An Understated Dominance - Chapter 180

Everyone in the room was shocked as they looked at Xavier, who was badly beaten and bruised.

No one expected Dustin to be so daring as to slap Xavier. The Horst family was one of the most powerful families in the Southern province. They were at the top, practically untouchable. As the heir to the Horst family, Xavier was supposed to have everything handed to him.

No one had ever dared to humiliate him like this in public, especially not by slapping him repeatedly. Was Dustin out of his mind?

“Y–you dare hit me?” Xavier asked, trying to sound tough, but his eyes were twitching with anger.

“I’m not just going to hit you; I’m going to make sure you can never use your hands again!” Dustin said with a snort, then stomped hard on Xavier’s wrist, breaking it.

“Argh!” Xavier cried out in pain, cold sweat covering his face. He couldn’t move at all.

“Stop! Are you crazy, Rhys? Do you even know who Xavier is? How dare you hurt him?” Claudia shouted at Dustin, furious.

“I don’t care who he is. Anyone who messes with me will get what’s coming to them,” Dustin replied calmly.

“Didn’t he just slap you, Ruth? Come over here and give him ten slaps for me!”

“Okay!” Ruth said excitedly, rolling up her sleeves. She approached Xavier and started slapping him hard.

“How dare you hit me! How dare you!” Ruth shouted, her teeth clenched as she let out her frustration with each slap.

“Stop!” Claudia yelled in anger, rushing in to end the chaos.

“Get lost!” Dustin sneered, and then he slapped Claudia.

Claudia was sent flying into the air.

“Y–you dare hit me too?” she whimpered, covering her face in disbelief.

“Don’t you think you deserve it?” Dustin replied with a snort. “I’ve saved your life more than once, and this is how you repay me? You didn’t say a word when Xavier framed me, and you acted like nothing happened when Ruth got slapped. So why are you turning against us just because you saw Xavier get beaten? Are all martial arts families this vengeful?” He snapped at Claudia.

“I—” Claudia stuttered, her face turning bright red. She was shocked and speechless by his accusations.

Even Sheila was at a loss for words. She didn’t know what to do. On one side was her lifesaver, and on the other was her long-time friend. Caught in the middle, she was silent.

“I’m done with him, Brother-in-law!” Ruth declared after finally stopping. Her hands were numb from all the slapping.

Xavier’s face was so swollen it looked like a pig’s head. He felt dizzy from not having a chance to catch his breath.

“I don’t care what you say. The fact that you laid a finger on Xavier means you’re now enemies of the Horst family. If you don’t explain yourselves right now, no one will be able to help you!” Claudia shouted.

Despite everything, the Doyle family had been friends with the Horst family for generations. Claudia couldn’t defend mere outsiders.

“You want us to explain ourselves, right? Fine, I’ll give you what you want,” Dustin said, preparing to speak.

Sheila paused before answering, “Can I ask if the sachet around your neck is a gift from Xavier, Miss Murray?”

“I… I’m not sure. Claudia gave it to me,” Sheila replied, looking down.

“What if I told you it was from Xavier?” Dustin pressed on.

Claudia, confident that she had nothing to hide, shot back, “Xavier had to ask an expert to get this sachet, and he asked me to give it to Sheila. It’s supposed to help with sleep and nourish the soul. Why are you making a fuss about it?”

“Help with sleep and nourish the soul? That’s ridiculous!” Dustin laughed as he snatched the sachet from her chest and tossed it into a glass of wine.

“Gurgle gurgle.” Bubbles rose in the glass as the sachet started to swell, hinting that something was inside.

Suddenly, a thin red snake slithered out of the sachet and began thrashing wildly in the wine.

“What is that?!” someone cried out.

“It’s a snake! Oh my goodness, it’s a snake!” another voice exclaimed.

“How horrifying! How could there be a snake in the sachet? What if it bites someone?” The crowd gasped in shock, murmurs spreading as fear filled the air.

Claudia stood wide-eyed, unsure how to react. “How could this happen?”

“Do you know what this is, Miss Murray?” Dustin asked, pointing at the small red snake.

Sheila was frozen in place, shaking her head, still in shock.

“This is called a Serpent Love Charm,” Dustin explained. “It confuses people’s minds. Once the snake enters…”

Dustin explained, “The charm will slowly take effect on the host. Eventually, they will fall completely in love with someone, and their heart might even stop beating after that!”

Everyone in the room was shocked.

Claudia felt uneasy upon hearing this. She had not expected a Serpent Love Charm to be in the sachet.

“I’ve only heard about it in stories. I didn’t know it really existed!” she said.

“Isn’t it ridiculous? He put a Serpent Love Charm on her to control her feelings. How shameless!” someone exclaimed.

Dustin turned to Claudia and asked sarcastically, “So, Miss Doyle, do you still think this sachet can help with sleep and nourish the soul?”

Claudia frowned and looked at Xavier. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Stop listening to his nonsense!” Xavier said, snapping back to reality. “What is a Serpent Love Charm? I’ve never heard of it! This sachet was a gift from someone else. I’m a victim too!”

“That’s right! Even if there is a Serpent Love Charm in the sachet, that doesn’t mean Xavier put it there. Someone could have set him up!” Claudia shouted.

“Yeah! Xavier has always been honest and would never do something like this!” Nigel and the others agreed.

“Honest? You’ve got to be kidding!” Dustin laughed.

“The Serpent Love Charm only works if there are two snakes, one male and one female. Now that the female snake is here, we just need the male snake. Since you all still don’t believe me,…”

“Let me show you!” He waved his hand, and two needles shot toward the area between Xavier’s chest and abdomen.

Xavier’s body jerked, and a look of pain crossed his face. Moments later, he coughed up a thick, black liquid. Inside that liquid, a thick, reddish snake writhed.

The crowd was stunned as they watched this unfold!