"I couldn't sleep, so Delores was kind enough to bring ho," Ace lied. Not giving his mother a chance to question him or thank Delores, he quickly asked, "What's this about Janice leasing the house? I thought you were going to renovate it into a bed and breakfast."
"Yes, that was the plan, but Janice made an offer we couldn't refuse," Mary sighed. "With your dad retiring early and the costs of maintaining the estate, we had to think practically. The hefty rent she offered just made sense. We signed a five-year lease. It all happened so fast that we didn't get a chance to ask for your opinion. You're okay with it, right?"
She watched her son carefully, knowing how much he had wanted their whole family to move into the bigger house. But financially, this was the better choice—at least until her husband figured out how to manage the estate properly.
Mary then turned to Delores and addressed her with a sincere smile, "Thank you for bringing him ho. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."
"No, I was headed this way anyway," Delores replied humbly, keeping an arm around Sonia's shoulder to stop her from provoking Ace further.
Before Mary could ask what Delores was doing at the Martin estate, Ace interrupted, asking, "Did you guys already sign the lease agreent?"
Mary shook her head, having sensed her son's disapproval with their decision, and answered, "With Mandy here, what do you think?"
Ace clenched his jaw, knowing Mandy might have already handled everything.
Mary exhaled, rubbing her temples. They had no choice. After this season, they have to replace the avocado plants with tangerine trees because of the water shortage. And even after planting, it'll take two or three years before they bear fruit. By the ti they pay off all their loans, it'll be at least five—maybe even seven years—before they start seeing real profits.
After running through all these calculations in her head, Mary found a newfound respect for Dan and Pam. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much hardship they had endured to get to where they were today. Unlike her and her husband, who got their land because of their son's luck, Dan and Pam had built their success from the ground up. In Mary's eyes, they had truly earned everything they had.
anwhile, Ace was trying—and failing—to suppress his bubbling frustration. It was written all over his face. Still, he awkwardly attempted to make small talk, "So, why aren't you guys in bed yet?"
"We thought we'd help Janice move in, but she already had everything covered," Mary said, briefly glancing at the n in dark suits effortlessly moving furniture into the house. Then, with a slight pause, she continued, "We were going to head ho, but she invited us in for a few cocktails."
Caught up in answering Ace's questions, Mary had montarily forgotten she was supposed to be mad at him. The cocktails she had earlier certainly didn't help, and neither did the sight of everyone now stumbling out of the house, getting ready to leave. Dan, Alwin, Pam, and Mandy all looked far drunker than she was—though, to be fair, she hadn't been able to enjoy the party. She had been too worried about her son the whole ti.
Her husband and brother-in-law weren't much help in easing her worry. They had co back from Martin Ranch completely hamred—so much so that they hadn't even gotten the chance to et Ace. In the end, they were too drunk to drive, so Cam and Principal Martins had to drive them and their car ho.
"Hey, Ace. We'll talk first thing in the morning," Dan said in a firm tone—one that would've been convincing if he hadn't been reeking of alcohol.
Noticing him clumsily fishing around for his car keys, Delores stepped in offering, "One of our security personnel will drive you guys ho."
"No need. Danny and Ace can drive us," Pam said, eyeing her son and nephew. Tonight had been a rare mont of nostalgia for her—drinking with a renowned actress had brought back mories of her modeling days, and she had let loose a little too much.
Danny took charge of driving the others ho since there was no way Mandy would let him get behind the wheel of her Dark Starpedo. anwhile, Ace helped Mandy into the passenger seat. The car's door chanism was a bit tricky for a drunk person to handle, and as soon as she settled in, she imdiately passed out.
After securing the car with a series of talismans, Ace turned back toward the curse users, his anger simring. Without hesitation, he pulled out the rail rifle and fired.
Sonia—who had just managed to free herself from Delores's grasp—never even saw it coming.
The Mischief Bullet hit her square in the chest, piercing straight through her heart and leaving a gaping, inch-wide hole. The bullet itself flew several hundred yards before embedding into the ground, thanks to the angle of Ace's shot.
Sonia collapsed, stunned. The effects of the Mischief Bullet scrambled her curse energy, causing it to malfunction. Even Madam Scratchifur, her ever-faithful familiar, was unable to materialize to heal her master.
The McSuile guards imdiately stopped what they were doing and moved to apprehend Ace, but before they could act, Evil Eyes raised a hand, signaling them to stand down.
"They'll resolve it themselves," he said coolly. "Finish up here and move out. Secure a periter around the town. Use your stealth arts to avoid attention."
As the guards hesitated before following orders, Ace handed the rifle back to Emi in her toy space and, without a word, pulled out a at cleaver. His expression darkened as he stepped toward Sonia, who was still dazed, struggling to get back on her feet despite the gaping wound in her chest.
As Ace neared her, he crouched beside her head. Sonia's vision was hazy, her breath ragged. She could barely form his na.
"A...ce…" she rasped.
Without a word, Ace grabbed a fistful of her hair and slamd her head into the ground. She barely put up a fight. With one swift motion, he swung the cleaver—cleanly severing her neck.
Lifting her decapitated head by the hair, Ace noticed her eyes still darting around. She wasn't dead yet. She hadn't even lost consciousness.
He set her head down nearby, carefully angling it to face her own body. Then, with precise, rciless strikes, he began chopping her body apart at the major joints. Each limb was divided into three pieces. The McSuile guards, who had started to move earlier, now stood frozen. A chill ran down their spines, but sothing in the sheer brutality of the act kept them rooted, watching in horrified fascination.
Ace worked thodically and fast. He separated the hips, torso, and chest, storing each piece in Emi's storage talisman—except for her head, which remained sohow alive.
Then, he dug a narrow hole, six feet deep and a foot wide. Taking out a wicker box, he placed Sonia's still-aware head inside and buried it.
"You should have never involved my family," he murmured. "Even if it was just to provoke ."
With that, he sat back, thodically retrieving his tools into Emi's toy space, thinking, 'Fortunately, Sonia doesn't bleed. Otherwise, this would've been a ss.'
But he wasn't done. Rising to his feet, he summoned his rail rifle and turned toward the house...
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