Chapter 285: At the Duval Estate

At the Duval estate…

Valerie was soaking in her marble tub. The memory of that python coiling around her thigh haunted her thoughts. A violent shudder wracked her body. That bitch Sienna had to experience that same terror! Her phone screen lit up on the vanity. It had to be Lillian. Valerie snatched it eagerly, ready to watch footage of Sienna completely unraveling from a python attack. Hah! Always acting so cold and superior. ‘Boss Bennett’? Please. Sienna would be a sobbing mess facing those snakes.

Valerie tapped the video. The screen instantly went black. Then, a massive, hyper-realistic python materialized. Its scales glistened. Its head filled the entire display. It seemed to lock its reptilian eyes directly on her. It lunged straight for the screen.

“Ahhh!”

A blood-curdling scream tore from Valerie’s throat. Her hands trembled violently. She flung the phone away from her. It splashed into the bathwater. The waterproof device remained active. The horrifying 3D python continued its slithering motion in the tub. It looked utterly real.

“Help! Somebody! Get in here!” she shrieked, her voice cracking with pure panic.

This was worse than any accidental horror jump-scare. Her deepest fear was snakes. This visual was too vivid. Too lifelike. It was a waking nightmare. Her personal assistant, Cassandra, burst through the bathroom door. She found Valerie huddled and shaking at one end of the large tub. The phone glowed ominously from the water, the python still coiling. The sight made Cassandra flinch. She steeled herself. She quickly fished the phone out. She tried to force a shutdown.

It was useless. The power button did nothing. The screen remained dominated by the slithering serpent. It tilted its head. Its forked tongue flickered out menacingly. It was deeply unsettling. Cassandra’s composure wavered. She grabbed a thick bath towel. She wrapped the possessed device tightly. “Try to relax, Madam. I’ll have this looked at immediately.” She hurried from the room, clutching the bundled phone. Silence returned to the steamy bathroom. Valerie’s heart hammered against her ribs. The real pythons were traumatic enough. Now someone sent a digital one to torment her? That useless Lillian!

No… Lillian was just a maid. She lacked the spine for this. It was her. That Bennett witch. Not only did Sienna steal her intended match, but she also dared to retaliate like this? Who did that low-class woman think she was? Valerie would make her regret this. Valerie climbed out of the tub. She roughly toweled off and threw on a silk robe. She stormed into her study. She powered up her laptop. She opened a secure line to a senior executive at Titan Systems.

“Push the headline about Aurora and Sienna to every single Titan Systems user. Now.”

Titan Systems was her premier national phone brand. It commanded over half the domestic market share. Millions used its devices. A system-wide notification would ensure the entire country saw the story about Sienna’s interference. The executive complied instantly.

That same hour, every Titan Systems user received a system alert:

Homewrecking Gold Digger Exposed! Click to see how a mistress and a Diamond Boss corrupted justice! The salacious headline was designed for maximum clicks. Valerie then placed another call. She arranged to meet Celeste Duval. They would visit Giselle Marchand in the hospital. They needed to get a new recording.