The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 109

Chapter 109

“If Lucky dies and Grandmother falls ill again, then what? Tell me, Nicolas, which matters more? Grandmother’s health or this damn rock?” Athena’s words hit him like a sledgehammer, leaving Nicolas speechless, his face flushing then paling.

Ignoring him, Athena wheeled around decisively and barked at the assembled servants, “Smash it, now!”

Yet only dead silence answered her, not a single person dared to move a muscle.

After all, this was a stone worth three thousand dollars. No one in their right mind would dare smash it.

Athena’s gaze swept across the paralyzed onlookers, her eyes seething with indignation and bitter disappointment.

She said, “Fine! If none of you dare act, F’ll do it myself!”

Gritting her teeth, Athena strode forward, grabbed the hammer nearby, and swung it with all her might at the rockery.

Athena wasn’t particularly strong. Each time she swung the hammer against the unyielding stone, the force jolted painfully through her hands.

She barely noticed the pain, stubbornly, relentlessly, she kept swinging the hammer, blow after blow.

Soon, her palms were torn and bleeding, crimson streaks trickling down the hammer’s handle as her hands became a mess of blood.

Blow after blow, the crack in the stone grew wider.

Heart pounding with anxiety, Athena hurried to the crack and desperately peered inside.

Just as she feared, Lucky was slumped motionless in the narrow crevice, so still that it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead. Athena’s heart clenched at the sight.

“Lucky! Lucky!” Athena called frantically into the crevice, her voice trembling with desperation.

It felt like an eternity before Lucky finally gave the faintest twitch of his tail, weakly responding to her.

Seeing this, Athena let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Thank heavens, Lucky’s still alive!”

Seeing this, the three brothers exchanged astonished glances. Joseph couldn’t help but mutter, “So he really is here?”

Athena thrust her arm into the narrow crevice, the jagged rocks leaving her forearm mottled with purple bruises and cuts.

She thought, ‘But compared to finding Lucky and giving Margaret Duchess hope for recovery, these wounds mean nothing.

After a Herculean effort, she finally managed to pull Lucky out of the crevice.

By the time she finally pulled Lucky free, fresh scrapes and cuts crisscrossed her arms. Blood oozed from the wounds, staining her sleeve crimson.

Carefully, Athena cradled Lucky in her arms, her hands trembling as she gently ran them over his small body. Her heart sank, she could feel several broken ribs, and his leg was fractured.

For such a tiny puppy to survive a fall into that narrow crevice, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Seeing Athena’s gruesome injuries, Nicolas couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity.

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Nicolas took a step forward, reaching out to Athena. In a gentle voice, he offered, “Let me hold him.”

Athena shot him an icy glare and, without a moment’s hesitation, replied flatly, “I can manage.”

‘I don’t trust a single soul here,‘ she thought coldly.

As Athena staggered into Starling House with Lucky cradled in her arms, Eloise and Willow immediately sprang up from their seats and hurried over to greet her.

When they saw Athena, battered and disheveled, holding Lucky who was barely clinging to life, a look of concern immediately appeared on Eloise’s face. “Athena, you’re hurt,” she said.

Willow quickly reached out to her. “Let me take Lucky,” she urged, “Go get your wounds treated right away.”

Athena completely ignored their overtures, treating them as if they were air.

Turning urgently to Gwen, Athena said, “Go quickly and tell Grandma that Lucky has been found!”

Henry also heaved a sigh of relief. “Found him? Good, good!”

The next second, Henry abruptly changed tack and asked, “Where was he found?”

“That dog fell into a crack in the rockery,” Joseph sneered. “Athena smashed the whole structure just to fish it out.”

He thought, ‘The Fortune Stone is believed to keep the household’s fortune flowing smoothly. When it was installed, we even performed rituals for it.

“With that single blow, Athena wasn’t just smashing a stone, she was obliterating the very fortune of the Monson family!’