Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 243

Less than twenty minutes later, the family lawyer arrived, pulling the freshly drafted Adoption Termination Agreement from his briefcase.

"I'm not signing it! I won't sign! Mom, save me!"

Juliette screamed hysterically, thrashing on the floor. She had hastily thrown on some clothes, but they didn't cover the dark bruises marking her skin—the brutal evidence of Edmond's drug-fueled loss of control.

No one cared.

Two burly security guards hauled her up by her arms. She was petite to begin with, and after the exhausting night, she had zero strength to fight them off. They pinned her wrists down. A heavy pen was forced into her trembling hand.

"I won't sign! Let me go!"

Juliette's shrieks were ear-piercing. She thrashed like a fish out of water, but the guards' grip was like a vice. She couldn't move an inch. Desperate, she whipped her head around, her tear-soaked eyes locking onto Edmond.

"Edmond, please! I'm sorry! I don't want you to take responsibility anymore. Please..."

Edmond stood by the window, backlit by the morning sun. The pale autumn light framed him, casting his face in cold shadow.

He didn't move. He didn't even blink.

Juliette felt her heart plummet into a bottomless abyss. The struggle was entirely useless.

The guards forced her fingers around the pen, guiding her hand forcefully across the signature line. A messy 'Juliette Sterling' was scrawled at the bottom of the page.

"Done." The lawyer picked up the document, checking the signature before neatly sliding it into his briefcase. "The agreement is legally binding. As of today, Miss Juliette's adoption by the Sterling family is officially terminated."

The guards immediately went to work, ruthlessly unhooking every piece of jewelry she was wearing. The diamond necklace, the emerald earrings, the designer rings. They even snatched the crystal hairpin from her hair.

Every single piece was funded by the Sterlings, and every single piece was worth a fortune.

Edmond looked down at the pathetic heap on the floor. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low, lethal whisper meant only for her. "Karma is a bitch, Juliette. This is exactly what you owe Nora."

He turned and walked out. Arthur and Diana followed without a backward glance.

The guards filed out, leaving Juliette completely alone in the wrecked room.

She sat slumped on the hardwood, shivering in a wrinkled coat, her hair a disaster, her face coated in tears. The morning sun hit the floor, illuminating a few stray bills Edmond had thrown at her feet. She stared at the cash for a long time before she started laughing again.