Chapter 795 The Price of Betrayal

The Morris family was steeped in darkness.

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The moment Dan’s words landed, Dale’s fury snapped like a whip. “Well? Did you find Tessa or not?”

Manny turned his gaze on Dan as well.

He had made no progress.

Once, he had dismissed Tessa as nothing but the bastard child of that whore Diana. He never dreamed she would cause such upheaval.

Now Manny, like Lana in her hospital bed, wanted Tessa dead more than anything.

Dan sank into the single sofa, lit a cigarette, and took a drag.

His calmness only stoked their anger.

Dale’s voice rose sharper. “I asked you–did you find her?”

As if searching for Tessa were Dan’s duty alone. At the beginning, Manny had searched with him. Now the burden was being dumped squarely on him.

Dan turned his head toward Manny. “And you? Did you find her?”

“You-”

Manny’s face blackened. Dan was shoving the fire back at him, and he couldn’t stomach it.

Seeing the tension spike again, Dale’s temper boiled over. “This isn’t the time for petty fights! What matters now is finding her and handing her over!”

That word–handing–spat through his clenched teeth.

Dan let out a bitter laugh. “Need I remind you? The one you’re so eager to hand over is your daughter.”

Artemis’s face darkened, and she shot him a furious glare.

Dale’s eyes sharpened into blades. “I don’t need you reminding me of that.”

“With how ruthless you sounded just now, I thought I should remind you anyway.”

Dale’s expression only sank further.

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Chapter 795 The Price of Betrayal

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“We’re all stuck in this together. Do you really want to talk like this right now?”

But he had no patience left. What mattered most was finding Tessa.

Even if they once thought she was nothing but a pretext-

The pressure closing in proved otherwise. If they didn’t produce her soon, the excuse would bury them alive.

So, real or not, they had to find her.

Dan took another slow drag. “Stop looking.”

The room froze.

Dale’s breathing quickened. “What did you just say?”

Stop looking?

Manny’s fury exploded. “Are you insane? You want us all dead faster?”

Was he admitting he hadn’t searched for her at all?

The thought filled Manny’s eyes with venom.

Artemis jumped in. “Dan, whatever grudges you hold, now isn’t the time. Put them aside.”

“She’s right,” Lina said anxiously. “If Ashen Pact falls, then none of us have anything left.”

The two women had taken the worst losses. Fear had already stripped away their resentment toward Dan. All they wanted now was unity against the outside.

Inside could wait.

Manny snarled, “So what is this? Did someone teach you to sweet–talk women and now you’re actually doing it? That whore Marie isn’t robbing you anymore? Or did she give back everything she stole?”

His fury spilled over. Every word was poison.

Dan’s eyes narrowed, cold and predatory.

“So you really do have some skill,” Manny sneered. “Well done-”

A flash cut him off. A knife whistled across the room and struck his face. Pain exploded as blood poured between his fingers.

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Chapter 795 The Price of Betrayal

With a heavy clang, the military blade clattered at his feet.

The study turned to ice.

Artemis rushed to him in a panic. Manny, groaning, pulled his hand away.

His palm was soaked red.

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Artemis caught sight of the wound–an ugly slash from the corner of his mouth nearly up to his cheekbone.

Her fury flared. “Dan! What are you doing? He’s your brother!”

Dan’s eyes narrowed into slits.

He fixed Manny with a deadly glare. “Insult her again, and it won’t just be a scar.”

Her?

Marie. The same woman who had spent these days robbing Ashen Pact into madness.

Manny’s breath hitched. He tried to retort, but pain ripped through his torn flesh.

The wound split wider, and his words died in a groan.

Artemis’s anger deepened when Manny couldn’t even speak. “Her? You mean Marie? Dan, don’t forget–she’s the one who’s stolen the most from Ashen Pact!”

She quickly turned back to Manny. “How bad is it?”

His face was smeared with blood, the wound vicious and raw. He would carry the scar for life.

Artemis stamped her foot in rage. “I’ll take you to the infirmary first.”

At that moment, Dan stood, flicked the cigarette butt into the ashtray, and dropped a final bombshell.

“Tessa’s been with Victor the whole time.”

His words hit like thunder.

Even after he left, the others sat frozen, unable to react.

Not until Manny groaned from the pain did their senses return.

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Chapter 795 The Price of Betrayal

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Dale and Artemis locked eyes.

“He said Tessa’s been with Victor this whole time?!”

Artemis nodded grimly.

Dale’s fury spiked higher. “Then what the hell have they been doing all this time?”

“Didn’t I say it already? She was just a pretext,” Artemis replied, her voice weighted with dread.

That was what made it terrifying–Tessa had been a pretext all along.

Lina spat, “That bitch has dragged us into this disaster. What is she trying to do? Has she let herself be blinded by some man? This family is her blood!”

Artemis shot Lina a sharp glance. She didn’t like the way it sounded, but she couldn’t deny Lina was right.

Tessa’s blood tied her to the Morris family.

“To turn against us and help outsiders like this… why didn’t Lana and I finish her when we had the chance!” Lina snarled.

The entire Morris family–and Marie–now knew the truth: Tessa had been with Victor all along.

And she was nothing more than a pretext used to shatter Ashen Pact.

Now, flaunting her openly, not even bothering to hide, they had driven knives straight into the Morris family’s lungs.

That night, Tessa lay curled in bed, clutching the phone nervously as she answered Marie’s call.

“I really thought you knew,” Tessa said pitifully. “Victor told me he’d told you.”

And when she realized he hadn’t-

By then, Marie had already gone mad tearing through Ashen Pact, pushing forward with everything she had.

If Tessa had come forward then, admitted she was with Victor…

Marie’s fury would have torn her to pieces.

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Chapter 795 The Price of Betrayal

It was far too late to say anything. She hadn’t dared.

Marie snorted. “You little bar deal with you when I get back.

“Marie” Tessa whined.

I’ll

“Don’t try to act cute with me. I’m not a woman who falls for that.”

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