Chapter 5
Brianna was outside, her voice raw with desperation, begging Sean to open the door.
Inside, Sean was losing it.
“Mom, I have feathers now, and I have chicken claws for feet! Ruby’s turned me into a freak!
“I can’t face anyone ever again. Ruby’s going to pay for this!”
Ruby’s screams from inside were getting scarier by the second.
“Please, oh, please! Somebody! Help me!”
Bang!
A heavy thump echoed from within, and Ruby fell silent.
Walter was beside himself, terrified that his son might have done something terrible.
“Sean, don’t panic. We’re the Gilberts. We’ve got more money than we know what to do with. I’ll fix this. I promise I’ll get you
back to normal.”
Behind the door, Sean was sobbing uncontrollably.
“Dad, my hands are chicken wings now. What am I going to do?”
“Sean, it’s okay. Look at your uncle. He’s fine, right?
“We’ll ask Sloane for help. She must have a way to reverse this!”
I was only a bystander enjoying the drama when, suddenly, I was dragged into it. I stepped back.
“Keep me out of this mess. I’m off to my honeymoon. See you never.”
I grabbed Keith and we left the chaos behind, fleeing the city under the cover of night.
However, who would have guessed? Right after Keith and I touched down in Riverton and had our night of joy, Walter and Brianna showed up at our hotel the very next day.
“Sloane, please, we’re begging you. Do it for us, the old timers, save Sean,” Brianna pleaded, her gaze fixed to the floor, her heart heavy with sorrow. “I’m begging you, save my child.”
Walter stood beside her, his back hunched, eyes brimming with tears as he looked at me.
The way the Gilberts cared for their son stirred envy in me, but I could not find it in me to turn away from their desperate faces.
“How’s Sean doing now?” I asked, my voice softer than I intended.
The Gilberts, sensing a glimmer of hope, each clung to one of my hands, as if they were afraid I would slip away. “After you and Keith left yesterday, we rushed him home and got the best doctor to give him a sedative,” they explained. “Sean’s probably still
out cold.”
“Alright, let’s go check on him,” I said.
I was curious to see Sean’s transformation into a hen monster, especially since he had cruelly ended my life in the past. It was my turn to witness his downfall.
“Honey, let’s head back,” I said, looping my arm through Keith’s. He smiled, ruffling my hair affectionately, and agreed to my
request.
Once we touched down in Riverton, we checked into a room for some alone time. Later, Keith confessed he had never seen the
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ID BONUS
Gilberts’ place. Given the family’s vast fortune, Walter had kept Keith at arm’s length, wary of any threat to his empire.
Thanks to Walter’s behind-the-scenes manipulation, Keith was always on the outskirts of the least influential power cliques
overseas.
No matter the occasion, Keith was the one left out in the cold.
They would only reach out to Keith when they were desperate.
Walter, scared I would turn my back and refuse to help Sean, was bending over backward to sing my praises.
He nodded and bowed as he helped me onto the plane, headed back to the city.
When I got to the Gilberts’, I walked into a scene straight out of a comedy.
There were my parents, looking all shriveled up, standing at the entrance like they were begging for forgiveness.
Dressed in rags, they could have passed for street beggars.
If no one mentioned they were Ruby’s parents, it would be hard to believe those two disheveled people were actually in charge of
the Larson family.
As Walter eagerly opened the car door for me, my parents rushed over and grabbed my hand.
“My dear girl, you’re finally home.
“We’re begging you, put in a good word for us with the Gilberts. We swear we didn’t know a thing!”
Without a flicker of emotion, I pulled my hand away.
“Mr. Larson, Mrs. Larson, you’ve both cut ties with me in front of everyone at the wedding yesterday.
“From now on, it’s only Ruby in the Larson family. I’m no longer part of it.”
The second I mentioned Ruby, my mom lost it.
