Chapter 442: No one knows for sure

“This looks worse than I expected,” Anna muttered, squinting at the punching bag in front of her.

Roseline’s printed face was barely recognizable anymore—creased, dented, and tilted at an unnatural angle from the sheer number of blows it had taken.

She sighed, a mix of sadness and disbelief crossing her features. “But I’m glad you didn’t break your wrist,” she added, finally exhaling in relief as she turned to her sister.

Kathrine, who was still wearing her workout gloves like a soldier ready for round two, sneered. “That’s the bare minimum I could manage today.” Then she casually pointed to the second punching bag standing proudly in the corner.

Hugo’s face.

Pristine. Untouched. Waiting.

“I still have Dad’s face to ruin,” she announced.

Anna blinked.

For someone who had spent her entire life both respecting and quietly fearing Hugo, seeing Kathrine declare that so easily felt… surreal.

“You know,” Anna said slowly, “in some parallel universe, we’re probably getting disowned right now.”

Kathrine shrugged. “In this universe, I’m getting closure.”

Ethan, who had been sitting on the floor with a bottle of water, finally lifted his head, rubbing his temples like a tired referee.

“Ladies,” he said calmly, “you both need to stop. Those are your parents’ faces you’re punching. At least show some respect.”

Anna and Kathrine turned to him at the exact same time.

Same expression.

Same slow blink.

Same dead stare.

“Respect?” Anna repeated, her voice dropping several degrees.

“They lost that,” she continued evenly, “the moment they decided to play God with our lives.”

The temperature in the room shifted.

Even Kathrine shivered slightly, instinctively rubbing her arms.

She looks scary, she thought. Like calm-villain scary.

Kathrine quickly recovered and nodded. “I agree with her. Completely. Wholeheartedly.”

She gestured toward the punching bags. “And also, let’s be realistic—we can’t punch them in real life considering their age and social status.”

Anna picked up the second pair of gloves from the bench.

“But,” Kathrine continued thoughtfully, “we can absolutely beat the hell out of their dummies.”

Ethan stared at them. Long and hard and then sighed. “I feel like I walked into a support group for future criminals.”

Anna slipped on the gloves, testing the weight. “Relax. This is healthy.”

“This is not healthy,” Ethan replied. “This is symbolic violence with emotional trauma.”

Kathrine looked at Anna. “Did he just psychoanalyze us?”

Anna nodded. “I think he did.”

They looked back at Ethan together.

“Rude,” they said in unison.

Ethan blinked. “You two share one brain cell, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Kathrine said proudly. “And today it’s set on revenge mode.”

Anna walked over to the bag with Hugo’s face, studying it like an art critic.

“You know what’s ironic?” she said. “I spent my entire childhood trying to impress him.”

Kathrine leaned beside her. “I spent mine trying not to disappoint him.”

They exchanged a look.

Same pain. Different packaging.

Anna lifted her fist and gently tapped the bag. “This feels… weird.”

Kathrine raised an eyebrow. “Weird good or weird bad?”

“Weird cathartic but also slightly illegal in a moral sense.”

Kathrine grinned. “That’s my favorite genre of feelings.”

Ethan stood up, arms crossed. “You’re both unhinged.”

Anna turned to him sweetly. “You’re dating one of us. That makes you complicit.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. “I hate that you’re right.”

Kathrine suddenly punched Hugo’s face.

Hard.

The bag swung violently.

Anna gasped. “You didn’t even warn me!”

Kathrine shrugged. “Impulse control left my body yesterday.”

Without another word, Anna punched the bag too.

Once. Then again and again…

Soon both of them were alternating hits, moving in perfect, chaotic sync.

Left. Right. Spin. Kick.

Ethan watched in silence.

Then slowly sat back down. “I’m going to need therapy just from witnessing this.”

Breathless, Anna finally stopped and leaned against the wall. “You know what’s messed up?”

Kathrine wiped sweat from her forehead. “Only one thing? That’s progress.”

Anna smiled faintly. “I thought confronting them would fix everything.”

Kathrine looked at the destroyed faces on the bags.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “But I think this—” she gestured around, “—is the actual healing process.”

Anna nodded.

Then after a beat, said, “We should probably rotate. So neither of us develops uneven arm strength.”

Kathrine’s eyes lit up. “See? Same brain cell.”

Ethan groaned. “I’m dating into madness.”

Kathrine tossed him a glove. “Come on. You punch too.”

