Mission: Revenge – The Heiress's Second Life novel Chapter 26

"What did you just say?!" Jonathan shot to his feet the second the words left Clara's mouth. "Zander went missing? Isn't he receiving treatment at the academy? How could he go missing?"

He grabbed his coat from the sofa and frantically shoved his feet into his dress shoes, looking completely panic-stricken.

Clara spoke with icy detachment. "I already found him and took him back to the dorms. There's no need for you to rush over there now."

The heart that had been lodged in Jonathan's throat finally dropped back into his chest.

"Clara, could you try finishing a sentence before pausing for dramatic effect?" Serena complained. "Dad is getting older. He can't handle shocks like that. You can't just scare him like this."

"I suppose it makes sense that you don't care whether Zander lives or dies, seeing as you're only his half-sister," Clara sneered. "When I said he went missing, Dad was terrified, but you two didn't even flinch."

Serena's face drained of color.

She secretly hoped that little bastard would disappear forever. Why would she care?

Vera's eyes darkened. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but Clara's razor-sharp glare cut her off.

"The emergency contact listed for Zander is your cell phone, Vera. So tell me, when the teachers called you tonight to report him missing, why didn't you answer?"

Her voice was lethally calm, leaving Vera entirely speechless.

Vera had blocked the school's number ages ago. She was too busy managing her own fabulous life to waste time dealing with that defective little brat!

"And another thing! Six months ago, the staff called to warn you that Zander's condition was deteriorating. They explicitly said he needed to be transferred to a specialized younger class. Why did you ignore it? If you couldn't be bothered to do your job, why didn't you tell my father so he could handle it?"

"Or—" Clara shifted her piercing gaze to Jonathan. "Did you already know about his condition, Dad? Were you just too busy to spare a few hours to go down there and authorize the transfer?"

Serena glanced at her mother's pale face, then at the sheer fury radiating from Jonathan.

Her parents had been happily married for six years. She had never once seen them fight. Yet Clara's few casual remarks had sent her father into a blind rage.

She tried to soothe him with a soft voice. "Dad, Mom has been so overwhelmed with the launch of her new beauty spa these past few days. You can't really blame her for losing track of Zander..."

"We're discussing this upstairs!" Jonathan snapped coldly.

He stormed off toward the master bedroom on the second floor.

Vera stroked her daughter's hair to calm her. "Your father is all bark and no bite. Don't worry. Go to bed, sweetie."

After reassuring Serena, she braced herself and followed Jonathan into the bedroom.