house!"

The threat plunged Josette into despair, but beneath it, a deep resentment festered.

This was all Larissa’s fault. If Larissa hadn't sent her husband, Jagger Lincoln, to prison, she would never have been subjected to this torture.