He stared at it. “I respect your parents.”

Anna smiled sweetly. “Then punch gently.”

He hesitated… then lightly tapped Roseline’s face.

The bag barely moved.

Kathrine and Anna stared at him.

“…Wow,” Kathrine said. “That was emotionally disappointing.”

Anna nodded. “You hit like you forgive people.”

Ethan dropped the glove. “I’m surrounded by psychopaths.”

But for the first time since everything had fallen apart, both sisters were laughing.

And somehow, sharing the same rage made it feel lighter

***

[Twenty minutes later]

“Ah… why do I feel like I want to eat again?” Anna groaned, pressing her palm against her stomach.

She had eaten breakfast with Daniel not long ago, but between storming out of the room and practically beating up her own pillow as a substitute for him, it felt like she had burned through every bit of energy in her body.

But the moment the craving surfaced, another thought followed immediately.

My film.

She straightened at once and shook her head, as if physically dismissing the hunger. She couldn’t afford to lose control now—not over food, not over anything.

“Don’t worry,” Kathrine said lightly, pointing at Ethan. “My boyfriend is rich enough to fulfil your hungry stomach.”

Ethan blinked at her, completely unprepared for that declaration.

He was filthy rich, yes—but he also knew Anna well enough to know that her appetite could humble even his bank balance.

“No, I’m good,” Anna replied quickly.

Ethan released a sigh of relief.

For a moment, he considered quietly excusing himself and giving the two sisters some privacy. But just as he shifted his weight, Anna’s voice stopped him.

“Did you find anything about Gorge’s family?”

Ethan paused mid-step and turned back slowly. His eyes flicked to Kathrine, seeking silent permission. She studied his face for a second before giving him a small, reassuring nod.

He faced Anna again. “I looked into Gorge’s history up until the time he was detained,” he said carefully. “But after that, there are no clear records. Some say his family left the country because they couldn’t handle the humiliation. Others claim they were… forced to leave.”

Anna felt a strange tightness settle in her chest.

As Ethan continued speaking, his words blurred into another voice—Daniel’s.

She remembered the night he had told her, almost casually, how everything had fallen apart after his parents’ death.

People stared at us. Whispered behind our backs. Treated us like criminals just because of my father.

Norma and he had faced endless hardship. Doors closed the moment their surname was mentioned. Even simple things—renting a house, applying for work—became humiliating battles.

It was too much even for Norma to find a job, Daniel had said once, his voice unreadable.

That was when he had made the decision.

He dropped out of school.

They packed their lives into a few suitcases and left the country—chasing anonymity more than opportunity. Somewhere no one knew their faces. Somewhere they could breathe without being judged.

Anna remembered how his eyes had darkened when he spoke about it.

I didn’t care about education. I cared about survival.

In that new place, Daniel eventually completed his schooling. Norma found work too—at a rising company owned by a businessman named Fin Clafford.

She could still hear his voice when he spoke of that man.

He was kind. Too kind for someone like us.

Norma and Fin fell in love. Married. Fin had no children of his own and later adopted Daniel, declaring him his only heir.

Fin believed Norma was his lucky charm. After meeting her, his business soared—new markets, new power, a name that soon carried weight across industries.

For the first time in years, Daniel had felt safe.

Then it ended.

Fin died of a sudden cardiac arrest—before Daniel could officially step into the role of CEO.

Another father figure gone. Another loss added to the list.

But Daniel hadn’t allowed himself to break.

Instead, he had worked harder than ever, protecting everything Fin had built, expanding the business worldwide—while quietly nurturing the same revenge he had never let go of.

Anna’s fingers curled slowly into her palms.

Listening to Ethan, remembering Daniel, everything finally aligned.

Daniel wasn’t obsessed with power because he wanted to rule. He was obsessed with it because once, long ago, he had lost everything—and he had sworn to never be helpless again.

Because if he wanted to take Hugo down, he had to stand on equal ground. And once he did, he made sure to dismantle Hugo’s business piece by piece—slowly, deliberately—until Hugo finally noticed him.

“Where do you think they might have gone?” Kathrine asked, having listened quietly to Ethan all this while.

Anna snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her sister. Kathrine’s expression was tense, more concerned than curious—and Anna knew exactly why.

Ethan shook his head slowly. “No one knows for sure. The neighborhood barely even remembers them anymore. Most of the people who lived there have moved away. There’s no real trail left behind… no clues at all.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep