Ch. SECRET KID ` 58 SECRET KID ` 58

Chapter 10 

Chapter 10 

As the year was winding down, General Marcus Grey was called to duty and rushed to the frontier. 

Zachary was ordered to be escorted back to D.C., and his entire household had already been arrested and imprisoned, awaiting their fate. 

In the dungeon, my brother took me to meet Zachary, 

The once proud and mighty Colonel now sat in a corner, battered and broken, staring at the bars like he had lost his soul. 

The young women who had once belittled me were now pale and huddled in the corner, no longer the poised and elegant figures they once were. 

When I walked in wearing a delicate white silk gown, the Carter family members turned their heads in shock. 

They didn’t expect me–the plain woman who had once stood by Zachary’s side–to return after three months looking like a completely new person. 

The contrast was too much for them to handle, but seeing my cousin beside me, they forced out fake smiles. 

My cousin had ranked third in the national exams and was now in charge of the Ministry of Justice. 

As the Carter family members scrambled to kneel at my feet, crying and begging me to intercede for them, I couldn’t help but smile. 

It felt so good. 

They were the same ones who had insulted me after I married into the Colonel’s house, taking all my dowry for themselves. 

They were also the ones who used me as leverage, forcing my father to run between the north and south, even mocking him when he was attacked by bandits. 

And Zachary–after taking everything I had to offer–grew arrogant and tossed me aside like I was nothing. 

Even at his funeral, he chose to spend the day racing horses with that woman he picked up. 

Now, their punishment had come. 

Zachary heard my voice and finally turned to look at me. 

His once dull eyes flickered with some life. 

“Nina, I knew you couldn’t let me go.” 

Tears streamed down his face as he spoke. 

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Chapter 10 

“Please, have your father help me.” 

“I swear I’ll never be so foolish again.” 

“I’ll be yours, forever, just you and me.” 

I smiled coldly, then slapped him hard across the face. 

“You don’t deserve to speak of my father!” 

That slap shattered Zachary’s pleading expression and also tore the mask off the Carter family’s fake kindness. 

Mrs. Carter went wild, pointing at me, cursing me. 

“Nina Sullivan!” 

“You’ve turned on my son, and I swear, I’ll make sure your tech empire has no foothold in D.C.!” 

I laughed. 

My hairpins chimed with the sound of my laughter. 

“You really think the Carter family still has a future?” 

My cousin waved his hand, signaling two guards to drag Zachary out. 

They tied him to the interrogation device and began to beat him with salt–soaked batons. 

A hundred lashes. 

Zachary was barely conscious by the end. 

My cousin stood over him, sneering at the crowd. 

“These ten lashes are for the military punishment you gave my sister, and the other ninety?” 

“They’re the interest I’m collecting for her.” 

Zachary looked at me, his face contorted in disbelief. 

He mumbled something I couldn’t hear, then passed out. 

It didn’t matter–whether he apologized or cursed, I didn’t care. 

On the fifteenth day of the new year, General Marcus Grey returned to D.C. after a victory at the frontier. 

The emperor, overjoyed, granted a national pardon, hoping for a prosperous year to come. 

The Carter family was exiled to the border, and the once–glorious Colonel returned to his homeland in the lowest of position’s. 

Chapter 10 

That was the true way to destroy someone’s spirit. 

And it was my final revenge. 

Years later, Nina Sullivan became the legendary matriarch of a tech empire. 

She held the world’s wealth in her hands, backed by powerful allies. 

Her old–money family was entrenched in business, oil, and tech. 

And Nina Sullivan’s name became legendary. 

As the storyteller on stage slammed the gavel, the crowd erupted in applause. 

I left a gold ingot on the table, fanning myself with my hand–held fan, and walked out, carefree. 

THE END