When She Rose From the Ashes (Natalie and Jensen) novel Chapter 554

**TITLE: HereSelf 554**
**Chapter 554: A Bought Son**

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“Hansel!” Jensen’s voice cut through the chaos like a knife. “What are you doing just standing there? Restrain Rachel! Don’t let her lay a finger on the Madam!”

In a flash, Rachel was on the offensive, her hand connecting sharply with Loretta’s cheek, the sound of the slap reverberating through the room.

Loretta’s eyes blazed with a mixture of rage and disbelief, her face flushed with anger. “You dare strike me! You shameless little wretch! I swear I will tear you to shreds today!”

The tension escalated as the two women descended into a fierce melee, grappling and clawing at one another, each vying for dominance.

Jensen felt a pulse of frustration and anxiety throb violently at his temples as he watched the scene unfold, his heart racing. “Someone! Get them apart!” he commanded, his voice rising above the din.

The bodyguards sprang into action, converging on the two women, pinning Rachel forcefully to the ground, her struggles futile against their strength.

Loretta, meanwhile, was a sight to behold; her hair was disheveled, and her face was already beginning to swell, a far cry from the dignified matriarch she usually projected.

She caught a glimpse of Jensen, and the worry etched on his face sent a pang of emotion through her. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “Well?” she demanded, her voice a mix of defiance and hurt, turning to the son she had nurtured for over two decades.

Jensen had been grappling with his suspicions, but now, seeing the pain in Loretta’s expression, the truth began to crystallize in his mind. A whirlwind of emotions surged within him—anger, protectiveness, and a fierce loyalty that he had never fully acknowledged. He steadied himself and declared, each word dripping with conviction, “You are my mother, the Matriarch of the Luke family. No one has the right to bully you! I don’t care who she is. Today, she has struck you, and that means she has disrespected me. Men! Teach Rachel a lesson—slap her twenty times!”

At his command, Rachel froze, disbelief washing over her features, and then she erupted into a frenzy of thrashing and protests. “Jensen! You can’t be serious! You dare lay a hand on me? Don’t you know that you’ll face dire consequences for this?”

But Jensen remained undeterred, his gaze icy. “I haven’t even dealt with you for holding me hostage, and now you think you can strike my mother? Did you really believe I would bow to you just to survive after you poisoned me?”

“Listen carefully, Rachel. My life, Jensen’s life, was given to me by my mother! Without Loretta, I wouldn’t even exist! I would kill anyone who dares to harm her! Count yourself fortunate that I still require your antidote; otherwise, you wouldn’t leave this airport in one piece!”

Loretta’s brow furrowed at Rachel’s ominous words. What did she mean? Did Jensen still remain in the dark about his true origins? Had Rachel withheld the truth from him? Confusion swirled in Loretta’s mind as she regarded Rachel with suspicion.

In that moment, a throng of people burst into the room, surrounding Rachel and the others like a tidal wave.

“Jensen! You betrayed me?” Rachel’s instinct was to reach for Jensen, to pull him back into her fold, but with Loretta present, her attempts were futile. Most strikingly, Jensen had just made it abundantly clear that Loretta was his only mother.

“You old hag! Still trying to cling to my son? You don’t deserve him!” Loretta lunged forward, seizing Rachel by the hair, and once more, the two women found themselves entangled in a chaotic struggle.

Rachel, already reeling from her biological son’s betrayal, felt a surge of desperation. The stakes had risen; she had to win this fight, no matter the cost.

“Loretta, you shameless old harlot! You can’t even bear your own children, so you resort to purchasing someone else’s! How dare you act so superior in front of me? If it weren’t for my efforts, how could you have ascended to the position of Matriarch of the Luke family? All these years of luxury—everything you have, I provided! And now you dare to treat me this way? You ungrateful wretch!”

Jensen had been poised to intervene, to separate the two combatants, but Rachel’s words struck him like a thunderbolt, freezing him in place.