Chapter 89

After that, Florence followed Enoch’s instructions completely.

“A lie deserves another lie in return. That’s only fair,” Enoch said.

He arranged an interview for Florence with the press and showed them some of the injuries she had suffered from Laila’s curse. Her skin, horribly twisted by burn scars, her red, swollen eyes from crying too much, and the way she trembled like a frightened little animal moved the reporters’ hearts.

<The Truth Behind a Beautiful Love: The Marquis’s Wife’s Horrific Scars>
<Why Did the Baldwin Marchioness Have to Hide?>
<Victim of a Horrifying Arranged Marriage! The Seymour Family Sold Their Daughter>
<Who Was the Baldwin Marquis Really Looking For?>
<The Truth Stained With Violence: Why Did She Disappear?>

The story was clear: The missing Florence had been hidden by the Ingram Marchioness. The Seymour family had used her for money, and Florence had fled from the horrifying abuse of her husband.

“It’s not even entirely a lie,” Enoch said confidently.

With Florence appearing as the clear victim and appealing to the public, criticism poured onto the Seymour family before they could even fight back. Suspicions and distrust also grew around the Baldwin and Lindquist families. All the rumors people had been afraid to talk about suddenly exploded.

No one openly criticized the Baldwin or Lindquist families yet—they were too powerful. Some even tried to defend them, claiming it was all a conspiracy, but Florence’s shocking scars made it hard for anyone to believe those defenses.

Enoch laid out all the tabloids and magazines filled with gossip.

“They’re tearing into them like rabid dogs,” he said, smirking. He was clearly pleased. After all, everything he had planned was working perfectly. Florence now realized how much preparation he had done. He even planned to reveal the evidence of the Seymour family’s corruption little by little—the evidence he had gathered over five years while being used by Marquis Seymour.

“I never imagined you were doing all this. I thought killing Linus would be enough…”

“Of course it’s not. We have to think about what’s next. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life in prison,” Enoch said.

“So that’s why you’ve been so busy…”

“Are you finally grateful?” he muttered.

Florence frowned.
“I didn’t know about any of this.”

“You don’t have to. That’s why I’m here,” Enoch replied.

Grace had been the perfect starting point.

The real untouchable power was the Lindquist family, not the Seymour family.

The fact that the scandal had begun at the Ingram mansion, the presence of reliable witnesses, and the silence of Marquis Ingram were all strong supporting evidence. Florence murmured as she read articles that pitied “Florence.”

“There are people who are actually on my side…”

She had thought no one would ever believe her. She never imagined there would be a day when the world, not her family, would take her side. Even if it was only because of the image Jang Hyunji had built for her, it was still surprising.

“The Seymour family was never powerful enough to be free from criticism. That’s why they were the perfect starting point,” Enoch said.

Florence was still officially missing, and a large reward was out for her capture, so she had to stay in hiding. But she couldn’t hide forever. If they were going to strike back, she would eventually have to appear on the public stage.

Still, Florence thought Enoch’s plan was unrealistic.

The world around Linus was incredible. He was like the male lead in a novel, with unfair advantages prepared just for him: talent, looks, family… He was the perfect man for the heroine.

“I thought killing someone like him would be impossible.”

The Lindquist family was one of the most prestigious families in the Yulia Kingdom. When Florence had been Linus’s fiancée, she had met them a few times, but she had been so nervous she couldn’t even lift her head. Jang Hyunji, on the other hand, had boldly approached them and pretended to be close. But looking back, Florence realized the Lindquist family hadn’t really liked Jang Hyunji either. They had just played along gracefully because Linus loved her so much that they couldn’t openly oppose it.

“Linus was the second son and became independent after receiving his own title, so the family didn’t interact much with him anyway. And Linus probably kept them at a distance too…”

As a husband, he was truly flawless.

At least, for Jang Hyunji.

“I thought taking down Grace was just Keith’s personal revenge,” Florence said.

“It was that too. Two birds with one stone,” Enoch replied.

Keith had personally ended Lishi’s life. Grace had been behind her, but she had never directly ordered, “Kill Dagrev’s doctor.” So strictly speaking, killing her would have been unfair. Keith had only planned to return the same pain she had caused—to take away what was most precious to her because she had taken away the person most precious to him.

