Chapter 365

Gabriel’s slap landed with brutal force, causing Sophie’s cheek to swell up almost instantly. Staggering backward, she crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs, vision swimming as her ears rang. For a long moment she was too dazed to react.

At that precise moment, several shadowy figures suddenly appeared in Sophie’s courtyard. One of them stepped forward.

blocking Gabriel’s path with a cold, piercing gaze.

“Lord Mowbay, what are you doing?”

“Move aside.” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as he fixed the intruders with a frosty glare. I’m disciplining my daughter, and it’s none of your business.”

Lucas sneered. “Sophie may be your daughter, but she carries the Case bloodline. Lay another hand on her, and you’ll regret Lucas raised his hand, and several grotesque black parasites crawled out, their twisted forms exuding an eerie, sinister aura Gabriel let out a cold laugh.

“How dare you threaten me in my e Almost as soon as Gabriel finished speaking, dozens of shadow guards came out of nowhere. Some landed silently in the courtyard, while others perched on the walls. In unison, they drew their swords with a chilling hiss, and the air grew thick with tension, ready to explode at any moment.

The gap between the two sides was obvious Lucas’s men were top tier fighters, but they were hopelessly outnumbered by Gabriel’s forces If a fight broke out, it was unclear who would win, but Lucas would lose more Hasen City was far from the western border, and the number of men he could bring was limited. If he lost too many here, I would be a logistical headache to gather reinforcements for next time In the end, Lucas had no choice but to swallow his pride and offer Gabinet a way to back down “Lord Mowbay, I believe there’s been a misunderstanding Since we’re allies now, there’s no need to let something trivial drive a wedge between us Sophie is the only child of Zoie, and of course, wed protect her. However furious you may be. violence shouldn’t be your first recourse Shall we discuss this rationally?”

Lucas ordered his men to withdraw the parasites, his words carefully chosen as he deliberately brought up As expected, the mention of Zole stirred a pang of guilt in Gabriel He glanced at Sophie, and the storm of anger within hirm quieted slightly Zaje Gabriel raised his hand, signaling the shadow guards to retreat. Once the courtyard was cleared, leaving only Sophie, Lucas, and himself, he turned to Sophie, his voice icy as he demanded, “Did you poison Benedict?”

Sophie’s eyes widened in shock as she instinctively denied, “No, it wasn’t me Lucas let out a heavy sigh, closed his eyes, and turned his head away “What a fool She’d already been caught, yet she still thought she’d pulled off the perfect crime. Now that Gabriel had come to confront her, she was still trying to deny it. She is truly as clueless as a pig. Lucas thought Sophie heard Lucas’s sigh and finally seemed to realize the situation. She looked up at Gabriel in a panic, only to meet his deeply disappointed gaze.

“No, Father! I misspoke earlier! Please don’t be angry. I was just too scared to tell the truth! Please calm down Sophie pleaded desperately.

Calm down? How could he possibly calm down?

His daughter had nearly killed the son he had painstakingly raised to be his successor That was his future heirl Even when Sophie had poisoned Matthew bef Successfully unlocked! lous This time, she had truly crossed the line 1/2