CHAPTER 213: DESTRUCTION OF BENNETT FAMILY

[Bennett Mansion]

Inside Katherine’s room, she was bent over, adjusting the strap around her ankle, when a soft knock interrupted her. She paused and looked up, watching Roseline step inside with her usual poised elegance.

"May I come in?" her mother asked.

Katherine lowered her leg and straightened on the couch. "Yes," she said and watched Roseline step further inside.

Last evening had been chaos, with Hugo blatantly accusing Anna of cheating on Daniel, the humiliation she brought to him and what so not. In all that noise, Roseline hadn’t noticed the brace around Katherine’s leg. But now that she finally had a moment alone with her daughter, she couldn’t ignore it.

"I suppose you need help?" Roseline said, joining her on the couch, her eyes fixed on the support wrapped around Katherine’s ankle.

"How did you get it?" she asked, finally lifting her gaze to meet Katherine’s calm expression.

Katherine hadn’t expected her mother to question it so soon; with everyone’s attention consumed by Anna last night, she thought she’d slipped by unnoticed. But Roseline had always been observant—too observant.

Katherine forced a gentle smile as she tightened the strap one last time before meeting her mother’s eyes. "I tripped," she said simply.

Roseline’s eyes, on the other hand, flickered with sharpness and doubt.

"And Anna helped you?" she repeated, a sarcastic laugh leaving her lips. Her disbelief was obvious. "Forgive me, but that’s a little difficult to buy."

"I never said that," Katherine chuckled lightly.

The unexpected response made Roseline blink. Her surprise quickly hardened into a grim, stern expression as she fixed her daughter with a piercing look.

"Then what was Anna doing with you?" Roseline demanded. "Were you there again, trying to manipulate her?"

Ever since Roseline discovered Katherine had visited the Clafford estate, something had gnawed at her. Katherine’s apology to Anna was too convenient... too sudden. And while she wanted to believe her daughter had gone there to seek forgiveness, a part of her refused to accept that as the whole truth.

Katherine met her mother’s stare evenly. She could tell Roseline still didn’t believe what she’d said yesterday morning. She would keep pushing, keep accusing—because in her mind, Katherine was the obstacle standing in the way of Anna and her daughter’s perfect life.

Katherine sighed and rose to her feet.

"I don’t know why you think I’m capable of manipulating Anna," she said quietly, but firmly. "When you and Dad are far better at it."

Roseline’s eye twitched at the jab, but before she could speak, Katherine continued.

"If that’s why you came here, then I’m afraid I don’t have the time or energy to convince you otherwise."

She walked to the table, picked up her handbag, and slung it over her shoulder with practiced ease.

"Dad must be waiting for me downstairs," she said, stretching a polite smile across her face before heading for the door.

Roseline watched her leave, silent and unmoving—her frown deepening with every step Katherine took out of the room.

By the time Katherine stepped outside the mansion, Hugo was already seated in the car, watching her through the open window. His eyes lingered on the slight struggle in her steps as she made her way toward him.

He silently cursed himself.

Last night’s revelation about Anna had been a blow—sharp, humiliating, and brutal. It had taken him hours to swallow it, to make peace with the fact that the girl he once called a daughter had been wronged by his own assumptions.

But even as he tried to calm himself, another thought gnawed at him...

Daniel.

If Daniel ever found out what Hugo had said to Anna—how he had accused her, cornered her, humiliated her—there was no question he would come for him. Confront him. Demand answers. And Hugo had no idea how he would defend himself then.

He shifted in his seat, nerves twisting in his chest as Katherine finally approached.

He wasn’t just ashamed. He was afraid.

Afraid of the consequences. Afraid of Daniel Claford.

"You seem anxious about something," Katherine said as she settled into the seat beside her father.

Hugo stiffened. The man had never been good at hiding his worries, and he proved it instantly by shooting her a startled look.

"Anxious? About what?" He asked, attempting and failing to feign innocence.

Katherine sighed softly as she could see right through him.

Hugo had been uneasy since last night, his mind clearly haunted by the possibility of Daniel finding out what he’d said to Anna. Daniel had already forced Hugo once to acknowledge Anna publicly as his daughter. If he learned Hugo had humiliated her again, then...

Hugo closed his eyes, trying to forget the inevitable, knowing exactly what Daniel was capable of. And it terrified him.

Katherine looked out of the window, her thoughts growing heavier.

A part of her wanted Daniel to confront Hugo—wanted him to face the consequences of his actions toward Anna. But another part of her wavered in confusion.

Would Daniel even step in to protect Anna anymore?

Not when she believed his true intention was something far darker...

Not when she feared he was only getting closer to Anna to destroy their family. And that uncertainty sat like a stone in her chest—cold and suffocating.

[Flashback]

On the wedding day, when Katherine finally finished getting ready, the anxiousness that had been simmering inside her all morning surged again—cracking the flawless façade she wore solely for her father’s sake.

To the world, she was Hugo Bennett’s perfect daughter. Poised. Brilliant. A woman with sharp business instincts that matched her father’s step for step.

But only Katherine knew the truth behind that polished image. Behind the obedient, accomplished daughter... she was just a girl desperately afraid of disappointing her father.

A girl who had learned to bury her own fears, her own voice, and her own wants just to meet his expectations.

And today, even dressed in her finest and standing on the threshold of what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life... She felt like her mask was beginning to crack.

"I can’t marry Daniel." The words slipped out before she could stop them—raw, desperate, and trembling as the realization finally broke through the walls she’d built around her fears.

Katherine had only agreed to the arrangement because the company needed a benefactor and Daniel had stepped forward on his own, offering help without conditions. She had thought it was a simple business alliance.

But her father’s greed had reached far beyond that. Without consulting her—without even considering what she wanted—Hugo had accepted a proposal that tied her life to a man she barely knew.

And now she was supposed to stand beside Daniel as his bride. Her chest tightened.

Unable to contain the turmoil any longer, she made up her mind. She needed to speak to Daniel face-to-face.She needed to tell him to withdraw from the marriage.

Kathrine believed him to be a good man—someone who didn’t deserve to have his life entangled with her father’s ambitions. And knowing she could never give him her heart, knowing she would forever carry a part of herself closed off... It felt kinder to both of them to remain business partners rather than bind themselves in a marriage built on obligation.

But just as she reached his room, ready to confess her fears and beg him to reconsider the marriage, the words she overheard hit her like a blow to the chest.

She froze.

The ground seemed to vanish beneath her feet as Daniel’s voice drifted through the partially open door—cold, calculated, and nothing like the man she had imagined him to be.

The man she thought was honorable... the man she believed was simply helping the Bennetts out of goodwill... was discussing their downfall.

He wasn’t saving the Bennett family. He was planning their destruction—piece by piece.

And marrying her... was his first step.