Dark Revenge Of An Unwanted Wife: The Twins Are Not Yours!

Chapter 167: Visiting Mr. Thorne VI

The silence in the room had become unbearable for Athena, suffocating even, as she sat amidst the palpable tension.

Old Mr. Thorne and his wife, Florence, both seemed to stare into the depths of their own thoughts, looking down not just at the plush carpet beneath their feet but into the chasms of their grief.

They wore expressions that reflected a complex mix of emotions—downcast yet somehow angry. Athena couldn’t help but feel a surge of frustration directed at Victoria.

How could she be so insensitive as to bring up such an unreasonable question? Where had Cedric found such an oblivious woman?

She exchanged furtive glances with the kids, seated nearby and clearly as confused and uncomfortable as she was.

Inhaling deeply, she opened her mouth to suggest an exit for herself and her children, but before she could speak, Old Mr. Thorne’s voice cut her short.

"My Emily was poisoned. She and her husband. They were poisoned with my own poison, right in my own house. I have never stopped blaming myself."

Athena furrowed her brows, grappling with the weight of his words and their shocking implications.

phrase sent chill bumps across

the grim narrative unfolding before her. She

kept the poison around as a keepsake, remnants from a trip to one of the middlebelt countries. After their death, I held onto it as a memorial—a reminder of my foolishness for

a soft echo of concern and heartache, but Old Mr. Thorne was on a roll now, lost in the

stay over. After months of being unavailable, burdened with work, they finally came for a visit. My daughter especially had been out of my sight for nearly a year, and I was desperate to spend time with her. They agreed to stay, even though they weren’t entirely comfortable with the presence of the entire Thorne family. My Emily was an introvert, and she married another introvert—they detested family

the sorrow evident in his furrowed brow. "That night, I woke up suddenly with an instinctual nudge to check around the house, but I was too tired—having had too much to drink and feeling oddly euphoric—to act on it. The morning brought the horrifying shock of a maid’s

as he paused, allowing the words to sink in. "If I had listened to my instincts that night, I might have caught the person who did this. If I had heeded my wife, I wouldn’t have kept such a deadly poison around, even

aching at the somber atmosphere that wrapped around them like a heavy blanket. "We all make mistakes sometimes; it’s what

confessed

family members?" Athena asked, the question tinged with

stopped entertaining family in my home. The only one I allow here is Cedric. His parents sent him to live with

held back a scoff. Parents sending their only son to live with a relative? Obviously, they wanted Old Mr. Thorne

his fiancée—that’s another matter. I honestly don’t know where he

would have spoiled them rotten. But here

He said with a gentle pat on their