"Kendra, Lester is truly gone! He shares your blood. Without the family tree, he’s just a lonely spirit—helpless and open to being mistreated by anyone. Even if I don’t believe in ghosts or gods, I can’t let him rest in peace after all this!"
Kendra hesitated for a split second, but Russell’s voice quickly silenced any doubts.
"Joseph, how can you say such things? Lester wasn’t harmed by Kendra. He was just holding his breath in the pool, practicing. Kendra’s a professional; she would never harm her own child. You’re trying to stop Kendra, aren’t you? You want to use Lester against me, don’t you? You’ve already broken one of my legs; do you want to break the other one?"
"Kendra, it’s all my fault," Russell added, his voice strained. "You shouldn’t divorce Joseph. I can’t live in fear anymore. I’ll leave now and never return."
He pulled away from Kendra’s grip and stumbled toward the door, blood dripping from his leg as he walked. It was a horrific sight.
Kendra’s face hardened. Gritting her teeth, she seethed,
"Joseph, you’re still lying! I’ve been through much worse since I was a child. Why is your son so fragile? Holding his breath could suffocate him? Do you think I’m that gullible?"
"I just saw you shaving. If Lester truly died, how could you still care about your appearance? As a father, you should be grieving, not worried about how you look. I’ll make sure you can’t harm Russell again!"
She ordered a servant to bring in a spiked board and a whip, placing them in front of Russell’s door. Then, she forced me to kneel on them.
"Come here and watch him! If he dares to move, whip him."
With a cruel look in her eyes, she demonstrated, cracking the whip across my back. The pain was excruciating, and blood began to seep from the wounds. She instinctively loosened the whip in her hand, intending to check on me, but Russell suddenly collapsed, clutching his head.
"Kendra, I feel dizzy. Is there bleeding in my head? Am I going to die? I’m terrified of losing you again."
Kendra rushed to his side, concern replacing her fury. She helped him up and shot me an angry glare.
"Remember this lesson, Joseph! Tomorrow, you’ll bring Lester to the hospital to apologize to Russell. Don’t even think about trying any tricks again!"
With that, she helped Russell out of the room, leaving me kneeling in my own pain.