The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 232

Matthew’s face darkened with a murderous glare as he closed in menacingly. Anyone who dared harm Willow would make them pay dearly.

Macy frantically waved her hands, only able to make muffled, inarticulate sounds.

It made Matthew frown. Then he saw that Macy’s tongue was gone.

“Where’s your tongue?” Matthew’s voice trembled as a chill ran down his spine.

He thought, ‘Even if Macy had been sold by those traffickers, with her looks, at worst she’d have ended up as someone’s concubine, or maybe forced into a brothel.

‘How could she have ended up like this–her tongue cut out, reduced to such a miserable state?‘

On top of that, Matthew noticed the scars on Macy’s wrists. It was clear she had been abused.

Matthew stared at Macy in utter bewilderment, his mind racing with unanswered questions.

Macy sat on the ground, making desperate, muffled sounds but unable to utter a single word.

Matthew rubbed his temples in frustration, then pointed sharply at the maid attending her and barked, “You speak.”

The maid trembled all over but managed to stammer, “Sir, please calm down. Macy was rescued from a brothel. She was already like this when she first arrived there.”

Suddenly, it felt as if a thunderclap exploded right above Matthew’s head. His mind went blank for an instant. Then, a surge of fury welled up inside him. “What absolute rubbish,” Matthew spat.

The duke’s estate was a family of scholars and nobility who would never condone such cruel, torturous behavior. ‘Only illiterate brutes would be capable of such brutality.

Matthew refused to believe his family could be capable of such cruelty.

“No, I swear every word is true.” The terrified maid shook his head repeatedly, her forehead knocking against the floor in desperation.

Matthew whipped around to face Macy, teeth clenched. “Is what she said true?” he demanded.

Tears streamed down Macy’s face as she gave a faint nod.

With trembling fingers, she scribbled a few words on the ground “Lady Willow did.”

Those words said it all.

Matthew’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in utter shock. He staggered back two steps, muttering to himself, “I can’t believe it. Willow wouldn’t even step on an ant. How could she possibly do something so cruel?”

But Macy was right there before my eyes–she was living proof. He couldn’t deny it.

Macy pounded her chest, her voice slurred and desperate as she stammered, “H–hurt me.”

Matthew couldn’t help but recall what Athena had said.

“Don’t be so naive that you end up being used as a pawn,” Athena had warned. “And what did you really get out of standing

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up for her?”

Back then, Matthew thought she was just being bitter and harsh. But now, thinking it over, he had to admit that her words carried an unsettling kind of sense.

‘But Willow has always been so kind. How could she do this?‘ he wondered.

Matthew racked his brain for a long time, but still couldn’t make sense of it. The shock was simply too much for Matthew to handle.

Matthew grabbed Macy roughly by the collar, his face dark with fury. “Come with me. You’re going to confront Willow face

to face.”

Macy shook her head frantically, terror in her eyes.

Matthew barked, “Take her away.”

Without hesitation, two attendants stepped forward and dragged her off by force.

The maids and older female servants in the courtyard were at a complete loss, frozen in shock.

When they finally snapped out of it, they rushed off to report the incident to the Mcgee family.

Matthew stormed back to the estate, dragging Macy straight to Willow’s quarters. He marched in and threw Macy to the ground.

The violent commotion instantly silenced everyone inside, too frightened to speak.

Willow looked at Macy in shock, her voice trembling as she stammered, “M–Matthew, why did you bring her here?”

“Willow, tell me the truth. Did you have anything to do with what happened to Macy?”

“Matthew?” Willow gasped, her eyes welling with tears. “How could you think that of me?”

Seeing the situation escalate, Nona immediately ushered all the servants out of the courtyard. ‘If word of this spreads, how could others think of Lady Willow?‘ she thought anxiously.

Just as the two were at a standoff, Eloise arrived with her entourage.

As if clinging to her last hope, Willow threw herself into Eloise’s arms, sobbing, “Mother, I–I—”

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