Paige Summers’s hand, hanging at her side, twitched twice. Her icy gaze was fixed on the newcomer.

The newcomer, however, offered a friendly smile. "Paige Summers, do you have a moment? It took me forever to find this place. I was hoping we could talk openly and clear up the misunderstanding between us."

The words were barely out of her mouth when Wendy Lowell, inside the room, let out a small gasp.

She hurried over, her eyes darting between Paige Summers and the newcomer. "Nora! You and Paige know each other?"

When Nora Lowell saw her, she showed a similar expression of surprise. "Auntie? What are you doing here?!"

Hearing this term of address, Paige Summers frowned imperceptibly.

She watched Nora Lowell put on an affectionate display for Wendy Lowell, as if she knew nothing, and found the situation utterly ridiculous.

’Wendy Lowell might fall for it, but I never will!’

’With Nora Lowell’s personality? Her coming here to "clear up a misunderstanding" was a joke. A fat chance of that happening!’

’I attacked her home and killed her men. It’d be a miracle if she didn’t hate my guts. What "misunderstanding" could there possibly be to discuss? It’s obvious she found out Wendy would be here and chose this exact moment to come and put on an act!’

’How utterly pathetic.’

But she couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

She just found Nora Lowell’s machinations utterly repulsive.

At this moment, seeing Paige just standing there with an unreadable expression, Wendy Lowell felt compelled to explain. "Paige, I was actually hoping to introduce you two. I had no idea you and Nora already knew each other. She... well, just recently, when I brought her home to the Lowell estate, my father noticed she bears a striking resemblance to a long-lost aunt of mine. He asked a few questions, and it turns out she’s really that aunt’s granddaughter. In fact, Nora is supposed to be your..."

Her words stopped short. A black shadow flashed before her eyes, and by the time she could focus again, Paige Summers had Nora Lowell pinned against the wall, one hand clamped around her throat. She used her body to pin Nora’s arms and legs, and the force of her grip was absolutely no joke.

Caught completely off guard, Nora Lowell’s face instantly flushed crimson, and her eyes started to roll back.

Wendy Lowell’s eyes flew wide with shock. For a long moment, all she could manage was a stammered, "You... I..." unable to form a complete sentence.

It was Frederick Lowell who stepped forward, his brow furrowed. "Paige Summers! What do you think you’re doing?!"

Even as she tightened her grip, Paige Summers had enough breath to let out a cold laugh. "Oh, we know each other, all right. Just not in the peaceful way you’re imagining. Ours is a kill-or-be-killed relationship! And right now, I’m just giving you a practical demonstration!"

Wendy Lowell shook her head, finally coming to her senses. She rushed forward and tried to pry Paige Summers’s hand away.

"Paige! Paige, listen to me! Let her go! Whatever happened, she’s a child of the Lowell family! You’re going to kill her!"

Paige Summers stared at her, her face a mask of indifference. Wendy Lowell was pulling with surprising strength. Though it wasn’t enough to budge her, it sent a clear message: she truly did not want her to kill Nora Lowell.

Meanwhile, she could feel Nora Lowell’s struggles weakening. If she kept this up, the woman would be dead in moments.

She didn’t want to let go.

Just then, a fierce gust of force shot toward her from the side. Frederick Lowell had made his move.

The target of this gale-like strike was the very arm she was using to choke Nora Lowell!

A thought flashed through Paige Summers’s mind, and she finally abandoned the idea of killing Nora Lowell.

She released her grip and jumped back to the side.

The blast of wind sliced through the air and struck the top of a nearby cabinet. With a loud CRASH, a water bottle sitting there shattered, sending fragments scattering everywhere.

Paige Summers glanced at the mess, then turned back to Frederick Lowell, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Your granddaughter, huh?"

Frederick Lowell’s face flushed. Honestly, he hadn’t truly wanted to hurt Paige Summers, only to teach her a lesson. But seeing her completely unmoved by his own daughter’s pleas had filled him with displeasure. In his haste to save Nora, his strike had been too severe.

But the reality was, if Paige Summers hadn’t moved, her right arm would have been crippled.

The loud noise had startled Wendy Lowell as well.

She hadn’t expected her father to strike so hard. Forgetting all about Nora, who had collapsed to the floor, she shot Frederick Lowell a reproachful glare before rushing to Paige’s side. "Don’t be angry. Your grandfather was just acting in a moment of panic. Are you hurt? Did he..."

"I’m fine." Paige saw what looked like tears welling in Wendy’s eyes and couldn’t bring herself to say anything scathing. After a moment’s thought, she asked, "So now you know. There’s a grudge between me and this Nora Lowell. Even if I don’t kill her today, she’ll come to kill me tomorrow. It’s a fight to the death between us. Knowing that, do you still insist I spare her?"

Wendy Lowell looked conflicted. "What kind of grudge is it? Can you tell me? I know you’re a good kid, and Nora isn’t a bad person, either. She’s a child of the Lowell family, after all, and she works for Reed. I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding. A fight to the death... it can’t be that serious, can it?"

Paige Summers was silent for a long moment.

’How should she put it? From start to finish, Wendy Lowell’s reaction wasn’t exactly abnormal.’

’She could feel the genuine concern in Wendy’s words.’

’But ultimately, their positions were completely different.’

’Wendy was one of the Lowells. Paige was not.’

’From Wendy’s perspective, even if Paige explained the feud, it would probably amount to nothing. Everything could be smoothed over under the banner of their shared family name. And on top of that, there was her powerful stepson to consider...’

’But Wendy’s concerns meant nothing to Paige.’

She let out a silent breath and lifted her head. "We’ll leave it at that for today. Take her and go. I’m never going back to the Lowell estate, so you can stop wasting your time. From now on, I’ll take responsibility for my own actions. I don’t need anyone else to answer for me."

’She was going to kill Nora Lowell, one way or another. As for how the Lowell Family reacted? She couldn’t be bothered to care!’

"That’s all. I have other business to attend to, so I’m afraid I can’t play host."

Wendy Lowell lowered her gaze, knowing there was no way to continue the conversation today.

She was deeply disappointed and saddened.

’She didn’t understand why Paige hated Nora so much. She’d spent some time with the girl; Nora was smart and sensible. She had her little schemes, sure, but that was normal, wasn’t it?’

’Of course, she also firmly believed her own daughter wasn’t the type to kill someone for no reason.’

’So it really must be a misunderstanding!’

She sighed. "Alright, we’ll be going then," she said, resigned.

Frederick Lowell stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder. He gave Paige Summers one last, unreadable glance before going to help the semi-conscious Nora Lowell to her feet. The three of them then quickly left together.

Paige Summers shut the door and returned to her room.

’She had a feeling Nora Lowell wouldn’t let this go.’

’Fine by me. It would save her the trouble of hunting Nora down herself.’

’Let’s just see what tricks she has up her sleeve.’