Chapter 46: Cutting Ties

Sierra spoke calmly, “That brings me to my third condition. I’ll stay with Kason, but from now on, I have nothing to do with the Xander family. Remove me from the family registry. I’d rather die than be on the same household record as you. On top of that, we cut all ties. I want a lawyer to make it official—completely sever everything legally. If we can’t stand each other, then why bother seeing each other at all?”

Her words sent the entire living room into stunned silence. Just a moment ago, the Xander family had been furious, but now, they were frozen. It took a while before Bradley finally found his voice.

“Do you even know what you’re saying?”

How was this possible? She was Sierra—the same Sierra who had always craved even the smallest bit of affection from them. How could she say something like this?

“Stop messing around. Without us, without the Xander family, you’re nothing. Let’s just forget this conversation ever happened. Go upstairs,” Bradley said urgently. He was afraid if he waited too long, his father might actually agree. After all, their father had never wanted Sierra back in the first place.

Sierra let out a mocking laugh. “Do you really think I care about being ‘Miss Xander’? What has that title ever given me? Oh, right. Three years in prison. And a psychotic fiancé. If anyone wants this ‘Miss Xander’ title, they can have it.”

With that, she stood up. Her gaze swept across the room, landing on each member of the Xander family, her expression ice-cold.

“That’s my condition. Think it over.”

She turned to head upstairs, but Franklin’s voice cut through the air.

“I don’t agree. And you’ll do exactly as I say.”

He had been ready to give up, but Sierra was pushing too far, daring to negotiate with him. His eyes turned cold as he stared her down.

“It’s easy to make someone disappear in this world. Your grandmother is still in the hospital, isn’t she?”

Sierra’s expression shifted instantly. If she had been mocking before, now she looked like a wolf drenched in blood—wild and unhinged. Her eyes burned with madness.

“Try it and see what happens. Thanks to you people, I learned a lot during those three years inside. If you want to find out just how much, I don’t mind giving you a taste.”

“Aah!”

Sierra flicked to Denise, and a slow, sinister smile spread across her lips. “Why don’t we start with your precious Denise?”

Denise let out a sharp scream, instinctively stumbling backward a few steps. Bradley rushed to pull her to his side. He wanted to say something, but looking into Sierra’s eyes—burning with raw hatred—he found himself at a loss for words.

Even Franklin was shaken. The Sierra he remembered had always been weak and timid. But the way she had just looked at him… For the first time, he felt afraid. He had raised a wolf.

The room was dead silent as Sierra turned and walked toward her room. Tap, tap, tap. Her slow, deliberate footsteps echoed, sending chills down their spines. It sounded like a death knell.

A long time passed before Eleanor finally whispered, “How did it come to this?”

No one answered. They all wanted to know—how had things ended up like this? They had thought they were doing what was best for Sierra. So why had they only driven her further and further away?

Thinking back to his father’s threat just now, Bradley couldn’t help but say, “Dad, you shouldn’t have said that.” He had seen firsthand how much Sierra cared about her grandmother.

“Shut up!” Franklin was already irritated, and now being questioned by his own son made him even more displeased.

Just then, Denise, who had been quiet this whole time, suddenly spoke.

“So… should we agree to her conditions?”

Everyone instinctively turned toward Sierra’s room. Evan frowned. “Of course not! We were already in the wrong for sending her to prison in the first place. Now we’re just going to hand her over to Kason?”

Denise’s eyes flickered as she lowered her head. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t—if it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have gone to prison. None of this would have happened. I deserve this…”

A tear slipped down her face as she started trembling—her usual telltale sign of an oncoming episode. Panic immediately spread through the room.

“It’s not your fault! Don’t blame yourself, Denise! We’ll fix this. We’ll make it up to Sierra! Yeah, she’s just saying this out of anger. Once she realizes how much we love her, she’ll forgive us.”

When the Flame of Love Fades