Seeing her rage, Nala couldnât help but laugh with glee, pushing her further.
âYes, Iâve always known I had to fend for myself.
Thatâs why I killed your mother.
You had no clue, did you, Lucinda? I can still recall the look of struggle on her face, her disbelief evident as she stared at me.
She must never have imagined I would do it.
The memory is quite delightful.
â
As Lucinda mulled over Nalaâs taunts, pain surged through her heart, nearly driving her to madness.
Her eyes glinted with lethal intent, her grip tightening around Nalaâs throat.
Nalaâs complexion grew paler as her breaths became more shallow.
She was close to death, yet she made no attempt to resist.
Even if she tried, she stood no chance against Lucindaâs fury.
Just as Lucinda was about to cross the point of no return, Violetaâs voice interrupted.
âLucinda, youâve been in there for nine minutes.
Everything okay? In one minute, Sonny and I are coming in!â
Violeta, worried by their prolonged silence, had called out to Lucinda through a loudspeaker at the door.
At the brink of losing herself, Lucinda snapped back to her senses upon hearing the voice.
She had arrived with Sonnyâs men.
If they entered to find Nala murdered by her hands, with Daniloâs men as witnesses, not even Nathan could shield her.
Her entire life could be derailed by Nalaâs murder.
Was this Nalaâs intent all along? Was she deliberately provoking her?
If they werenât going to die together, then Nala was determined to meet her end by Lucindaâs hand.
Lucinda quickly came to a decision and abruptly released her grip, stepping back.
Once able to breathe smoothly again, Nala collapsed to the floor, her coughing relentless and her face a ghostly shade of pale.
Lucinda, regaining her composure, looked down at Nala with disdain.
âStrangling you would only sully my hands.
Itâs better to let the law deal with a creature Like you.
â
Despite her coughing fit, Nala managed to lift her head, her gaze filled with bitter resentment towards Lucinda.
As the final minute ticked away, Sonny led the charge, bursting in with a squadron of soldiers.
Violeta, alongside Graham, Danilo, and his bodyguards, all made their way into the villa.
The sight of the metal cage dominating the villaâs central open space caught everyone off guard, Danilo excluded.
They were taken aback, wondering if only a madman would transform a villa into such a prison.
However, the attention of everyone quickly shifted from the cage to Lucinda and Nala.
Lucinda appeared unscathed, maintaining her cool and haughty demeanor.
In stark contrast, Nala, seated on the floor, was in a state of despondency, her incessant coughing and the scratches on her neck suggesting she had endured rough treatment in the last ten minutes.
Danilo broke the silence with a question.
âWhat happened to Nala? Were you trying to strangle her, Ms.
Simmons?â
Lucinda replied with unwavering calmness, âSheâs too frail.
If my intent was to end her life, she wouldnât be sitting here after ten minutes, would she? Mr.
Brewer, please donât accuse me unjustly.
â
Danilo found himself at a loss for words, given Nalaâs obvious survival.
Violeta and Sonny, however, were more concerned about Lucindaâs well~being.
âLucinda, are you alright? What led to you being confined in the cage with Nala?â Sonny inquired.
It didnât take long for Violeta to notice the oil spilled on the cageâs floor.
âLucinda, can you explain what transpired here?â
Lucinda smiled as she explained, âJust a moment ago, Nala knocked over the oil can and was about to light a lighter.
She seemed ready to end it all with me in the blaze, but I managed to stop her just in time.
â
She gestured towards the lighter, a short distance from the cage.