CHAPTER 69: NO MORE WEAKNESS.

A sleek black car soon pulled up in front of the Ashford mansion, it’s surface gleaming under the afternoon sun. One by one, the Ashford children stepped out, making their way toward the large double doors of their home.

Inside the grand living room, Mr. and Mrs. Ashford were already waiting, pacing with nervous energy and anxious expressions.

"Oh my goodness... they’re back!" Mrs. Ashford exclaimed, her voice laced with overwhelming relief. She immediately rushed toward the children, ignoring everyone else as she pulled Victoria into a tight embrace....one so intense that it nearly suffocated her in a cloud of expensive floral perfume.

"How are you, my baby?" she gushed emotionally, stroking Victoria’s hair. "You must’ve been so scared, trapped in that dreadful dungeon. I’m so sorry your mother and father couldn’t do anything to help you..."

"We’re so sorry, Victoria," Mr. Ashford added, his voice choked with emotion. Though the tears had not yet fallen, they shimmered in his eyes as he gently pulled Victoria into a second hug. "We should’ve done something. I just hope those spoiled brats didn’t lay a finger on you."

"I’m okay now, Father. Mother," Victoria said softly, her voice steady and warm. "I’m home now." She gave them a gentle smile as she finally managed to pull away from their suffocating affection. "I’m sorry I caused so much worry. Please... forgive me."

"Oh no, darling. You didn’t do anything wrong," Mrs. Ashford replied quickly, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief. Her expression was one of relief but the tearful display wasn’t particularly convincing to Victoria, who caught herself from scoffing and instead maintained a polite smile. "We’re just so glad you’re back. You must be absolutely famished! I prepared all your favorites....you should come and eat."

"I’d rather go to my room and rest for a while, Mother," Victoria said immediately, placing a hand on her sore shoulder as if trying to ease the tension. "My body’s aching all over. I want to take a warm shower, eat in my room, and maybe get a massage while I relax."

Then, her gaze shifted toward Theo.

"I heard my dear brother Theo is quite skilled at giving massages," she added with a sly smile. "You give Father and Mother massages every winter to help with their aches, and I’ve heard it works miracles."

Theo’s face lit up with pride. "Oh yes, Victoria. Whoever told you that wasn’t lying. And yes, you deserve a massage from me. I couldn’t stop you from spending the night in that wretched dungeon, so let me at least make it up to you."

"And," Victoria continued, her smile deepening as she turned her attention to her next sibling, "my brother Callum is rather exceptional at sword dancing. I’d love to watch one of your performances tonight. It’s been a while."

"Of course, Victoria," Callum replied with a warm grin. "Anything to make you smile again."

"And as for Lucian," she went on, "he’ll be feeding me while I watch. I can’t think of anything more comforting."

Lucian laughed softly. "I’ll do just that, little sister. Just make sure you get some rest and feel better. We’ve still got places to take you, and you haven’t even seen half of what’s changed."

Victoria gave a nod, clearly pleased. "I’ll go have my bath first. Once I’m done, I’ll have the nanny call you all."

With that, she turned and began walking down the hallway toward her room, her steps relaxed but deliberate. Leo followed silently behind her, keeping a respectful distance.

"Hey! Are you following her to her room too?" Callum called out, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "You should be heading to the bodyguards’ quarters. Your lady will summon you when she needs you."

Leo didn’t respond. He simply kept walking behind Victoria, his expression unreadable.

Callum’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief. "This guy..."

But just as he was about to say more, he saw Leo make a right turn....toward the servants’ wing of the mansion. That eased his concern somewhat, and he exhaled, muttering under his breath.

Meanwhile, Victoria soon reached her bedroom door and turned the handle. The moment she stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind her, she froze.

Seated casually on her luxurious bed, completely bare and only visible to her, was Leo....no longer in the body of her bodyguard. He was back in his original form, as always, naked and unbothered.

He looked up at her with those familiar eyes, calm and still.

