Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 744

Overwhelmed by emotion, Celia barely registered Lillian's words. She heard them, but her frantic brain couldn't process the meaning.

Emma, having the advantage of an outsider's composure, stepped in smoothly.

"Miss Bennett, Ms. Mercer is asking if you have the resolve to handle them ruthlessly. And if so, how far are you willing to go?"

"Ms. Mercer likely has a strategy," Emma continued gently, "but since these people are your blood relatives, she needs to know where your boundaries lie."

Emma was sharp and possessed sky-high emotional intelligence. With her around, Lillian rarely needed to over-explain; Emma translated her intentions flawlessly.

Celia looked up at Lillian. Finally, she wiped her tears and forced herself to calm down.

Scrubbing the moisture from her cheeks seemed to unlock a hidden reservoir of strength.

She had endured it for far too long. The suffocating emotional blackmail had pushed her to the brink of insanity.

For years, a dark, venomous thought had festered deep within her—that if she could, she would gladly pay the ultimate price just to drag every single one of them down to hell with her.

But why should she?

She had clawed her way out of that impoverished backwater through sheer agony and the kindness of strangers.

She had finally embraced a brand-new life, while they remained rotting in that desolate mountain town.

Trading her bright, hard-won future to destroy people who were already rotten to the core was simply a terrible deal.

A blistering rage burned fiercely in her chest.

Even Celia didn't know if, pushed far enough by their relentless extortion, she might just snap, build a bomb, and take them all out with her.

So, in that moment, she didn't even hesitate. The words tore from her throat. "My boundaries? As long as innocent people don't get dragged down into the mud, I don't care what happens to them."

"The second I stopped, they resorted to violence. They caused scene after scene, threatening me until I faced unemployment. They never once cared how I survived out here. Even if I had to sell my blood, I was expected to satisfy their endless greed first."

"I... I haven't had a family for a very long time."

"Now, I just want to survive. I want to live like a normal human being, not like the horrific, twisted monsters they've become."

A mocking smile twisted her lips, but tears cascaded endlessly from her eyes.

Seeing the raw agony on her face, a wave of sympathy washed over Lillian. She knew exactly how to execute her plan now.

It had gone too far. These people absolutely could not be shown mercy.

If they remained in the picture, they would stop at nothing to claw their way back into Celia's life and bleed her dry.