A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 300

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“……”

From the perspective of death, with such abysmal technique.

All things considered, at least Max looked decent in the photo.

Murphy Manor.

The moment Marcia stepped inside, she was hit by a suffocating sense of gloom.

Or maybe, death itself.

That old witch from the Murphy family had rung her at the crack of dawn, shrill and insistent, summoning her as if she were calling the undertaker.

For all the world, it felt like she was being summoned to a funeral.

No sooner had Marcia set foot in the drawing room than a teacup came hurtling toward her.

She never expected the old woman—surely past menopause by a decade or two—to still have such a temper. She didn’t even manage to dodge; the cup struck her square in the face.

Scalding tea poured down her skin, stinging her cheeks and dripping even from her nose, where a few soggy tea leaves clung.

Marcia bit back a scream, her face throbbing from the heat and pain.

“It’s that hard to come when I call you?”

Matriarch Paige Murphy’s voice was as cold and sharp as a whip, and at once, Marcia swallowed every retort.

Even if she had to grit her teeth until they broke, she’d swallow her own blood rather than answer back.

Wiping the damp leaves from her face, Marcia forced a deep breath and stepped forward, trying for a contrite smile. “Matriarch Murphy, the butler only just called, and I left right away. It’s just—traffic’s a nightmare at this hour. That’s why I was a little late.”

“Enough.”

Matriarch Paige Murphy saw right through her. With a chilling laugh, she cut her off. “I didn’t call you here to listen to your excuses. I hear you and your little research team have produced nothing for weeks?”