Chapter 113/The Whirlpool of Cursed Secrets

Chapter 113: 113/The Whirlpool of Cursed Secrets

Chapter 113

Stephanie’s Point of View

I was thoroughly shattered and gripped by a sprawling, overwhelming bewilderment at her crude, flagrant words. I knew with absolute certainty that she had caught a glimpse of me in the early hours of the morning, but it had never once crossed my mind that she would possess such stark, blinding audacity to enter my private room with absolute confidence and utter these foul words without a shred of fear! I took a massive step backward, my entire body locking tight under a raw terror that practically drilled through my bones, as I spoke in a trembling, stammering tone:

"What is this filthy, repulsive nonsense you are uttering, woman?!"

She raised her eyebrow with a dead, icy confidence, a sharp, fox-like cunning painting her features as she countered in a bitter voice dripping with venom:

"Am I lying or making up stories against you, Lady Stephanie? I am doing absolutely nothing besides stating the damning, undeniable truth that my own two eyes witnessed without a single word of exaggeration."

I swallowed with immense difficulty, my throat as dry as a raging fire, as I desperately tried to mount a defense:

"Everyone here in the family estate already knows the absolute fact that I am pregnant with Cedric’s child."

She tilted her head with a rigid, mocking smirk, her malicious eyes narrowing with the dark thrill of a conspiracy as she replied:

"Yes, of course they know about your pregnancy... but they don’t know a single thing about the darkest side of it: the fact that you are actively betraying your husband, Mr. Alexander, with his own brother in this scandalous manner right now."

My jaw clenched with such excessive violence that it pained my teeth. I took a wide step toward her in blind agitation, desperately fighting to shield my lacerated honor, and barked strictly:

"This matter is entirely personal and is absolutely none of your wretched business, maid!"

She waved her hand in the air with an incredibly provocative indifference, turning her entire frame toward the exit door as she delivered a cold, flat threat:

"Fine, then... as long as it is none of my business, I will head downstairs this very moment to inform the Grand Master Victor and Mr. Alexander of every single detail I witnessed myself."

My mind fractured completely at her words. Panic and sheer, unadulterated dread gnawed at my heart. Moving with lightning speed, I lunged forward and locked my grip tightly onto her arm, halting her from taking a single step toward the door. I cried out with a frantic, exposing terror:

"Stop right there! Please... do not tell them a single word of what you saw!"

She spun her head back toward me, her tone saturated with biting sarcasm and malicious triumph as she taunted:

"And why shouldn’t I? Just a second ago, you told me it was none of my business. For that exact reason, I am going to make it my business to hand them the truth."

I slowly let my weak hand drop from her arm in utter helplessness, looking at her sharp features with broken, bitter eyes. I murmured in a faint, cracking voice:

"What exactly do you want from me to close this page and remain silent?"

A dominant smirk of absolute triumph etched across her lips as she savored my total collapse. Crossing her arms tightly over her chest, she spoke with a lofty, provocative satisfaction:

"Now you are finally speaking to me in the proper, logical manner that suits this situation, Lady Stephanie."

I drew a sharp, burning breath that blazed with resentment, utterly surrendering to the bitter reality before me:

"How much money do you want in exchange for your absolute silence?"

Suddenly, and without warning, she burst into a loud, mocking laugh that echoed violently off the walls of the bedroom. She stated with deep derision and contempt for my offer:

"Money? Do you truly think I am that cheap? I don’t want a single dime of your wealth."

My eyes widened in genuine shock and bewilderment, a profound confusion paralyzing my movements and thoughts. I asked in total incomprehension:

"If you aren’t looking for money, then what on earth do you want from me?"

She cast a dark, suspicious gaze around the perimeter of my bedroom, stating in an icily detached, terrifyingly dry tone:

"You will find out everything when the right time comes for my interests. I will come to you then and outline exactly what you must execute for my sake."

I furrowed my eyebrows with deep apprehension, entirely unable to decode her riddle as my frame shivered with a light tremble:

"I do not understand your bizarre riddles at all!"

She took a slow, calculated step toward me, narrowing her eyes with a dangerous, serpentine malice as she mocked:

"Do you honestly believe that you know these men you are living and sleeping with under this exact same roof?"

