The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 146

Chapter 14–

Chapter 146

Sebastian was the first to grab his bag.

As soon as his hand touched the strap, he paused. It was heavier than he expected, denitely not something you could lift with just one hand.

He picked up the bag with both hands, his eyebrow twitching a bit. Without a word, he slung it over his shoulder and turne

to leave.

Madison was next. He picked up the bag smoothly, but as soon as he slung it over his shoulder, his shoulder dipped a little before he straightened up again.

He frowned, didn’t say a word, and walked out with his head down.

As soon as Kelly picked up her bag, she could tell it weighed at least 55 pounds.

Her hand paused on the strap for a moment, then she took a deep breath and hoisted the bag onto her shoulder.

There was a faint creak from her shoulder, like her bones were being pressed together.

‘Hey, you two girls…”

A voice echoed from deep in the warehouse, laced with a sly, mocking chuckle.

‘Can you even carry those? Need a hand from the guys?”

Kelly just ignored them and tightened the strap another notch, shifted her weight, and walked out.

Seeing Kelly ignore them, the guys turned to Natalie. One of them smirked, “Hey, little lady, think you can handle that?”

‘Yeah, looks like it weighs more than you do!”

Natalie shot them a cold look. She’d only ended up last because the others had deliberately shoved her out of the way when they came in. Otherwise, she’d already be outside.

She didn’t even give them the time of day. With a single, effortless motion, she tossed the 55 pounds bag onto her shoulder with one hand and strode out.

The guys just smirked at each other, acting like it was no big deal

But the moment they tried to lift the bag with one hand, it wouldn’t even move.

‘Damn, this thing is way heavier than 45 pounds! one of them thought, shocked.

Blondie snickered, mocking them, “Oh, what’s the matter? Can’t lift it? Need me to give you a hand?”

The guys‘ faces flushed red with embarrassment. They’d just been trash talking Natalie, and now they couldn’t even get fie bag off the ground themselves.

“You think you can carry that? You’re skinny as a monkey. Don’t go tossing the bag halfway through the run,” one of the guys jeered.

Blondie stood at the warehouse door, his back to the voices behind him.

“Tsk, thirty seconds left! You guys better move it!” he called out.

48 am

Chapter 1-

wainy crouched down, gripped the edge of the bag with both hands, and gave it a good heave

The moment the weight hit him, his face flushed red, not from exhaustion, but from embarrassment. This bag is definitely more than 15 pounds!‘ Sunny thought, feeling a bit humiliated.

He’d just been mocking Natalie for not being able to carry it, and frow he found it heavy himself

He slung the bag over his shoulder and stalked out in silence.

Kavier followed behind him, his lips pressed into a thin line, not saying a word.

The rest of the guys hurried out after them.

Out on the field, Noah clicked his stopwatch, scanning each face with a cold, sharp look.

Three minutes,” he said, his voice quiet but every word hitting like a nail.

Guess you got lucky. All of you made it back.

Alright, since everyone’s back, let’s kick things off with today’s warm–up,” Noah said.

He stood in front of the group, hands clasped behind his back, a smirk playing on his lips.

Ten kilometers, carrying weight. You’ve got one hour and forty minutes to finish.”

He glanced at his watch.

It’s 5:20 PM now. The cafeteria closes at 7. Figure it out yourselves,” he said, his tone cool and unbothered.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone froze, their faces turning grim.

55 You‘

Ten kilometers with 55 pounds on our backs, and only an hour and forty minutes to finish! The numbers alone made everyone tense up,

This really is hell camp, hardcore as hell!‘ they thought, a mix of dread and adrenaline kicking in

Noah looked at them, the smile on his lips slowly faded.

‘Go,‘ he said, his voice sharp and commanding.

Forty–seven people rushed out.

Sebastian was still leading the pack, his strides impressively wide, boots pounding the gravel and kicking up bits of sins

with every step

Madison followed about nine feet bebind, gritting his teeth and keeping his rhythm in silence

The forty–seven–person group stayed tight, each person locked into their own pace

Everyone watched as Natalie, bit by bit, ran her way right up to the front of the pack!

Everyone’s jaws dropped in disbelief

She wasn’t sprinting Her steps were small, but her pace was quick and steady

48 am

Chapter 1 —

they saw her stays from the friddle, darting forward like she was weaving through the crowd.

Less than half a kilometer in, she was already leading the pack.

55 youners

By this point, most people had to admit Natalie wasn’t just some girl here to pad her resume. She was seriously changing

their minds.

Sebastian heard steady footsteps approaching from behind.

He shifted half an inch to the side, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur of dark green.

As Natalie passed him, he caught a faint scent of jasmine drifting in the air.

And just like that, she was past him.

Sebastian’s rhythm faltered for a moment.

He watched her run ahead. Her strides weren’t big, but she was outpacing him.

Her arms barely moved, her torso stayed steady, and she put all her energy into pushing forward. Not a single bit wasted.

Spencer gritted his teeth, wanting to speed up and catch her, but his legs just weren’t having it.

He’d already pushed himself for half a kilometer, and his calves were starting to cramp up from the lactic acid.

f he tried to speed up now, he’d never make it through the next nine and a half kilometers.

He forced himself to stick to his rhythm, swallowing his frustration as he watched her disappear into the distance.

Madison saw it, too.

He looked away from Natalie and glanced down at his own pace, four minutes per kilometer.

That was the limit he’d set for himself; he couldn’t go any faster.

But when Natalie passed him, she was running at least ten seconds faster per kilometer.

Her pace was more like cruising.

Keeping up that pace for ten whole kilometers? That was almost unheard of, but Natalie was actually doing

Blondie didn’t even notice when Natalie blew past him.

By the time he realized it, she was already 164 feet ahead.

He jumped, blurting out, “Damn! How is she that fast? No wonder she’s the boss!”

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