“I would have rather just killed her than give up two years of my life,” Florence grumbled.

She had opposed this part of the plan from the start.

“I had to use my life span to curse Father too,” she added.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d rather give up the whole plan than make you do that,” Enoch snapped.

“What if you only have three years left, and you die a year from now?”

“…Are you cursing me now?”

“No, I’m just saying we don’t know how much time you have left,” Florence replied.

She looked at Laila. Laila grinned.
“I don’t know the exact number either. Ted was the one who made the contract with Keith.”

“Can’t you find out?”

“Well… it would cost 10 years of life span to check. Do you want to pay that price?”

Keith exploded.

“Forget it! Don’t you dare! You’ll get punished if you even try something like that!”

“I know how to calculate risk,” Florence said, sighing as she looked out the window.

They were staying at the Haynes Trading Company headquarters. They weren’t even hiding.

“I thought Linus would come after us immediately if he found out where we were,” she said.

“I’m sure he wants to,” Enoch replied.

Florence didn’t know how much Linus’s position had changed in the last five years. Linus was a man who could do whatever he wanted, but with the power he had gained came responsibilities and obligations he couldn’t ignore. He couldn’t simply disregard social expectations. The Lindquist family gave him an incredible background, but it also came with restrictions.

“The world is already buzzing because your wife fled from violence. If Linus suddenly shows up and kidnaps you, what will people think?”

“They’ll think badly of him, but does Linus care what others think? He’s the type to do whatever he wants,” Florence said.

“Even if he doesn’t care, the Lindquist family does,” Enoch said, smiling brightly.

“He must be going crazy with anger right now.”

It was the first time Florence had ever seen Enoch smile so happily.

Meanwhile, Marquis Ingram officially requested a divorce, and Grace was thrown out with nothing.

If the only evidence had been what Lishi had left behind, Grace might have been able to smooth things over. But the fact that she had secretly hidden Florence to extort money, combined with the suspicion that she had tried to kill the man she had dated before her marriage, left the situation beyond repair.

No one defended Grace. No one believed her.

“Sometimes her eyes would get scary,” someone said.

“Yeah, when things didn’t go her way, she’d get so cold it was hard to even talk to her,” another added.

“You noticed that too? I did! And the way she spoke was so manipulative. She’d always find a way to avoid blame when things went wrong…”

“She often made us feel indebted over nothing…”

“She acted so arrogant, like she was royalty or something.”

These were the same people who, just a week ago, had been desperately trying to gain Grace’s favor. Now they openly trashed her.

“This can’t be happening… this is impossible…”

This wasn’t the treatment Grace deserved. She was supposed to be on top, looking down at everyone else, laughing at the fools who scrambled at her words. That was the position that suited her.

How could everything be taken from her in an instant? Everything she thought was solid had crumbled like a sandcastle.

Grace ground her teeth. It was all because of her.

“I should have just killed her sooner.”

If she had, she wouldn’t be suffering this humiliation now.

“Calm down, Grace,” Father said.

“Don’t stop me, Father. This time I’ll kill her. I should have done it from the start!”

If it hadn’t been for Grandmother, she could have killed her already. Grace’s teeth clenched tighter.

“Florence has that magician with her. Enoch has two high-level spirits. We can’t attack recklessly,” Father warned.

“We can take Blake with us! Where is he anyway? What is he doing while his sister is being humiliated like this?”

“I contacted him, but he hasn’t responded. I don’t know where he is or what he’s doing.”

“Useless! He’s never there when we need him! Fine, we don’t need him. We just need to kill her! Father, if we work together, we can do it. Teleport us to the Haynes Trading Company now!”

Grace clung to her father. She was sure he would grant her request—he always had.

She had been his beautiful first daughter, the child his wife had left behind. He could pass the family title to Blake, but he could never give Grace enough.

Marquis Seymour sighed as if he had no choice and grabbed Grace’s arm. He also wanted to “discipline the dog that bit its master.”

But a moment later, Marquis Seymour’s face went pale.

“Father?”

“T-this… this can’t be happening…”

“What’s wrong?”

“My magic… it’s not moving.”

“What?”

Grace panicked and tried to summon her magic too. It was as natural and automatic as breathing.

But nothing happened.

“Huh?”

They couldn’t use magic.