CHAPTER 85: YOU’RE SENDING ANOTHER NIGHT HERE?

Gasps and horrified stares followed her words. Mrs. Ashford’s knees nearly buckled beneath her, while Mirabel’s face drained of all color, as if all life had been ripped from her body.

"Yes, Mother. It has to be carried out," came another voice....calm, commanding, and unmistakably familiar.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the direction of the voice.

It was Damien, the eldest son.

A wave of unease swept through the courtyard.

"Bring out the family punishment tool," Damien added coldly, his voice firm and without emotion.

His command sent visible waves of shock and terror down the spines of both Mirabel and Mrs. Ashford.

"Woah...this is one hell of an interesting scene." Darius murmured under his breath with a satisfied smile on his face.

Damien, as the eldest, was regarded as the acting head of the house in Mr. Ashford’s absence. His words carried authority....authority no one dared to challenge.

The moment he issued the order, the servants sprang into action without hesitation, disappearing swiftly to fulfill the command.

"You must be joking, Senior Brother..." Mirabel finally found her voice, though it trembled. She moved closer, her eyes wide in disbelief, and dropped to her knees, clutching Damien’s leg tightly. "You can’t possibly intend to punish me in front of all these servants. This... this is humiliating!"

Damien remained unmoved.

"You really want to punish your sister?" Mrs. Ashford asked, her voice brittle with disbelief, a pleading edge breaking through. "Yes, she was wrong, and she can apologize to Victoria if that will settle things but punishment? Here? In front of everyone? We’re family, for goodness’ sake!"

"But you didn’t think so during Victoria’s turn, did you?" Darius cut in with a scoff, arms folded across his chest, his expression unimpressed. "The Ashford family truly is... fascinating."

"Mother," Damien said, turning toward her with a hard expression. "Mirabel committed a wrong, and by our family’s code, it must be addressed. I am not being cruel....I am being just. She must accept the punishment and learn from it."

"No, Brother! This is wrong! It’s totally wrong!" Mirabel screamed, tears spilling from her eyes as she tried to back away.

But before she could retreat more than a few steps, two male guards stepped forward at Damien’s signal. Without a word, they seized her by the arms.

"How dare you lowlifes lay hands on me?! You must have a death wish!" she shrieked, struggling wildly against their grip.

Mrs. Ashford attempted to intervene, rushing toward them, but two more guards quickly intercepted and restrained her as well.

"Are you seriously doing this to your own mother too?!" she yelled, her voice filled with anguish and betrayal. "How dare you, Damien?!"

Soon, the servants who had left returned, carrying rectangular steel containers filled with glowing hot charcoals, the fire within crackling ominously. Heat waves shimmered above them, the air becoming stifling.

Two other guards brought out the King’s Bench, a dreaded punishment device with thin belts attached at the sides to bind the victim tightly. Following behind were two male servants, each holding long, polished caning sticks....both thick and cruelly designed for maximum pain.

Mirabel’s eyes widened in horror. "Senior Brother! No, please!" she screamed, her voice raw with desperation. "Stop this! You can’t...."

But her cries fell on deaf ears.

The guards dragged her forward despite her struggles and pushed her onto the bench, forcing her chest down and lifting her lower body. The belts were fastened around her arms, legs, and waist, locking her firmly into place.

"No! Please, don’t do this!" she sobbed, flailing as much as she could, her cheeks soaked in tears.

And then the punishment began.

With no ceremony, the first strike landed on her exposed backside.

CRACK!

A scream tore from her throat.

CRACK!

Again and again, the sticks came down with brutal force.

Her loud, heart-wrenching wails filled the air, echoing throughout the courtyard. Some servants watched with cold satisfaction, remembering how cruel Mirabel had been to them in the past. Others, however, looked away in discomfort, pained by the savage punishment she was enduring.

Victoria, standing at the side, watched with a calm, satisfied grin playing across her lips. Things were unfolding exactly as she had planned.

What do I expect from Damien, anyway? she mused, letting out a soft, mocking scoff.

Finally, after delivering the full count of lashes, the guards paused. Mirabel’s body trembled violently, her backside now bloodied and raw.

Without giving her time to recover, they released her from the bench and dragged her toward the glowing containers of hot charcoal.

