Saintess's Worthless Husband Turned Dragon Commander novel Chapter 222

CHAPTER 162 PART 2

The panic in the room was palpable and growing. These were children who’d spent their entire lives cushioned by family names and inherited wealth. Consequences had always been abstract, something that happened to other people. But now, watching their social standing crumble in real-time, the abstract became viciously concrete.

And slowly, inevitably, the blame shifted.

“This is your fault,” Carter Woods turned on Ives, his voice shaking with rage and fear. “You recorded it! You posted it! We were all trying to keep quiet, trying to figure out how to handle this, and you made it PUBLIC!”

“I was just ” Ives started.

“Just what?” Simeon cut in, her earlier loyalty to Elize completely forgotten in the face of her own crisis. “Just having fun? Just being vindictive? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to us?”

“The Abbott Family will protect you,” Trevor said bitterly. “Your father’s connected. Your name means something. But us? We’re finished. Every single one of us. Because you thought it would be funny to post a video of us committing assault on one of the Four Great Young Masters!”

Ives looked around at the hostile faces surrounding her. For the first time, genuine understanding began to penetrate her earlier glee. These people-her social circle, people she’d partied with and laughed with-were being destroyed. And she was the one who’d lit the match.

“I’ll delete it,” she said quickly, pulling up her phone. “Right now. It’s gone. Look-deleted!”

But even as the post vanished from her profile, everyone in the room understood the truth: it was too late. The video had already been shared hundreds of times. Screenshots existed. Downloads had been made. The genie couldn’t be put back in the bottle.

Then Simeon’s phone buzzed with a notification. She looked at it and her face went white. “Oh God.”

“What?” Madison leaned over to look. “Oh no.”

The notification was from their social media group-the private circle where Five-River Province’s young elite shared gossip, party invites, and insider information. Someone had reposted the full video of Atlas’s humiliation, complete with every slap, every tear, every moment of degradation.

But this time, the caption was different:

“For everyone wondering who stands with Young Master Lancaster against these traitors-I do. This video stays up. Let everyone see who chose to betray one of our own. – Elijah Lancaster”

“Elijah,” Brandon breathed. “Atlas’s brother. He’s making sure the video never disappears.”

“He’s declaring war,” Trevor realized. “Not just on us individually-on everyone in that video. He’s making sure the Lancaster Family knows exactly who to target.”

Ives stared at her phone in horror. She’d started this thinking it was just funny. Just Atlas getting what he deserved. She’d never considered-never truly understood-that her actions would have consequences beyond the immediate satisfaction of humiliation.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but the words felt pathetically inadequate. “I didn’t think—”

“No, you didn’t,” Carter agreed coldly. “You never do. You just act, and the rest of us suffer.”

Ives looked around the room-at the fear, the anger, the betrayal written across every face-and something inside

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her cracked. Despite her arrogance, despite her privilege, she wasn’t cruel. Reckless, yes. Impulsive, absolutely. But not malicious.

And she’d just ruined these people’s lives without meaning to.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again, tears beginning to form. “I’ll fix this. I’ll tell my father. He can talk to the Lancasters. He can-”

“Your father can’t fix this,” Simeon said flatly. “Nobody can. The video’s out there. The damage is done. We’re all finished.”

Ives’s phone slipped from her numb fingers. She stood there for a moment, frozen, then turned and ran from the room-tears streaming, pride shattered, the weight of what she’d caused finally crushing her usual confidence.

She made it to the hallway before collapsing against the wall, sobbing.

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