Chapter 497

"Also, you—" Eleanor turned her head, her icy gaze sweeping across the crowd like a winter wind, sharp and unforgiving. "—are no exception." Her voice was steady, lethal in its calmness. "If you want her to live," she continued, each word as crisp as glass breaking, "then rein in your arrogance. So what if I’m an illegitimate child? I can snap any one of your necks in the blink of an eye." The words dropped like thunderclaps. Flora, Celeste, and Zack froze, their expressions shifting from outrage to alarm. For the first time, true fear flickered in their eyes. The woman standing before them bore no resemblance to the timid Susan they remembered. She was a storm wrapped in silk—poised, cold, and dangerous. Her delicate features were etched with an icy determination, her eyes bottomless pools of shadow that radiated silent threat. There was no hint of jest in her tone. She wasn’t bluffing. Just moments ago, she had shattered their bodyguards’ formation and seized Linet like it was child’