My Accidental Husband is a Billionaire

845 Chapter 844

Jodie wasn't bound with ropes, nor were there shackles on her feet. She walked in wearing her favorite dress, surrounded by armed guards, her head held high without a trace of panic. She looked less like someone taken hostage and more like someone being escorted to safety.

She had always been this way—calm and composed, even if the world crumbled around her.

Keira's gaze locked on her mother's face.

Her face was clean and her hair impeccably styled. If it weren't for the paleness of her lips, she would look exactly as she had years ago in Oceanion, as if life had treated her well.

But Keira, ever perceptive, caught the unsteadiness in her mother's otherwise graceful steps. Beneath the façade of poise was exhaustion and frailty.

Keira's mind flashed to the lashings her mother endured the night before. Jodie hadn't cried or screamed, yet those around her had howled and wept as if they were the ones suffering.

Keira felt her eyes sting with tears. She blinked hard, refusing to let them fall.

Jodie looked up and caught sight of Keira. A flicker of surprise crossed her face. "Keera?"

Keira immediately understood—her mother was prompting her to play along. Keira gave a small, detached nod.

Keera had never grown up with her mother, so their first meeting was meant to carry a sense of unfamiliarity.

Jodie smiled gently. "I never thought our first real meeting as mother and daughter would be under such circumstances."

Jessica scoffed. "First meeting? What first meeting? Don't pretend we don't know she was in Oceanion when we dragged you out of Crera."

day was too chaotic. I only caught a brief

and said with a tinge of emotion, "Keera, you look just like your sister, Keira.

dabbed at

pulled her hand back

throat felt tight, but she forced herself

smiled faintly. "I'm

was just another cage. These years have taught me that. Staying with the

She lowered her gaze.

fine? Then why wouldn't you take the lovers they sent you?

still composed, her tone gentle yet sharp. "It's not about purity. I simply didn't want to be

You had twenty-odd years of peace and comfort in Oceanion, hiding

sighed. "Those years were stolen. And now you've stolen my daughter from me, too. What's

for twenty-two years and couldn't acknowledge her as your daughter. And as soon as your other daughter met you, she was dragged right back to the South family. Jodie South, how does

tone was

you for taking Keera, it's because it meant at least one of my daughters survived. Otherwise… she might've ended up like her

successor from Country M, codenamed

Keira's pupils contracted sharply.

mother was passing

hadn't been the work of the South family but

made sense now. The South family, desperate for heirs, wouldn't have eliminated her and her sister. But

Eagle…

That was a rival she could never afford

told

three had pledged allegiance to Eagle. The power struggle had narrowed, leaving only her and Eagle locked in a battle