Chapter 333

---- Chapter 333 Anne drewa slow breath and, still feigning indifference, sneered, "Ihave no idea. It's just a dog, Why are you all so worked up? What does it have to do with me?" With that, she turned as if nothing had happened and started back up the stairs. But Giselle broke. Her restraint snapped in an instant. Suddenly, she lunged forward to the coffee table, snatched up a fruit knife from the platter, and without a flicker of hesitation hurled herself at Anne's back. The blade drove in. Anne shrieked , a raw, piercing scream as her body collapsed to the floor.

Before Giselle could strike again, Gideon launched forward and seized her wrist, wrenching the knife from her grip. The room froze in horror. Renee went pale as death. Trembling, she rushed to Anne's side and, seeing blood pouring from the wound, shouted at Tony in panic. "Do something! Get her bandaged, now!" Tony's instincts as a doctor overtook any anger or shock. Without wasting a word, he lifted Anne into his arms and carried her to the first-floor medical room, working swiftly to staunch the bleeding.

---- The cut was deep, his brow furrowed with the effort, but by fortune, it hadn't struck a vital organ. Even so, Anne writhed in agony, her lips drained of color, shivering at her brush with death. Back in the living room, Giselle slumped to the floor, dazed. She looked blank, almost hollow, as if she didn't even realize what she'd done. Silent, unmoving-her calm was more terrifying than any screaming fit. Gideon hadn't expected her explosion, nor that she would go so far. He crouched beside her, rubbing her back, murmuring useless words of comfort. "Why did you stop me?

Where's the knife?" Her gaze flicked to the scrap of dog skin still lying nearby. Rage flickered back into her eyes, dark and murderous . Her voice was low, each word bitten out. "I'll skin her alive. I'll eat her flesh. She's going to die with him." "Stop. Don't do that," Gideon said firmly, though his own fury burned. He forced himself to keep steady. "I know the pain you're in. But if you kill her, you destroy yourself too. Don't throw your life away.

We'll find another way." He rose, picked up the dog's skin with grim care, and then grabbed one of the housekeepers who had helped with dinner. "Tell me the truth," he demanded. The housekeeper , Jenna Thorne, had witnessed everything. Shaking, she confessed, "I. [don't know much, Ms. Anne said she was hosting guests tonight. She brought home a half- ---- prepared dog carcass, saying she wanted to eat dog meat, and told me to cook it. I didn't dare question her. I just did as she asked. I braised it. There's still some left in the fridge." "Enough." Gideon cut her off, sickened.

As a dog owner himself, the words made him recoil. The moment Giselle heard the confession, her body seized with fresh horror. The image seared through her mind, each word another slash to her heart. She bolted to her feet, wild, and charged for the medical room. Anne's scream tore through the hall the moment Giselle appeared. "Mom! Dad! Stop her! She's coming to kill me again! Stop her!" Renee threw herself at Giselle , clawing to restrain her while shrieking , "You've lost your mind! It's just a dog! Not your own child! Will you never stop?

You never cared half this much about your father, did you-" 'The crack of a slap cut her short. Giselle's hand struck Renee across the face, sending her sprawling . She pinned Renee to the ground and rained blow after blow, her palms striking left and right in rapid, merciless succession. Renee's screams dissolved into choked sobs. Blood streamed from her nose and mouth, her face swelling grotesquely under the barrage until she resembled nothing human.