Part 3The (Deserved) Liberation of Arya A.

A chill seized Arya's bones. Her hands trembled as she lifted the lid of the urn.

There was nothing inside.

"W-What have you done? Where is Millie?!"

Nancy admired the agony on her face. "You mean that pile of dust that belonged in the trash? Well, I've put it to far better use than letting it waste away in a plot of land. I used it in one of my chemistry experiments. You should be proud! Millie is finally useful... after death.

"Oh, I should probably tell you this as a courtesy. I was the one who gave him the idea of trapping her in the suitcase. I only tossed it out as a half-joke, but wow, Armie took it so seriously! He didn't even care that she was his own daughter!

"Ooh, do you think he might really be into me, Arya? It makes me wonder... What exactly do you think you have that could ever beat me?"

She held out her hand. A pink diamond ring glittered blindingly on her ring finger.

Arya remembered Armie spending a fortune on that very ring at an auction some time ago. It was one of a kind, and everyone had assumed he bought it as a gift for his wife.

Now it rested on Nancy's finger.

"So what if you were Mrs. Simmons, hmm? Has my Armie ever bought you a diamond ring? Has he ever taken wedding photos with you? Has he ever taken you on a honeymoon? Hell, did he even care about that little bitch you gave birth to—"

Arya's fist connected with Nancy's cheek before she could finish.

In a flash, she tackled her, grabbed a fistful of her hair, slammed her to the ground, straddled her back, and rained blow after blow across her body.

"This is for plotting against, hurting, and killing an innocent little girl! This is for being a shameless homewrecker! This is for driving a fucking wedge into my marriage for eight years!" Arya shrieked between blows.

Her eyes were bloodshot with rage and hatred. She wrapped both hands around Nancy's neck. "I'll fucking kill you for what you've done!"

Nancy only grinned.

She smiled at Arya's fury as though she had been waiting for it all along.

At that moment, something flew out of nowhere and smashed into Arya's head.

It was a vase.

The shattered pieces sliced through her skin. Blood streamed down her forehead, ran over her eyebrows, and dripped onto the floor.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Armie bellowed as he rushed to Nancy's side. The sight of blood on Nancy's face sent him into a fury.

He ordered his bodyguards to seize Arya and force her onto the floor.

She struggled and screamed, "Let me go! Do you have any idea what she's done?! She killed her! She killed Millie! She used her ashes in s-s-some chemistry experiment—"

Armie snapped, "Shut the hell up! Do you think I'm that stupid?! The butler already told me Millie went missing the day you came back to the villa.

"How shameless can you be?! Instead of apologizing to Nancy, you took that brat and hid her away instead of teaching her to own up to her mistakes. And now you're making up lies and telling everyone she's dead!

"What kind of sick mother are you?!"

His words drove into her chest like nails.

'A sick mother…' She had never missed a single important moment in Millie's life. She had watched her grow from a baby into a toddler. She had watched her take her first steps, speak her first words, and start nursery school. She had even attended her funeral.

Armie could not even remember his own daughter's name until she was three years old. Yet, in the cruelest irony imaginable, Millie's father remained the only person who still had no idea his daughter was already dead.

And he dared call her a sick mother.

The air in the room became suffocating.

"Stop fighting, please!" Nancy cried through her tears. "I only wanted to apologize to Arya. My presence must have caused so much pain in her and Millie's lives. I just wanted to make it up to her!"

Arya was about to expose her lies when Armie declared, "No! Don't apologize! You haven't done anything wrong. None of this has anything to do with you!

"Both she and that idiotic brat deserved what happened to them. There's nothing you need to make up for. They got exactly what they deserved. You don't owe anyone an apology."

He turned to Arya, and every trace of warmth vanished from his eyes. "As for you... if you can't even be bothered to raise Millie properly, then I'll find someone who can. And since you clearly can't behave yourself either, you need to learn a lesson the old-fashioned way.

He said coldly, "An eye for an eye. It's a punishment as old as time. Every hit you landed on her will now be returned to you."

The storm in his eyes made Arya's stomach knot with dread. "What are you sayi—"

A sharp slap cut her off.

Before Arya could even process what had happened, the two bodyguards took turns striking her across the face.

Both cheeks swelled almost immediately. Blood and saliva trickled from the corner of her mouth. Several teeth broke loose and fell onto the floor.

At last, it ended.

The bodyguards released her, and she collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud.

Armie never blinked as he watched her suffer. "It's like I don't even know you anymore, Arya. Weren't you doing such a wonderful job playing Mrs. Simmons in public? Always so graceful. So elegant.

"What happened? Did my grandmother cut your allowance? Why the hell can't you put in the same effort now?

"Whatever. I don't give a damn why. What I do care about is this. Let this be the last time you ever act like a bitch... for your own sake."

He scooped Nancy into his arms and walked away without sparing Arya a single glance.