The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 384

As Monica rounded the corner, the sharp crack of a whip echoed down the hallway, each lash punctuated by muffled grunts of pain and the sickening sound of flesh splitting open.

In the Saunders family, her aunt’s violent outbursts were nothing new. Monica had grown up with them—yet, no matter how many times she witnessed these scenes, the fear never truly left her.

She swallowed hard, forcing her legs to move forward, steeling herself.

“Aunt Hilda.” Monica kept her head bowed, her voice barely above a whisper.

At twenty-six, she was long past childhood, but the icy fear she felt in front of her aunt was bone-deep—something she’d never shaken off.

Hilda Saunders looked every bit the queen of her empire. Reclining on a sleek black leather sofa, one leg crossed elegantly over the other, she exuded authority and effortless style. Her crimson lips curled around a slim cigarette, smoke drifting lazily in the air, messy waves of dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. No one would ever guess she was thirty-eight; her allure was striking, ageless, and impossible to ignore.

Monica had seen her aunt countless times, but still, every encounter left her a little awestruck.

As Monica spoke, Hilda’s eyes turned glacial, her tone edged with biting impatience. “Who told you to come down here without my say-so?”

“Did you already forget what I told you?”

Without waiting for an answer, she tightened her grip on the whip and swung it hard, the lash whistling through the air before it struck Monica’s exposed arm.

Hilda’s blows were merciless. Monica’s skin split open, pain searing through her nerves. She staggered to the floor, biting back a cry, but even then she managed a shaky apology. “I’m sorry, Aunt Hilda.”

Hilda didn’t even bother to look at her, only sneering, “Useless. Have you forgotten everything I taught you?”