"You already left his body," Victoria said with a smirk as she shut the door softly behind her. She leaned back against it, arms folded, her gaze locked on the naked figure of Leo seated casually on her bed. "I can’t help but think about what he’ll do next. He’s going to be confused as hell. Imagine waking up back at the mansion when he was sure we were on our way to the Alphas’ private estate."

"That’s not important. He’ll get over it," Leo replied with a heavy sigh, stretching his arms behind his head. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes held sharp curiosity. "Anyway... I see what you’re up to. But I want to hear it from your mouth again, girl. You’ve changed. You’ve got this... different energy about you. It’s like someone flipped a switch. Where’s this new personality coming from?"

Victoria chuckled under her breath and slowly began to pace around her room, her arms swaying with the confidence of someone who had found purpose.

"Well... I just realized something," she said with a faint grin curving her lips. "There’s no drama in this house. Nothing at all. Everything is too quiet, too peaceful. And I almost fell for it, Leo. I almost started enjoying it. I was starting to believe their smiles, their soft words. I was beginning to forget the pain they caused me in the first life."

Her smile faded slightly, replaced with a cold glint in her eyes.

"I should be thinking about all the hurt I endured. About how they betrayed me. About how they abandoned me," she continued, her voice hardening with every word. "I should be focused on revenge. Not redemption. And now... I remember. Discovering the contents of my mother’s locket wasn’t just a nostalgic moment. No. Everything inside it is meant to help me. Tools. Weapons. Tokens for vengeance."

Leo leaned forward, intrigued, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Hmmm... explain more to me, Victoria," he said with interest gleaming in his voice. "I really want to hear this. You’ve had this inside you for a while, haven’t you? But the dungeon... it brought it all to the surface. That pain....it woke you up from whatever illusion you were falling into."

Victoria let out a low, wicked laugh as she continued circling her room like a lioness.

"You knew this, didn’t you?" she said, her eyes narrowing at Leo. "You didn’t let us end up in that dungeon just because of some stupid tracker. No... you did it on purpose. You wanted to jolt me out of my daze. You knew it wasn’t that extreme, but it was just enough. And it worked."

Her smile turned razor-sharp.

"Did you see the hatred in Mirabel’s eyes when I said Callum, Theo, and Lucian would be serving me? Did you catch the twitch in my stepmother’s face? The way her lips nearly curled into a snarl?"

Leo let out a dark laugh. "Oh yeah. She looked like she wanted to scream but couldn’t. And your stepmother....ha! She looked like she wanted to rip your throat out. If you hadn’t left the room when you did, I’m pretty sure she would’ve tried."

"Exactly," Victoria said with excitement in her voice. "They’re only pretending to be nice Just because of my blood. That’s the only reason. So now, I need to start triggering their true nature. Drag out the monsters they’re trying so hard to hide. I can’t allow myself to get comfortable in their false peace. I have to make them crack."

She paused near her window, staring out into the garden, before continuing.

"That’s why I said the locket isn’t just sentimental. It contains tools....resources. To win people to my side, I’ll need to offer something in return. Revenge isn’t just about destruction....it’s strategy. To execute evil and good tasks alike, I need leverage. That locket gives me that."

Her tone turned colder, more calculating.

"And I’ve decided to start with Mirabel," Victoria said with steely calm. "Everything she did to me in the first life....the humiliation, the pain, the betrayal....it’s all coming back to her. The defilement. The horrible drawings. She made me a public disgrace."

She turned around slowly, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"This time, she’ll be the one on display. And her precious mother too. They threw me into the wild, let me be torn apart by beasts, and left me to suffer. But not again. I won’t let it go unpunished."

Leo watched her with admiration, his grin stretching wider.

"And your brothers?" he asked. "What about them?"

"They held power. They used it to bully me, degrade me," Victoria said as she began to walk back toward the bed. "But what happens when they lose that power? When the world they thought they ruled comes crashing down and they’re left serving under me? When I pull their strings like puppets and make them dance? That’s when I’ll see their real selves. That’s when I’ll strike."

She stopped in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection, then raised a hand and gave herself a hard slap across the cheek....shocking even Leo for a moment.

"I almost forgot," she whispered. "I almost let myself be brainwashed by their kindness. But no more. No more weakness."