When She Rose From the Ashes (Natalie and Jensen) novel Chapter 593

**HereSelf 593**
**The Real Mastermind**

“What do you mean by that?” Natalie demanded, her voice a blend of disbelief and simmering rage. The weight of the revelation hung heavily in the air, and fury coursed through her veins. This woman, Yulia, was the very embodiment of the torment that had kept her separated from her family for over two decades. Every moment of pain, every tear shed, seemed to converge on this one confrontation.

Yulia, sensing the storm brewing in their expressions, cleared her throat, her demeanor shifting to one of grim seriousness. “Because that woman is already dead,” she stated flatly, the words slicing through the tension like a knife.

“What?” Natalie’s voice remained relatively steady, but Ruby, beside her, was visibly shaken, her composure crumbling like a house of cards.

“Are you saying she’s already dead? How could she die?” Ruby’s voice trembled, a mix of confusion and disbelief.

The revelation struck them like a thunderclap; there was nothing more infuriating than the realization that the enemy they had longed to confront was already beyond their reach, buried in the ground before they could exact their revenge.

Yulia rubbed her nose thoughtfully, her gaze distant as she recalled the events that had unfolded. “When Candice orchestrated her treachery, she left a mess that no one wanted to clean up. My father, fearing that the scandal would tarnish the Gunn family name, took it upon himself to manage the fallout. This ‘management’ involved leveraging Rachel’s greed after he uncovered her dealings with Loretta. He recruited her, and she has been under his thumb ever since. As for Candice, my father grew weary of her antics after that incident and effectively locked her away in a villa on the outskirts of town. One fateful night, she attempted to escape, and in a tragic twist of fate, she was struck by a car and killed.”

A heavy silence settled over the group as Yulia’s words sank in, each person processing the implications.

Karmic justice or simply the cruel hand of fate? Regardless, the flames of their anger remained unquenched. Candice might be gone, but the scars she had inflicted on the Stone family were deep and painful, wounds that might never fully heal.

Natalie’s fury simmered just beneath the surface, but her brow furrowed in contemplation. Candice was indeed despicable and the architect of her suffering, but what of Hayes?

“Wait a minute, Yulia. You mentioned that Hayes recruited Rachel after cleaning up Candice’s mess? Does that mean Rachel has been working for Hayes all these years?” The question slipped from Natalie’s lips, heavy with dread.

As soon as the words left her mouth, a palpable tension enveloped the room. Everyone turned to Yulia, their expressions darkening with concern.

Baron’s eyes narrowed, his hands balling into fists at his sides, a storm brewing within him.

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