I raised my head with a wounded pride, desperately trying to gather my scattered strength, and countered with a faint defiance:

"Yes, absolutely. I know everything about them, and I do not need your cryptic insinuations."

She let out a short, scoffing chuckle, countering bitterly:

"You mean you only know the fact that they are ruthless mafia men who execute people in cold blood?"

Locking my furious gaze into hers with rigid defiance, I snapped:

"Yes, I already know that."

She laughed again with a sharp, cutting derision that thoroughly slaughtered my remaining dignity, looking down her nose at me with absolute belittlement:

"You are an incredibly amusing and profoundly naive woman, for heaven’s sake... You do not possess a single shred of the real, dark secrets belonging to this cursed bloodline!"

The words choked completely in my throat, and a raging wave of desperate curiosity and raw anxiety exploded within me. I stepped toward her, asking frantically:

"What do you mean by those ominous words? Tell me what you know right now!"

She locked her dark eyes into mine, a piercing, cruel gaze as sharp as a dagger’s blade. She delivered a flat refusal that silenced my tongue:

"I have worked inside this estate as a maid for fifteen years. I know terrifying things, and I have witnessed horrors with my own eyes that no human mind could fathom... but I will never share a single piece of it with you now."

My stomach clenched with an intense wave of sickness, a bitter taste filling my mouth as I balled my fists in absolute helplessness:

"I truly do not comprehend your methods or your ultimate goal! If you have spent all this time serving them, what could you possibly gain by blackmailing me with the secret of my night with Cedric?"

She tilted her head with a chilling, emotionless rigidity, stating dryly:

"I have already informed you that you will receive all your answers at the exact designated time."

Suddenly, and with a shocking swiftness, she stepped directly into my personal space in a flagrant violation of boundaries. Leaning close to my ear, she unleashed a terrifying whisper that froze the warm blood inside my veins:

"Do not... do not ever dare to think about uttering a single word of this conversation to any living soul in this house, Lady Stephanie... because quite simply, you will be the absolute victim, the sole loser, and the one completely destroyed inside this estate!"

Turning on her heel with absolute arrogance, she marched out of the room with rapid, confident paces, slamming the door behind her. She left me standing completely alone in the hollow space, my body convulsing with violent tremors as my thoughts spun into a chaotic void.

My confusion escalated into a hysterical frenzy that made me feel as though I were losing my mind. I collapsed onto the edge of the mattress, pressing my palms against my temples to prevent my head from exploding. I had no earthly idea what she was talking about, nor could I fathom the nature of those horrific secrets she hinted at with her venomous words! But one brutal, suffocating reality had firmly rooted itself in my soul: I was being openly blackmailed and terrorized by a maid who looked like a literal demon, and worse yet, I didn’t even know what she would demand from me in the future to keep this destructive secret hidden!

With ice-cold fingers and shattered nerves, I thought about rushing to Cedric to tell him everything.

But I shook my head in immediate frustration and despair; I didn’t believe for a second that this option would resolve the crisis. The maid had appeared entirely too confident, unyielding, and genuinely terrifying in her threat. Her ominous words had stripped away every single remaining ounce of safety or trust I had left for the members of this dangerous family.

In the absolute center of my internal storm, the bedroom door suddenly burst open, making me flinch in raw dread. Alexander entered the room with his usual calm, collected demeanor.

Approaching me with a warm smile, he brushed his hand gently against my face, asking rhapsodically:

"Steph, welcome back... how are you, and how was your day?"

I swallowed against the immense, painful lump in my throat, fighting with every fiber of my being to mask my frantic, hysterical breathing. I managed to murmur in a trembling voice that thoroughly exposed my internal panic:

"I... I am perfectly fine, don’t worry."

With his sharp, calculating intelligence, he instantly picked up on my strained, fractured tone. Furrowing his eyebrows in deep concern, he stepped closer and gripped both of my shoulders firmly, searching my pale face with a watchful scrutiny as he asked:

"Stephanie, what on earth is wrong? I tried calling you back immediately when I saw your numerous missed calls from this morning, but you didn’t answer at all... did something terrible happen?"