The Returned Heiress Who Never Fit In novel Chapter 1013

urned Heiress Who Never Fit In

Chapter 1013 A Descent into Madness

Avery Gaunt–Dan’s mother.

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She was the woman who had once shielded Artemis from Marilyn’s lethal schemes, only to eventually meet a tragic, brutal end at Artemis’s own hands.

If Diana hadn’t intervened back then, Avery’s son, Dan, would likely have died alongside his mother. What did it matter if Artemis had spent three years raising the wrong child? If they had possessed the power then that they held now, Artemis wouldn’t still be breathing, let alone causing such chaos.

But unfortunately…

The speed at which the Ashen Pact fell into disarray years ago had left them no time to react. Diana had been forced to flee, and Avery…

At the thought of Avery’s agonizing death, Diana’s foot pressed down harder. Her sharp stiletto heel dug into Lana’s back, sending waves of excruciating pain through the girl’s body.

“Ah! Let me go! Get off me!” Lana shrieked. “Mom, help me! Save me! It hurts so much!”

Diana didn’t flinch. Her weight shifted, the slender heel threatening to pierce straight through skin and muscle.

Seeing her daughter pinned and helpless, Artemis screamed in desperation, “Let her go! Stop it!”

“I want my daughter back,” Diana stated, her voice harder and more resolute than ever before. “And not a single hair on her head–or the child in her womb–is to be harmed.”

Artemis felt a jolt of pure terror. Blood was already beginning to seep through Lana’s clothes. Diana was being merciless.

“Mom, please… help me…” Lana sobbed, looking at Artemis with wide, pleading eyes.

Artemis couldn’t take it. This was the daughter she had raised as a princess, the child she had sheltered from every storm. To see her now, trampled underfoot like a common insect, broke her completely.

“I’ll call! I’ll call him right now!” Artemis collapsed onto the floor, her strength deserting her.

Diana tossed a phone toward her. Artemis scrambled to grab it and immediately dialed Manny’s private number–one of the secret lines only a mother would know.

The call connected almost instantly.

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Chapter 1013 A Descent into Madness

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“Who is this?” Manny’s voice crackled through the line.

“It’s me. You took Tessa, didn’t you?”

“Mom? How did you-”

“I’m with Diana, Manny. Don’t hurt Tessa. Whatever you do, do not touch her!” Artemis cried out in agony.

Deep down, she had hoped Manny would stay hidden. He had escaped, and she wanted him to survive, even if the Ashen Pact was lost to them forever. She wanted him to lie low and rebuild his strength. Why did he have to act so soon? Kidnapping Tessa was a death sentence.

On the other end of the line, Manny was surrounded by a chilling silence. He looked toward a water tank where a metal cage hung suspended; inside was Tessa.

Tessa sat cross–legged in the cage, her arms folded over her chest. Hearing the conversation over the speakerphone, she smirked to herself. Mom is as formidable as ever, she thought. If Tessa was safe, Diana was calm; but the moment Tessa was touched, Diana’s retaliation was swift and lethal.

Manny hissed through clenched teeth, “Mom, they’ve pushed us into a corner. You don’t actually think we’re getting out of this alive, do you?”

Artemis froze. “What do you mean?”

“The Ashen Pact is ours, or we die!” Manny declared. “You’re with Diana? Then tell her: if she wants her daughter to live, she hands the Ashen Pact back in its entirety. It’s mine. Nobody takes what belongs to me.”

His voice rose to a fever pitch. Ever since he was a child, he had been raised with one singular truth: the Ashen Pact was his birthright. Now that it had been snatched away, his mind had twisted into a knot of fury and resentment.

Artemis looked up at Diana, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. “He wants the entire Ashen Pact.”

“Fine,” Diana replied without a second of hesitation. At this moment, she would give Manny anything he asked for. Whether or not he could actually keep it was a different matter entirely.

Artemis spoke into the phone, her voice trembling. “She says yes.”

“She leaves Noctarth immediately,” Manny added, his demands escalating. “And everything she took from the Ashen Pact is to be returned.”

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