The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 06

The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 06

“Mom, Dad, do we really have to take that country bumpkin Laurel in? I hate her!”

It was Waverly’s wounded, petulant tone.

Mrs. Reed cooed soothingly. “My poor darling, you’ve suffered enough. If your father didn’t need that worthless girl’s rare blood type for his surgery next year, we wouldn’t have given her a second

glance.”

Mr. Reed added coldly, “Once the surgery is over, we’ll pay her off and discard her. She could never compare to my real daughter.”

The brutal, unvarnished truth lay bare for every witness in the hall. Pandemonium erupted inside

the ballroom.

“My God! They only retrieved their biological daughter to use her as a living blood supply?!”

“Even animals protect their own young! Those parents are monsters!”

“Waverly posted online claiming the real heiress schemed against her. We joined in harassing Laurel because of her lies. We were nothing but her pawns!”

“Damn it. We became accomplices to her bullying!”

A large portion of the online crowd Waverly had invited were content creators and independent journalists, ready to film my disgrace.

Dozens of professional cameras, originally aimed to capture my embarrassment, swung as one toward the Reed family on stage.

Camera flashes strobed relentlessly, and furious shouts of condemnation threatened to swallow

them whole.

“Mr. Reed, is it true you view your own flesh and blood merely as a mobile blood bank?”

“Waverly, do you feel no shame fabricating lies to incite online harassment?”

Mr. and Mrs. Reed turned deathly pale, trembling violently on the stage, unable to form a single coherent sentence.

The footage on the big screen didn’t stop.

“And Mr. Nash, everyone thought your heart belonged to Waverly. Why not simply break off the

engagement? Why trick the real daughter with such despicable tactics?”

“He is nothing short of a psychopath!”

The calm cruelty that had lingered in Landon’s eyes cracked, replaced by overwhelming panic. “It’s

not like this! None of this is true!”

Scores of cameras turned accusingly toward him as cold sweat soaked through the back of his shirt.

He spun around frantically and tried to grab my hand again. “Laurel, what is happening? This footage has been forged! Please, explain it to them!”

I stepped backward in revulsion, evading his touch. That hand I had once found so warm now churned my stomach.

I walked slowly toward the sea of cameras and microphones and climbed onto the stage.

Beneath Waverly’s horrified stare, I wrenched the microphone from her white-knuckled grasp.

“Is this the carefully planned homecoming banquet you prepared?” My voice remained eerily calm, without the slightest tremor.

“You dangled blood ties as bait and hid behind an engagement, all to treat me as a walking blood bank. The Reeds and the Nash family. Truly an eye-opening revelation.”

I lifted my hand and, in full view of every camera, snapped the red cord around my neck.

The starstone, the token sealed by their vow in the hunter’s cabin, slipped from the string. I tossed it lightly, and it struck Landon square across his panicked face.

“From this moment on, I, Laurel Reed, sever all ties with your family. Our paths will never cross again. And consider this wretched engagement broken.”

“You ungrateful girl! This whole mess is your doing!” Mr. Reed finally snapped, consumed by rage.

Watching the Reeds’ carefully polished reputation crumble, he raised his hand and swung hard at my face.

I didn’t flinch. I knew someone would intercept the blow for me.

A heartbeat later, his hand froze in midair. A strong grip had locked around his wrist like a vise.

Crack. The sickening sound of bone fracturing cut through the stunned silence of the hall.

“Ahhh-!” Mr. Reed let out a strangled shriek of agony and crumpled straight to the floor.

A collective gasp swept through the crowd.

The man’s hood slipped back. As his face came into view, the entire crowd gasped in stunned

recognition.