Chapter 228

Chapter 228 The Noble Farce
Jasper stood frozen, his swollen check throbbing with pain. Rage flickered in his eyes as he ground his teeth. “Mess with me, and you’re messing with Hope Camp!”
“Hope Camp?” Theresa arched a brow, amusement playing at the corners of her mouth. “ Really?
“That’s right!” Rose cried from where she lay sprawled on the ground. “You can bully us from Zenith Camp all you want, but you mess with Hope Camp–you’re finished!”
Before Theresa could respond, a voice called out from a distance.
“They’re taking too long. I’m heading back.”
Recognizing the voice, Rose scrambled to her knees and screamed in desperation, “Bennie! We’re here! Please, come save us!”
The group over there stirred at the call, rushing toward the sound.
When Rose saw the reinforcements arrive–especially Bennie–her eyes welled up. She wept theatrically, tears rolling down her cheeks like a scene from a melodrama. “Bennie! Someone tried to kill me and my brother!”
She sniffled and carried on without pause, “I told them we’re from Zenith Camp, and that we’re allied with Hope Camp! We don’t care if they look down on us, but how dare they disrespect Hope Camp? That’s going too far!
“My brother and I tried to defend your name, and this is what we got–beaten half to death! They even threatened to kill us!”
Theresa listened with growing amusement, then turned to Quentin. “Your cousin goes to drama school? ”
Quentin let out a short laugh, a smirk tugging at his lips. “I’ve said it before–these people missed their calling. Should’ve gone straight into acting.”
“Bennie, did you hear that?” Rose sobbed harder, her voice trembling with righteous indignation. “They’re still slandering us! You have to stand up for us!”
She was sure Bennie would take her side. After all, Zenith Camp had just brokered a preliminary partnership with Hope Camp. She was even slated to become Bennie’s secretary. He wouldn’t let this go.
But just as she awaited her moment of vindication, she watched in disbelief as Bennie walked directly toward Theresa.
Perfect, she thought. Once Theresa fealized Bennie was about to put her in her place, she’d crumble. She didn’t look like someone from Kl Camp or Ember Camp–just another no–name camp. She wouldn’t dare cross Hope Camp. Check latest chapters at.net
Hope Camp was one of the top three camps in the country. Nobody crossed them and got away with it.
She waited, breath held, for Bennie to speak. When he did, the words cut through the air like ice.
“They have nothing to do with me. I don’t even know them.”
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Chapter 228 The Noble Farce
Rose felt like the ground dropped beneath her.
“What? ” she croaked.
The rest of the Keir family stood dumbfounded.
Bennie’s eagerness to distance himself left no room for misunderstanding. He wasn’t just abandoning them–he was condemning them.
Theresa chuckled, clearly impressed. “Well, look at you. Learning fast. Smart move. Otherwise, I’d have had to beat you, too.”
Everyone around them fell silent.
Rose gaped at Bennie. “But… but didn’t we just agree to form an alliance?”
Bennie turned, his voice sharp and cold as steel. “They wanted an alliance. I had a slight interest, but the more I saw, the less I cared. They’re worthless. Just leeches hoping to suck a little power from me.”
Zenith Camp had no resources, no value.
The only thing they had going was their desperate attempt to leverage a flimsy “ally” label. The Kerr family knew they had no real assets to offer Hope Camp, so their entire plan hinged on pushing Rose into Bennie’s arms. Even as a mistress, if she secured Bennie’s attention, it would mean Zenith Camp could cling to a much bigger force.
They were after a meal ticket–nothing more.
Theresa, unable to hold back her laughter, looked at Quentin. “Oh, I get it now. They’re trying to pull the same trick your mom did. No money, no power, nothing but a desperate need to cling to someone richer.
Quentin said nothing, his smile stiffening.
“Tsk, tsk,” Theresa went on, “so tell me, how do you all manage to scream ‘sl*t‘ at someone’s mother, mock her for going after a powerful man, stomp on her son like dirt… and then turn around and crawl your way up the same ladder she climbed? If that’s not hypocrisy, then your family must be one giant cesspool.”
Rose flushed scarlet, her face practically glowing with humiliation.
She bit her lip hard. “We did not!”
“Oh, no?” Theresa smirked. “You’re so pure, then tell me–what exactly makes you think anyone should ally with you? What do you have to offer? A bunch of weaklings who can’t fight, and a stockpile that’s already been scraped clean?”
Rose wished the earth would open/up and swallow her whole.
Shame and fury boiled inside her.
How dare she
say
that?
Even if they had nothing, even if they were down to crumbs, they were still better than average people. The Kerr family was like fallen nobility–broke, but superior by blood. In their eyes, even stripped of
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Chapter 228 The Noble Farce
power, they were still above everyone else.
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