"Beating your own blood sister is one thing!" Mrs. Ashford screamed, still restrained. "But now this?! You want to make her walk on burning coal?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Damien’s expression didn’t falter. He gave another signal to the guards.

Understanding the silent command, the guards holding Mirabel tightened their grip and forced her feet onto the hot charcoal.

"ARRRGHHHH!"

Mirabel’s scream was piercing....raw pain and despair exploding from her throat. Her legs buckled, her skin searing from the heat, blood beginning to trickle from the soles of her feet.

"You caused this, Victoria!" Mrs. Ashford shouted, turning her furious, tear-filled gaze toward her. "You stupid girl! You’ve bewitched my sons! Look what you’ve done to my baby!"

Before Victoria could reply....

"Victoria did nothing wrong here, Mother," Callum said coldly as he stepped forward, wrapping a protective arm around Victoria. "And stop overreacting. Your daughter will recover. She has a healing ability....Victoria doesn’t. If the tables had turned today and it was Victoria who was found impure, we both know you would’ve had no problem letting her be punished."

He looked her in the eye, voice unwavering. "Now that your daughter is the wayward one, she deserves to face the consequences."

"Exactly," Theo chimed in, his tone equally firm, arms crossed.

"She has fainted, Young Master," one of the guards announced suddenly. His voice echoed across the courtyard, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Then take her to her room and call a doctor for her," Damien ordered calmly.

At once, the guards obeyed. They began carrying Mirabel away, her limp body carefully handled as though she might break apart at any moment. The guard holding Mrs. Ashford finally released her, allowing her to stumble forward.

Tears streamed down her face as she ran after her daughter, crying out in pain and anguish.

The moment the tension began to ease, Damien turned his attention to Victoria. He stepped closer and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a softer tone. "I made it back just in time, didn’t I?"

"Arrived in time?" Victoria raised an eyebrow, her expression clouded with confusion.

"Yeah," another voice interjected before Damien could respond.

It was Lucian.

"I was the one who secretly called Elder Brother to return home," Lucian admitted. "If I hadn’t... Mirabel would’ve gone scot-free. I couldn’t let you be wronged like that."

A visible shiver ran down Victoria’s spine.

Are these fools actually serious? she thought, lips curling into a subtle, bitter scoff. They punished Mirabel, their full-blooded sister. same father, same mother....just to protect me, a step-sister?

Before she could gather her thoughts further, Darius broke the silence with his usual smirk.

"Well... I must say, I really enjoyed today’s drama," he announced, folding his arms across his chest, clearly unbothered. "And now, I’ve forgiven the Ashford family. After all, the person who insulted me....accusing me of having anything to do with Victoria has finally been punished."

He turned his gaze toward Anna, who had been standing quietly, her expression unreadable.

"Let’s go back home now, Sister."

But before Anna could respond, Damien stepped forward slightly and addressed them with a small, polite bow.

"The Ashford family deeply regrets the experience you had here today. I offer our sincerest apologies on behalf of both of my sisters. Please... allow what happened here today to remain a family matter."

"Of course," Darius replied firmly, his smirk gone. "I have no intention of spreading rumors or telling anyone what happened. It’s not my business."

Damien nodded, visibly relieved.

"Anyway," he added, shifting the tone of the conversation, "there’s clearly no school for Victoria and my brothers today. They’re already late, so they might as well spend the rest of the day at home."

A faint smile played at the corner of his lips.

"I’ll be preparing breakfast at the Ashford children’s hall. You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like."

"That won’t be necessary," Darius replied without hesitation, already reaching for Anna’s hand. "I’ve got things to do."

But Anna didn’t move.

Her hand remained stiff in his, her body unresponsive. Darius turned to her in confusion, brows furrowing slightly.

"Sister?" he called, noticing her gaze had shifted toward Victoria.

"I’ll stay," Anna finally said, her voice quiet but firm as she stepped away from Darius and walked toward Victoria. Without warning, she reached out and gently took Victoria’s hand in hers.

"Victoria needs someone to be with her....to help her recover from everything that just happened," she added softly. "She doesn’t need to be alone right now. I’ll stay and make sure she’s okay. I’ll only go back home tomorrow and they is if she’s already good."

"Tomorrow?" Darius repeated, blinking in confusion. "You’re spending another night here?"

"Yes," Anna declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. "We’ll spend one more night here with the Ashford family."