Chapter 408
In a fraction of a second, Silas and Jax materialized from the shadows. Grabbing Mira by the arms, they yanked her clear of the blast zone.
A deafening crash echoed through the hall as the massive tower shattered against the marble floor.
“Mara, what is wrong with you?! Did you come to my house just to destroy it?” Liora shrieked.
Mara hadn’t retreated fast enough, and falling bottles had smashed into her feet. Before she could react, Liora charged forward, grabbing her by the collar and raising a fist to punch her in the face.
Xavier rushed in and grabbed his sister’s wrist. He knew Liora was fiercely protective, but Mara was a guest. It could have just been a clumsy mistake.
“Liora, she’s a guest! It’s just juice. It spilled, it’s fine. I’m sure it was an accident.” “Accident?! She shoved it on purpose! Check the security cameras! She saw Mira standing there and tried to crush her! She’s always been a toxic, malicious psycho p>
Xavier grimaced.
“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t push it!” Mara sobbed, putting on a flawless display of victimhood.
Lacey rushed over and wrapped her arms around Mara. “Of course you didn’t! Their display was completely unstable! It fell on its own p>
Xavier stared at them, utterly exasperated by the sheer audacity of the mother- daughter duo.
“We’ll see if it fell on its own once we pull the footage,” Liora sneered.
Lacey’s confidence faltered. Seeing Mara’s terrified, guilty expression, she instantly knew her daughter was responsible. “How much was the juice? We’ll write a check right now p>
“Who wants your dirty money?! Your lunatic daughter just tried to assault someone! She belongs in a jail cell p>
Mrs. Bennett quickly pulled Liora back. “Enough, Liora. Mira is completely unharmed. Let’s not make a scene p>
“Unharmed? If those bottles had hit her, she’d be in the emergency room p>
The glass bottles were heavy. A direct hit would have caused severe trauma, and
the chaotic mix of colored juices would have left Mira completely humiliated-which was exactly Mara’s goal.
If Mira’s intuition was right, this had Roxanne Porter’s fingerprints all
over it. Maka was undeniably
Мака
malicious, but she was a guest in an unfamiliar house. How could she possibly know the tower was structurally compromised? And no one in the Bennett family would ever stoop to such cheap, dangerous tactics.
While Mira rapidly analyzed the situation, Lacey spoke up again. “Perhaps the stand
was faulty to begin with. Or maybe Mira accidentally knocked it over herself p>
Mother of the year, truly.
Before Mira could respond, Harvey stepped in, his voice dripping with condescension. “Has your brain completely rotted, Mrs. Mercer? If Mira knocked it over, why did the tower fall toward her p>
“I saw Mara push it with my own eyes,” Natalie Rivers added, stepping up beside her brother.
The surrounding guests began whispering furiously, pointing accusatory fingers at Mara and, by extension, Lacey.
“Let’s just drop it. It seems our staff failed to secure the display properly, and it gave both of you a terrible
fright,” Mrs. Bennett announced net
smoothly de-escalating the tension. She signaled for an assistant handing thick red envelopes filled with cash to both Mira and Mara. “My deepest apologies for the scare p>
With the hostess officially shutting down the conflict, Mira couldn’t press the issue further without looking like a petty, ungrateful guest ruining Grandma Evelyn’s birthday.
The mess was quickly cleared, and the music resumed.
Liora pulled Mira aside. “I am so sorry. I can’t believe Mara tried to pull that p>
“It’s fine. I wasn’t hurt p>
A few minutes later, Mira excused herself to the restroom. Once out of sight, she pulled out her phone and called Silas and Jax.
“Whatever was planned with that tower, make sure Mara and Roxanne pay for it p>
Slipping her phone back into her purse, she returned to the party.
Not long after, a commotion erupted on the far side of the ballroom.
Mira hadn’t expected Silas and Jax to execute their retaliation so quickly. Liora, Celine, and Mira hurried over to see the chaos.