Chapter 116: Merciless

Chapter 116: Merciless           Grace's unapologetic tone cut clean through the room. She was now a woman stripped of hesitation. To Marco, it was no longer a surprise—the venom in her tone, the spine in her voice. He had seen glimpses of this Grace before... but never like this. Never this unrelenting.   Bartholomew, however, still hadn't grasped it. He wasn't a man who bowed to women, especially not ones he raised like pawns. His face twisted in outrage, and he barked through his pain, "How dare you—"   But he never finished the sentence.   In one blink, her eyes snapped toward him with lethal precision. Her hand moved faster than Marco could process, a sudden, seamless draw of the pistol from her side, the twitch of a finger, and then...   Bang.   The shot rang out like a thunderclap in a storm already brewing. Bartholomew let out a guttural cry as he stumbled back feeling the second bullet tear through his opposite shoulder. He collapsed against the chair and blood now bloomed thr