Chapter 410 - 291: Torment (2)
He was out in the open, so he couldn’t just hide indefinitely.
He had to keep an eye on the situation.
But once again, events unfolded in a way he hadn’t expected.
Considering how much Leo Joyce doted on May Joyce, her death should have sent him into a rage. He should have been demanding the harshest punishment for her killer.
Yet Paige Summers was merely imprisoned.
Other than arranging the funeral, Leo Joyce had made no significant moves.
The official story, of course, was that he was overcome with grief, but Claire Chapman didn’t buy it for a second.
’Forget the fact that Leo Joyce was a City Lord. Even an ordinary man, if his own sister were murdered, would avenge her before succumbing to grief. It made no sense for him to just fall apart!’
Therefore, he suspected that Leo Joyce very likely knew who the real killer was.
And that this person was someone tricky for him to deal with—someone he couldn’t touch easily.
In fact, Claire Chapman’s guess was remarkably close to the truth.
The reason everything was quiet on the outside was that Leo Joyce had already discovered the truth: the real culprit who had used Paige Summers to murder May Joyce was none other than Maisie Joyce.
For the past few days, he had been preoccupied with May Joyce’s funeral, making it inconvenient to act.
But today, after faking May Joyce’s burial—in reality, placing her body in a secret chamber within The Citadel for preservation—he immediately sought out Maisie Joyce.
Now, looking at this plain, unremarkable face, he was truly incandescent with rage, his eyes seeming to split with fury.
He couldn’t stop himself from striking her across the face several times before a single word was spoken.
Maisie Joyce was no match for his strength. She was sent tumbling to the floor, her cheeks swelling instantly. Blood trickled from her ears and nose, and her lips were split open.
Still not satisfied, Leo Joyce glared at her as if she were his mortal enemy.
"You bitch! The only reason I let you live here was because May called you ’big sister’! If I’d known, I should have strangled you!"
Maisie Joyce had been hit so hard her head was ringing. His voice sounded distant, as if coming from the clouds. Even so, as his words registered, she couldn’t stop a disdainful snort from escaping her throat.
"That’s right. Strangle me, and then no one will ever know about the disgusting things you did with her! The great City Lord of Southreach, sleeping with his own sister. People would die laughing if they ever found out!" Blood streamed down her face as she spoke, making her look like a vengeful spirit straight out of Hell.
But Leo Joyce just laughed, his expression full of mockery.
"So you did know. A pity you only know half the story. May wasn’t my biological sister. I found her and brought her home. The one who shares my blood is you. Only you."
Maisie Joyce stared at him, stunned and disbelieving.
"You... you lied to me? You always said I was the adopted daughter of the Joyce Family, that May Joyce was your biological sister!"
Leo Joyce sat down, a cold smirk on his face as he savored her shock and helplessness.
"And this is why, for all your supposed intelligence, you’re nothing but a fool. If I hadn’t told you that, how could I have made your life a living hell? You were jealous, weren’t you, watching me dote on May every day? That feeling... like a venomous snake coiled around your heart, taking little bites. Not enough to kill you, but so painful you wanted to just rip your heart out. How did that feel? Pretty good, right?"
His eyes and his words were dripping with pure venom.
Maisie Joyce felt as if she had never truly known this man.
"Why... Why would you do this to me? If I’m your sister, if we share the same blood, why would you treat me like this...?"
"Ha!" Leo Joyce scoffed. "That filthy blood should never have existed in the first place! Why do you think I never married or took a lover? It’s because I’m going to wipe this bloodline from existence!"
Hatred simmered in Leo Joyce’s eyes.
The mere sight of Maisie Joyce reminded him of the vile woman who had given birth to them.
Maisie Joyce had only just been born when that woman murdered their father. Not only did she seize the Joyce Family fortune, but she also cavorted with other men right in front of him. She even tried to seduce him.
He had just turned eighteen that year.
He had wanted to die. But then, he found May, abandoned... She was so small, so fragile, left in the tall grass for who knew how long. Her body was ice-cold. He didn’t think she would make it, but she was so tenacious. She not only survived, but she could even look at him and smile, a smile utterly free of darkness.
In that instant, he cast aside all thoughts of death.
’Yes, it wasn’t my fault. Why should I be the one to die?’
’The ones who deserved to die were that woman and her lovers!’
In the end, through painstaking effort, he finally killed them all. When it came to Maisie Joyce, however, he hesitated. Though he despised the constantly wailing infant from the bottom of his heart, May seemed interested in her, always trying to reach for her hand...
And so, he let her live.
But he would be damned if he let that woman’s daughter have a good life.
So he lied to her. He ignored her. No matter how she tried to win his affection, he treated her as if she didn’t exist.
He had spared her life, and he would make her repay that debt with a lifetime of pain.
He just never imagined that this wretched spawn, who had never dared to defy him, would have such audacity...
He regretted it.
’I should have known. Nothing good could ever come from that woman’s bloodline.’
"Why? Why?!" Maisie Joyce murmured over and over, as if her soul had left her body.
Leo Joyce leaned down, grabbed a handful of her hair, and dragged her to his feet, forcing her to look up at him. "I’ll tell you why! I let you live for the sole purpose of torturing you! To make sure you never knew a single day of happiness as you slowly descended into Hell!"
’Because I’m already there. How could you, my own sister, be any exception?’
Maisie Joyce remained dazed for a long moment. Then, suddenly, she burst into frenzied laughter.
"And you think you’re any better than me?!"
"Do you have any idea how much May Joyce hated you? She would rather die than let you touch her ever again! If she hadn’t been willing, do you really think I could have forced her to throw herself on someone else’s dagger? How ridiculous!"
"By the way, do you know why she specifically chose Paige Summers? Because she hated her! Hated her for stealing Claire Chapman away! She loved him until the very end!"
"And do you know why she fell in love with Claire Chapman? It was because of me! I told her she was useless, and that’s why she stormed out of the city in a huff! I helped her, you see. I helped her all the way! She was lucky she didn’t die on the road! But then she met Claire Chapman! And she fell in love with him! HAHAHA!"
"You pathetic fool..."