Chapter 509 The Malevolent Antheena
Veronica could not understand why Xavier took her to the attic despite knowing that Hendrey was visiting. She figured that Xavier must have discovered something hence descided to bring her there.
Perhaps, he was trying to remind her about the tight security in the castle and that she should quell her preposterous thoughts.Don’t tell me he had found out about what happened last night?
She was uncertain. They entered the living room, only to see that Antheena was already there. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned around and cast her gaze onto them. The moment she caught sight of Hendrey, a smile appeared on her once cold yet gorgeous face as she scurried to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hendrey, you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you.”
She then gave him a peck on the cheek. Given that she was Xavier’s girlfriend, her intimate gesture toward Hendrey was nothing more than a form of greeting etiquette practiced in Castron. Still, it was obvious that she and Hendrey were close.
Despite the tranquility of her countenance, a storm was brewing inside Veronica.
Antheena and Hendrey are so close, so all this time he should have known that Xavier is still alive. Yet, he didn’t say a thing. What a sly fox.
“My little princess got prettier again.” Hendrey stroked Antheena’s hair gently with a soft smile.
“That is for sure! I am always pretty,” she said with unreserved confidence. Her straightforward demeanor was rather likable.
Then, they started to make small talk after getting themselves seated on the couch, whereas Veronica, who was sitting on another couch, was being left out of the conversation as though she was not even around. Even if she wished to join in, she had no rights to do so. Taking her leave was out of the question too.
She was finally relieved from the long agony of sitting on pins and needles when Xavier suggested, “Since it’s a good day, why don’t we play card games? Antheena loves to play card games the most, after all.”
“I’m up for it! Sebastian knows me the best!” Antheena hugged Xavier, who was sitting next to her, and kissed him.
“Let’s go then.” She rose to her feet and beckoned Veronica to come along.
Veronica followed the trio without second thoughts. She did not know where they were going to play, but she knew for a fact that their notion of playing card games was not as simple as to kill time. To lose both her rights to talk and liberty to move while being the passive party was the worst feeling ever for her.
The trio walked in front of her, with Antheena standing in between the two men. They looked very close to each other as she wrapped her arms around their shoulders while talking and laughing together.
The scorching sun hung up high in the sky. The heat lingering in the air blew across Veronica’s face, adding fuel to her bubbling frustration.
Being the ever boisterous person that she was, she had been uncharacteristically quiet for the first time. No matter how domineering and calm she was in the face of everything, she somehow felt jittery and reserved at the moment.
After all, the direction they were heading toward was where the underground basement was located. And to her despair, that was exactly where they were heading for. In the end, they had arrived at the same place that she was at yesterday—the second floor of the underground basement.
Inside the basement, there was a table with desserts and alcohol on top of it. Beyond the glass window of the interrogation room was a black curtain drawn to prevent people from peeking inside. Veronica was getting more and more nervous by the second.
“Hey, something on your mind?” Antheena abruptly patted her shoulder.
Veronica’s heart skipped a beat at that, but she remained placid as she replied, “Nothing, I was just thinking it might be boring to play card games here.”
One would say that her Chinese proficiency was excellent as she could speak fluently with perfect pronunciation. It was certainly not something one would expect of a country bumpkin.
The trio exchanged glances before looking back at Veronica simultaneously. They put on a sinister smile, which sent chills down her spine.
“Oh, no. It’s way more fun this way.” Antheena smiled while pointing at one side of the table. “Veronica, why don’t you sit over there?”
Since the owner of the house had said so, Veronica could only obey and took a seat at the designated spot, which was facing the interrogation room. The rest of the group took their spots around the table as well; the men sat on her either side whereas Antheena sat right across her.
“Come on. I can’t wait anymore! Let’s get the game started already!” Antheena rubbed her hands in excitement.
Veronica, who had remained silent for a while, finally spoke up. “No gambling, right? Just a casual game.”
“The game is only fun when money is involved though. But anyway, let’s play a few rounds first.” Xavier glanced at her coldly before pointing at the center of the table. “Roll the dice. Whoever gets the greatest number will go first.”
All of them rolled the dice and Atheena rolled seventeen, which was the largest number among them. Therefore, she would start first.
After the cards were dealt, Veronica questioned, “Which type of card games are we playing?”
“The simplest one—Durak. Just get rid of your cards as fast as possible,” Xavier replied.
It was indeed one of the easiest card games.
“Ace of Diamonds.” Antenna pulled a card out from the deck and placed it at the center of the table to start the game. After that, she placed one of her cards on top of the ace. “Four of Diamonds.”
…
Antheena won the first round. Before Veronica could query about the bettings, Antheena snapped her fingers at the bodyguard, who was there with them.
He nodded lightly and carried over a lottery box. As Antheena was about to reach into the box, she stopped when she took a glimpse at Veronica. “I heard that Veronica is lucky with this kind of thing. Would you help me to pick one for me?”
There were balls of the same color in that transparent lottery box. Even though Antheena was asking if she would like to help, Veronica knew that she had no other choice but to comply since the trio were looking at her expectantly.
“My pleasure,” she gladly accepted with the intention to figure out what this was all about.
The bodyguard with the lottery box came up to her and she picked a ball randomly. Another bodyguard took it and read, “Nine.”
Next, he relayed the number through the walkie-talkie.
Nine? “What does ‘nine’ mean?” Veronica asked.
However, before they could give her the answer, she heard an agonizing scream from behind the curtains of the interrogation room.
Thump! Her heart dropped as she came to a sudden realization. She clenched her hands into fists as she gulped. This is no card game; this is a massacre in disguise!
Veronica was smart enough to figure out the meanings behind the numbers written on the balls. It was either referring to the frequency or type of punishments.
And that scream just now. It does not belong to Matthew, but somehow it sounded familiar. She feigned calmness as she asked, “Who’s that?”
Antheena put on an innocent face as she shrugged and shook her head. “Not sure who they are, but one thing I’m sure of is that they are the intruders from last night. They are dauntless enough to invade my territory, so they deserve it.”
“Oh, seven! Your turn, Veronica,” she said while rolling the dice.
With a languid expression, she bent over slightly to take five cards from the deck before Xavier followed suit.
When it was Veronica’s turn to take the cards from the deck, she was still in a trance.
