Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 960

Ziva had never removed her mask on her own initiative even during the costume party. This was Shannon's first time seeing her face.

Contrary to her expectations, Ziva hadn't fully integrated Cecily's facial features. She'd just partially fused her skin. But since the fusion was in its early stages, the changes weren't very obvious.

Ziva's face was covered with discolored spots, and it was the kind of appearance that could easily haunt someone's nightmares.

Yet Shannon wasn't too surprised. If anything, a thin ring of scars on Ziva's lips caught her attention more than the disfigured scars across the latter's face.

Ziva's lips were thin and clearly hers. But there was a thin ring of scars on the edge of her lips, and it was almost as if…

A possibility flashed in Shannon's mind, and she decided to ask it aloud. "What's with the scars around your lips?"

Ziva had removed her mask and intended to observe Shannon's reaction. She hadn't expected Shannon to be unfazed by her scars and focus on the marks near her lips instead.

Her eyes flickered for a brief moment before she quickly composed herself. A sinister smile crept onto her scarred face as she pointed to the area around her lips and countered, "Don't you know? What kind of wound leaves scars like this?"

Without waiting for Shannon to respond, she continued, "Of course, it's the kind of scar left by repeated needle stitches."

Shannon's eyes darkened. She didn't interrupt and waited quietly for her to continue.

Then, they discovered a pattern. The less frequently Ziva used her power of words, the more powerful it became through accumulation, so they forbade her from speaking. If she did, she'd be severely punished.

They even went as far as to pierce her lips with needles to make sure she wouldn't speak.

This continued until her mother became pregnant again. Her father had pointed to the pregnant belly and demanded she say that the baby would be a boy.

She hadn't understood why they'd wanted a boy so badly, but she'd obeyed. She'd thought if it made them happy, they'd treat her better.

Sure enough, her mother gave birth to a boy. But once she had a younger brother, she received harsher treatment.