Chapter 1311

Anger followed Katelyn through the front door. She moved briskly past the living room, her expression tight,while the butler stood silently aside and watched her take the stairs two at a time.

Years of service had taught the butler exactly when to keep his distance. Reading her mood in an instant,he kept quiet and stayed out of her path.

Once she reached the upper floor, Katelyn threw open the door to a secluded room.

Half-shuttered curtains filled the space with a dull gray glow. Anyone who walked in would have mistaken the place for a backroom operating table.

But this was no clinic.Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined the walls, holding jar after jar of animal organs and oddities, making it a scientist's lab gone grim.

Without sparing the shelves a glance, Katelyn snatched up a scalpel and dragged a trembling lab rat from a wire cage at her feet.

She pressed the rat down and cut into its side, making no effort to spare it pain-her anger finding an outlet in the violence.

The look in her eyes turned cold and vicious-a far cry from the graceful, polished woman she showed the world outside these walls.

Over and over, she drove the scalpel into the helpless animal, twisting what should have been a tool for saving lives into something brutal.

Weak squeals broke from the rat as it thrashed, the sounds fading fast in the wide, echoing room.

Katelyn barely registered the noise. Her stare was empty while she muttered again and again, "You think you can take what belongs to me? How dare you!"

Each angry whisper brought Verena's face into focus in her mind. She pictured the blade cutting into her rival, not just the animal.

Revenge simmered in her thoughts. She wanted to see Verena suffer, inch by inch.

As the rat's strength faded, it gave one last desperate kick and raked its claws across Katelyn's hand.

Pain shot through her, snapping her out of her haze. She gasped for breath and lifted her arm high.

A final shrill squeak pierced the room.

A moment later, the rat's limp body slid from the table, leaving the room in sudden, utter silence.

"Ah!" A sharp cry rang out from the hallway.

Kaia froze in place, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared in shock at the blood smeared across Katelyn's fingers.

Katelyn turned at the noise and asked coldly, "How much did you see?"

"I... just walked in," Kaia stammered, lowering her hand and trying not to gag from the metallic scent of blood. "I heard your heels on the stairs, so I knew you were home. When I couldn't find you, I saw this door open and thought I'd look."

Katelyn gave a short nod. "Alright."

A note of worry crept into Kaia's voice. "Did something happen to make you this upset?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Katelyn, brushing her off.

Katelyn flashed a smile that looked too smooth, and for a second, Kaia wondered if she had imnagined the earlier flash of anger.

Holding up her stained hand, Katelyn explained, "I was prepping for an experiment, but this rat went wild and tried to bite me. My professor in college always said, 'If a specimen attacks, you put it down right away.Did I startle you?"

Of course,Katelyn was lying. There was no way she'd let Kaia know she was really lashing out over Verena. Kaia had never come across such a principle during her studies, but since it came from her idol, she was ready to accept it without question.

Trying not to look at the mess, Kaia swallowed her disgust and forced a weak smile. "No, I'm fine."

"I'll handle this," Katelyn said quietly. "Go on back to your room. I'll stop by in a bit to talk."

Kaia nodded and hurried away, doing her best not to throw up.

A little while later, Katelyn showed up at Kaia's door.

Sliding onto the bed next to Kaia, Katelyn put on a gentle smile. "So, how are you feeling now? Any better?"After leaving Willis Villa, Kaia got caught in a downpour. The cold she picked up from that night had lingered for weeks.

Kaia, surprised by Kat nearly over it."

"That's what I wanted the next step for me."

Right away, Kaia caugh

When Katelyn nodded,

Katelyn arched a brow forgiveness. If they as past mistakes, anything

Returning home felt lik been a rash decision. D

After a moment of silen

Kaia started to get up, b elyn's sudden concern, nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I've been taking my meds and I'm

to hear." Katelyn squeezed her hand,locking eyes with her. "Listen, I need you to take t her meaning, her face lighting up. "Is it time for us to finally start our revenge?"

Kaia's excitement grew. "What's the plan? Just say it, I'll handle it."

, a sly grin forming. "First, you've got to go home and beg your parents for k, make it sound like you went through hell-say you were in danger, you realize your . Play the part, cry if you have to, but make sure they forgive you."

e admitting defeat, but Kaia knew she couldn't avoid her family forever. Leaving had eep down, she worried Alec and Laura might turn their backs on her.

ce, Kaia nodded. "Alright; I'll do it."

ut Katelyn caught her by the arm. "Wait, that's not all."

Confused, Kaia glanced back. "What do you mean?" A chill flashed in Katelyn's eyes. "You're going to visit Verena, too."

At the mention of Verena, Kaia stiffened, eyes narrowing. "Why/should I bother facing her? You just want to give her a chance to make fun of mne?"

Katelyn kept her voice steady. "Relax. Listen to what I'm saying. Go apologize for everything that's happened and see if you can patch things up with her."

Kaia let her frustration show. "We can't even get through a basic conversation without fighting. How am I supposed to make friends with her? Can't we try something else?"

A sharp look flashed across Katelyn's face. "Do you really not get it? Winning her trust is the only way we'll get the upper hand."

Kaia's shoulders dropped as she mulled it over. "She's smart, you know. There's no way she'd just fall for it and trust me that easily."

A sly grin spread on Katelyn's lips. "That's exactly what I'm hoping for."

Confusion pulled Kaia's brows together. "What are you getting at?"

Katelyn's tone turned playful. "Go to Verena and play the victim. Make sure there are people watching, too.If you beg for forgiveness and she brushes you off, everyone else will think she's the unreasonable one. Her image will take the hit, not yours. Danica might not step into every squabble, but she's big on fairness. Once word gets around, she'll see things my way and back me up."

Turning her gaze to the window, Katelyn's lips curled in a satisfied smirk.

She knew all too well that the Bennett family had strict expectations. In a family like theirs, a daughter-in-law tainted by even a hint of scandal would never be welcome.