When the p mark appeared on Felicia''s face, an identical one inexplicably appeared on Maurice''s cheek.novelbin


    Everyone


    froze.


    "What just happened?"


    "What the hell..."


    Even the men stared, dumbfounded.


    Felicia, however, burst intoughter. Loud, unrestrainedughter echoed through the courtyard, defying her dire predicament.


    Her uninhibitedughter was so jarring it made the men furious. One of them grabbed her hair and kicked her hard.


    "What''s so funny? Shut up!"


    But as Felicia was kicked and her body lurched to the side, Maurice, sittingfortably in his wheelchair, suddenly felt the same force. His body jerked violently, almost toppling him to the ground. One of his men scrambled to steady the wheelchair, panic written all over his face. "What''s wrong, Mr. Glovers? Are you okay?"


    Maurice''s expression turned stormy, his dark gaze clouding with suspicion.


    The p could have been a strange coincidence. But the kick was definitely not just his imagination.


    Felicia must have done something to him.


    Maurice rolled his wheelchair forward, stopping directly before Felicia. Grabbing her jaw with a force that was both menacing and unrelenting, his sharp gaze bore into her like a de.


    "What did you do to me?" he demanded, his voice cold and threatening.


    His grip tightened, his fingers pressing hard enough to break her bone. But as he exerted more pressure, a dull pain began to radiate from his own jaw, forcing him to falter slightly.


    He red at Felicia, who was now back on her feet but restrained by his men. Her face bore the red imprint of a p, and her hair was disheveled. Yet her eyes sparkled mischievously, making her look bright and fearless. Felicia smirked, her eyes gleaming with confidence. "Let me clue you in on something I''ve perfected over the years. It''s a twin venomous creature anything you do to me, you''ll feel back double.


    "Surprised, Mr. Glovers?" she added with mock innocence, her smile widening. "Bet you didn''t see thating."


    When Felicia got pped earlier, her cheek turned red, but Maurice''s face ended up slightly swollen. It was worse than hers.


    Felicia took a kick and only stumbled, but Maurice nearly fell out of his wheelchair.


    The pain was doubled.


    Hearing this, Maurice''s eyes


    narrowed as he stared at Felicia for a long moment. Then, to everyone''s surprise, heughed. It was a few, chilling sound that echoed louder than Felicia''s earlierugh.


    "Well done, Felicia. I underestimated you," he said, pping slowly. His gaze deepened, taking on a dangerous intensity that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Felicia frowned, unease crawling over her.


    Maurice was a twisted lunatic. He didn''t y by any rules. The look in his eyes... Could he possibly be thinking...


    Before the thought could fully form, Maurice snapped his fingers. His voice wasced with a strange excitement as hemanded, "Throw her in!"


    Her heart sank. "Throw me where?" she thought.


    The answer came too quickly-the crocodile pool.


    Without hesitation, his men-well-trained to obey without question-grabbed Felicia and dragged her toward the pool.


    Nearby, the white-haired medical


    practitioner, Caesar, rushed forward to examine Maurice''s pulse. His voice was trembling. "There''s no sign of any venomous creature in your system..."


    As he spoke, Caesar opened Felicia''s discarded medical kit and pulled out a set of silver needles. Taking one, he carefully pricked Maurice''s arm.


    The moment blood beaded at the


    surface, everyone saw it-a small, slithering creature beneath his skin. It was drawn to the drop of blood, gulping it down before vanishing back into the depths of his body.


    Gasps erupted around the room.


    "What on earth is that?"


    "Oh my God!"


    Kelsey, watching in stunned silence, staggered backward in shock, nearly fainting. A maid quickly caught her and steadied her.