Ace wasn't done. Rising to his feet, he reached for his rail gun and turned toward the house—only for Delores to step in front of him, blocking his path.
"Ace, don't force ," she warned with a low and tense voice.
"Don't worry, I don't plan to," Ace said with a grim smile. Then, eyeing the rifle in his hands, he added, "This is just to show how serious I am."
Delores nodded, stepping aside. She figured Ace wouldn't be reckless enough to attack Janice while surrounded by McSuile's best and brightest guards… right? Still, she decided to stick by his side, just in case.
As Ace attempted to climb the steps of the front patio, sothing strange happened. The mont his foot landed on the patio, he found himself back on the first step. Frowning, he tried again, but he got the sa result.
"What the heck?" he muttered, turning to Delores for an explanation.
"It's one of her prized Hero-tier curse tools," Delores explained, shaking her head. "It animates a small house into a living entity that protects its landlord. You can forget eting her unless she wants to see you."
Ace scoffed, his left brow raised and arched, he asked, "You sure about that?"
Turning toward the solar power plant in the distance, he muttered darkly, "I'll et with her today, even if I have to blow the house up."
"No, you won't," Delores said firmly. She knew Ace was furious, but he wasn't the type to let his anger completely dictate his actions.
"Wanna bet—" Ace started, his tone challenging. Before he could finish foolishly challenging Delores into sothing he'd likely regret later, a loud, eerie howl echoed through the night.
"Awooo!"
It was Madam Scratchifur—she had finally arrived to rescue her master. Ignoring Ace completely, she frantically began digging up the wicker box that contained Sonia's head. Once she had unearthed it, she placed the box on the ground and tore off the talisman Ace had used to seal it, chewing through it with her sharp teeth.
The mont Sonia's head was freed, it rapidly regenerated into a full body. Scratchifur imdiately wrapped around her master, forming a cloak of thick fur to cover her naked body.
Now fully restored, Sonia let out a long, guttural howl. Slowly, she and Scratchifur began to rge—but the instant she noticed Ace aiming his rifle at her, she froze. Fear flickered in her eyes, knowing, Even in her fused state, she stood no chance against Ace's cursed tool.
"You bastard! I swear, one day I'll kill you! I will kill you!" Sonia scread, her voice trembling with frustration. Scratchifur snarled in agreent, their rage boiling over. But deep down, beneath all that bravado, the truth was clear—watching Ace thodically butcher her body and bury her alive while their curse energy was unresponsive had left an indelible scar. The sheer terror of that experience was now ingrained in both their minds. So much so that Sonia didn't even dare to bring up Ace's family again.
Ace scoffed, eyes cold, as he advised her, "Then you better hurry—before I figure out how to kill you for good. Just so you know, I have enough of your DNA material. If you don't want to be plagued by curse spells for the rest of your undying life, you better stir clear of ."
Sonia opened her mouth to retort—but no words ca. A horrifying thought crossed her mind, 'What if he decides to start experinting on how to kill on right here, right now?'
For once, she chose silence.
Ace knew that Sonia wouldn't dare harm his family—it went against her best interests, especially if she wanted to join the C.I.B. But he had acted as if she would, just to make it crystal clear that his family was off-limits. He wanted that ssage to be drilled into her mind and heart.
With that settled, he turned toward the house, silently praying that Janice had a damn good reason for her actions. Otherwise, he would be forced to use ans that he wouldn't be proud of.
"I'm heading ho," he announced loud enough for everyone—inside and outside the house—to hear. "Tell Janice that when she's ready, she knows where to find . And let her know—I hate waiting. Especially when my family's involved."
Without another word, he got into the Dark Starpedo and drove off. He knew his parents would be waiting for him, but right now, he wasn't in the mood to deal with them. Hell, he wasn't even in the mood to enjoy the Dark Starpedo—which sucked, considering this might be the only ti he got to drive it. He was certain Mandy would flip out the mont she sobered up.
As soon as Ace was gone, Janice finally stepped out of the house. Without a word, she tossed a small vial toward Sonia.
"Drink it," she said. "It'll help with the ntal stress."
Sonia caught the potion and nodded. "Thanks." She downed it in one gulp, instantly feeling refreshed—spiritually and ntally. Her heartbeat, which had been erratic, finally slowed to a normal pace.
'Damn,' she thought impressed by the effect of the potion.
Being shot, butchered, and buried alive while her curse energy went haywire had left a real ntal toll. That was worse than getting crushed to death or burned alive. At least in those situations, her curse abilities kicked in to shield her from the ntal horror. But this ti, she almost lost her mind.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Delores asked Janice bluntly, wasting no ti getting to the point.
"I had no choice," Janice said, not bothering to go into details. Then, in a reassuring tone, she added, "Trust , I only made this decision after really thinking it through."
Delores shook her head, clearly unimpressed. "You don't owe an explanation," she said, "but you do owe one to Ace."
Janice let out a long sigh before saying, "He was too pissed off to listen to reason. I'll talk to him first thing in the morning." Then, without missing a beat, she turned to Sonia and said flatly, "That'll be $150,000."
Sonia's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
Before she could protest, Delores cut in, glancing around, "Where's Elinor?"
Janice shrugged. "Probably passed out sowhere in the house. Why?"
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