Chapter 411: Chapter 411: Chaos

The deal was gone. Their chance was gone. Everything… was gone.

Mr. Almond’s face twisted in anger.

In the next second, he strode forward and slapped Garrison hard across the face.

Smack.

The sound echoed sharply.

“This is all your fault!” he snapped. “You ruined everything!”

Garrison staggered slightly, his cheek burning. Something inside him snapped as well.

“And you didn’t?!” he shouted back instinctively. The words came out before he could stop them.

Mr. Almond froze, then his expression darkened even further. “Are you talking back to me now?”

Garrison clenched his fists, his entire body trembling. ’I don’t want to say this… why can’t I stop…?’

“I didn’t want to say anything!” he burst out helplessly. “But you were involved too! Don’t act innocent!”

Mr. Almond’s breathing grew heavy. He could feel it too. That strange loss of control.

As if his own words were betraying him. And while chaos erupted here…elsewhere, another storm was unfolding.

…..

Mrs. Almond was hosting one of her usual kitty parties.

She smiled gracefully, surrounded by socialites playing card games. Mahjong.

These were her specialties.

Every session brought her profits, fifty thousand, sometimes even a hundred thousand, because of her excellent gaming skills.

At least… That’s what everyone believed until today.

A maid entered quietly, placing glasses of a special juice on the table. “Please enjoy,” she said politely.

Mrs. Almond chuckled lightly. “Ah, the juice is here. Everyone, have a sip first.”

The women nodded, casually drinking, including Mrs. Almond. Moments later, the game began.

Cards shuffled. Tiles clicked. Laughter filled the room again.

Then…one of the women, Lana Jones, smiled and said, “Mrs. Almond, you’re truly amazing at this game.”

Mrs. Almond laughed. “Of course,” she said.

Then…without warning…

“That’s because all of you are dumber than me.”

Silence. Her own eyes widened in horror. Her hand flew to her mouth.

’What did I just say…?!’

The room froze. Faces stiffened. Expressions darkened.

“I… I didn’t mean that!” she tried to say quickly. But her lips moved again…

“I’m not lying. It’s the truth.”

The words cut deeper. Liliana slammed her hand on the table. “How dare you call us stupid?!”

Mrs. Almond shook her head frantically. “No, I…”

Then she laughed. A hollow, uncontrollable laugh.

“You really are fools,” she continued helplessly. “You haven’t even realized I’ve been rigging the games all along.”

Gasps filled the room.

“Every time,” she went on, her voice betraying her panic, “I hide the good cards for myself. I make sure I win. And none of you ever noticed.”

The room fell into stunned silence.

Nia Calvin slowly stood up, her face pale. “So… all this time… you invited us here just to take our money?”

Mrs. Almond’s eyes trembled. But her mouth didn’t stop.

“Earning money from business is too hard,” she admitted. “It’s much easier to earn it from all of you.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. ’Stop… please stop …’

But it didn’t. Her voice continued to expose everything.

“I called you here again and again… because you’re easy targets.”

That was it. Chairs scraped loudly as the women stood up one by one.

Their eyes were filled with disgust. “I can’t believe we trusted you.”

“How shameless. What a cheap woman.”

They began to leave, ignoring her desperate attempts to stop them.

“Wait, please!”

But even as she reached out, her voice betrayed her again. “My golden geese… they’re all gone… who will I scam now…? ”

The final blow. The door shut. And just like that…her world collapsed.

….

At the same time… Ashton stood in his classroom, holding a cup of coffee.

Then a student suddenly raised her hand, smiling mischievously. “Sir, have you ever liked any of your students? I mean… would you date one of us?”

The class burst into laughter. Ashton smirked slightly, ready to brush it off with a joke.

“I…”

He paused and then continued, “Yes.”

The laughter faded. “In fact,” he continued helplessly, “I’ve already dated three girls from this class.”

Dead silence. Ashton froze. ’No… no… no…’

“What are you saying…?” someone whispered.

Another student leaned forward. “Who?”

Ashton’s lips trembled. But the names came out anyway.

“Zaira. Dani. Tanya.”

Gasps erupted across the room. Shock. Disbelief. Disgust.

Ashton’s face turned pale as he covered his mouth. ’Why can’t I stop…?!’

He forced a laugh. “That was just a joke…”

Then his voice betrayed him again.

“I’m pretending it’s a joke right now… but it’s actually true.”

A chair scraped loudly. Tanya stood up, her eyes blazing with anger.

“You told me I was the only one!” she shouted. “And now you’re saying you’ve been with two others in this same class?!”

Another girl began to cry. The classroom descended into chaos. Voices overlapped. Accusations flew. And Ashton…stood frozen at the center of it all. Powerless.

….

By the end of the day…the entire Almond family had fallen into complete chaos.

Secrets exposed. Reputations destroyed. Relationships shattered.

When they finally returned to the mansion that night, each of them carried fury on their faces.

And none of them knew…that this was only the beginning.

With a thunderous roar that seemed to shake the very chandeliers, Mr. Almond stormed into the mansion.

“Everyone, assemble immediately!”

Servants, maids, and family members alike hurried into the grand hall, their movements hurried and uncertain.

Mr. Almond’s sharp gaze swept across them, his jaw clenched tightly.

“What is going on here?” His voice was cold, controlled, yet brimming with barely restrained fury.

Then, after a brief pause, his tone sharpened further. “And who among you dared to use black magic on this family?”

A ripple of shock passed through the crowd, but no one stepped forward.

’They know… or at least suspect it,’ one of the maids thought, her fingers trembling slightly at her sides.

By now, both Mr. and Mrs. Almond had already reached a grim conclusion: someone had manipulated them, forcing them into speaking only the truth.

Too many secrets had been exposed, too many carefully buried matters dragged into the light.

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