The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus) novel Chapter 549

Yvette clawed at her own skin, her fingers digging in with all her strength. But whatever was moving beneath it, moved even faster. The moment she touched it, the thing darted somewhere else.

A burst of frenzied barking erupted from overhead.

She looked up. A man stood before her, holding several wild dogs on chains. He wore a baseball cap and a face mask, revealing only a pair of dark, unreadable eyes.

Without a word, the man let go of the chains. The pack of wild dogs lunged toward the overturned urns. Their claws raked the ground without pause, heedless of pain. Then, they lifted their legs and urinated directly onto the ashes.

"Stop! Stop!" Yvette's scream rang out in desperation.

Earlier, when Ethan had told her that the Jenkins family graves were destroyed by wild dogs, she hadn't believed a word. She had assumed it was Marcus' doing, never imagining actual dogs could wreak such destruction.

But they were real. And there were many of them. They followed the masked man's command, but still retained all the vicious instincts of feral animals.

There was no saving the Jenkins family's ashes anymore. Yvette screamed until her voice cracked, but the dogs kept digging, undeterred. The ground was soon in chaos. The air reeked with the acrid stench of urine.

"No. No…" she cried as tears streamed down her face. The Jenkins family was truly unable to rest in peace.

"Mrs. Jenkins Senior, how do you feel about all this?" the man finally spoke.

His voice was rough, hoarse. It was obvious his vocal cords had been damaged.

At the sound of it, Yvette jerked her head up. "It's you!"

"That's right. It's me."

The man removed his cap and pulled down his mask. Half of his face was badly burned and covered in thick scars.

"I told you I'd send you a special gift. So? Do you like it?" He smiled faintly and ran a hand across his mangled cheek. "Where's Megan?"

Yvette's eyes burned red with fury. Her expression twisted with hatred. "She's dead. You bastard. I knew you couldn't be trusted. You're even more disgusting than that slut Grace. I should've let them burn you alive back then."

Kenton was unmoved. He gave a short whistle. The pack of dogs immediately abandoned the graves and turned toward Yvette.

Barking filled the air again.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed from the cemetery.

From a short distance away, Ethan observed the scene with icy detachment. He raised a hand and made a small gesture to Kenton. It seemed to say, "Watch yourself, don't kill her".

Kenton nodded and gave another whistle.

The dogs stopped attacking Yvette and returned to desecrating the urns, urinating on the ashes scattered across the ground.

Yvette's clothes were torn. Her body bore fresh bite wounds, blood seeping from them, staining her torn clothes.

She was old, sick, and dying. But the physical pain didn't matter to her.

What broke her was the destruction of the Jenkins family's cemetery. The ashes violated. The humiliation carved into eternity.

"No… no…" Yvette curled up on the ground, pleading through her sobs. Memories flooded her mind in rapid succession. Then everything went black.

She passed out completely.

"Grandpa… I won't let Yvette off the hook. She played with your love. She trampled on your sincerity. Why should she get to enjoy everything you gave her?" Marcus' voice was low and hoarse as he spoke to the tree.

"As for Grandma…" He paused. "I had Kenton hand her ashes over to Yvette."

Vivian had given birth to Wesley. And Marcus was Wesley's son. He was a true Holden. So Marcus hadn't allowed Kenton to destroy Vivian's grave.

But she had betrayed Charles. Cheated on him. Manipulated his love. Forced him into a vow of celibacy. Made him raise Cassie as his own. That was something Marcus could never forgive.

Kenton's appearance had made certain things much easier.

Marcus tightened his grip on Natalie's hand. "Grandpa, rest well. The engagement ceremony will still happen. It's just a bit later. Wait for me. I'll send Yvette down to you soon."

As the words left his lips, he let go of Natalie and stepped in front of the tree. He lowered his head and gave three deep, heavy bows.

…

Inside Holden Residence living room, the entire Walker family sat gathered on the couch.

Sky had been granted temporary leave to attend the funeral, but his sentence still remained. He had requested to speak with Natalie before returning, and the Walker family had arranged through their lawyers to give him a few extra days outside.

Marcus soon returned to the living room with Natalie. William and Charlotte watched him, worry etched into their faces.

They had already discussed it. For the time being, Hector and Mason would stay at Holden Residence. Partly to support Marcus, to talk to him occasionally. And partly to keep watch.

They feared that in his grief, he might hurt himself.