Chapter 7 Thea Was Slapped

"Thea!" Maggie's voice trembled with anger and humiliation as she writhed beneath Thea's foot. "Let go of me!"

Thea's fury boiled over. These people tended to harm her mother at the slightest provocation. She gritted her teeth, her gaze fiery with rage, and pressed harder, a maelstrom of anger brewing within her.

The urgent footsteps of approaching figures echoed through the room, followed by Vanessa's icy command. "What are you waiting for? Remove her oxygen mask and toss her out of the hospital."

Without hesitation, the bodyguards near the door rushed toward the unconscious woman in the hospital bed.

Thea, desperate to stop them, turned around, only to be seized by another pair of bodyguards.

"Remove it!"

Vanessa ordered with chilling detachment. As the bodyguards prepared to pull the oxygen mask from Thea's mother, Thea cried out, "No! Mom!"

Maggie, having regained her composure and risen from the floor, shouted indignantly, "Thea attacked me!"

Furious and distressed, Thea looked at her frail mother lying in the bed and implored with teary, reddened eyes, "Vanessa, I was wrong. Please, don't hurt my mother!"

The past was a cruel reminder. Eight years ago, her mother's accident, her sister's imprisonment, and the Russell family's ruthless betrayal had left her defenseless.

Resistance would only invite more ruthless retaliation.

"Thea," Vanessa said with a smile. "This is your grandmother and father's idea. They believe your recent behavior has been less than satisfactory."

What had she done wrong? She had even taken the blame for plagiarism!

She had been forced to relinquish the person she cared for and wed a stranger she'd never met.

"What more do you want?"

Thea lifted her head, tears pushed back, her red eyes locked on Vanessa and Maggie.

Vanessa sneered, "I thought you'd have learned your lesson after all these years."

Thea was nothing more than a pawn in the Russell family's game—a tool to be used at their discretion and discarded when no longer useful.

"Mom!"

Maggie's anger flared at the memory of Thea stepping on her face.

"Slap her!"

Vanessa, fully aware of Maggie's intentions, urged her with a sinister smile.

With a wicked grin, Maggie approached Thea and slapped her across the face.

"How dare you slap me? You arrogant bitch, do you truly believe you're Mr. Reynolds's wife?"

She'd heard rumors that Mr. Reynolds was hideous and disabled, with a penchant for men. That was why she'd tasked Thea with taking her place!

Maggie continued to deliver four or five sharp slaps to Thea's once-beautiful face, leaving it red and swollen. "You will marry him whether you like it or not! You will share his bed even if it repulses you!"

With each word, Maggie's hand struck Thea's face again, causing blood to trickle from her mouth.

Thea licked the blood from her lips, wondering the reason why they had dealt with her mother like this.

She clenched her teeth, staunchly holding back the tears that threatened to spill.

Observing Thea's unwavering resolve, Vanessa frowned. She'd underestimated this girl for too long. She couldn't pinpoint when Thea had grown so resolute, but it left Vanessa uneasy.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought Maggie here to warn Thea just for some trivial matters.

"This is merely a lesson for today. I trust you will behave yourself from now on."

With that, Vanessa signaled the bodyguards to release Thea. As soon as they did, Thea hurried back to the bedside and carefully placed the oxygen mask on her mother. Gazing at the monitoring equipment beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She only had her mother, and she would protect her at all costs.