Chapter 24 The Performance, a Bewitching Melody
Everyone turned to look. It was Lena, the person in charge of Velora Atelier.
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Although Lena was already in her thirties, she was immaculately maintained, draped in a long black dress that exuded charm.
But what truly commanded fear and respect was the power behind her. The Velora Atelier.
The
guests were bewildered.
Why was Lena helping Sloane? Could it be because of Lucas?
Lena held the zither delicately. “My zither is at Ms. Rivers’s disposal.”
The others might not know, but the Rivers family did. Lena and Sloane knew each other.
Samantha’s heart started to waver.
Could it be… Sloane actually could play the zither?
“Thank you,” Sloane said, accepting the instrument and setting it atop the table.
She turned her head slightly and asked Samantha, “You want to stay here and watch me play?”
In ancient times, only maids stood by to attend a lady playing the zither.
Sloane’s meaning was obvious. She was treating Samantha like a servant.
Samantha’s face turned cold. She turned and stomped off the stage, returning to stand stiffly by Helen.
Helen lowered her voice and scolded, “Sammy, this is outrageous. If Sloane embarrasses herself, she’s dragging down the whole Rivers family!”
Sloane placed her slender hands gently on the zither, her fingertips gliding across the strings, testing the sound with a few clear, bright notes.
Then her expression sharpened, and she began to play in earnest.
At first, the music was soft and flowing, like the murmuring of a stream, spreading tranquility through the hall.
Gradually, the melody intensified, gaining momentum, like the thunderous charge of a thousand horses, every note filled with a shocking force that struck straight into the soul.
It was as if war drums were pounding right beside their ears..
Upstairs, the instant the melody shifted, Lucas’s expression changed. Hediately covered his ears and shouted to Benjamin and the others, “Don’t listen to the music!”
But it was too late.
The guests had already been ensnared by the powerful, seductive music, their souls seeming to drift away, making them unable to hear Lucas’s cries.
Their eyes grew glazed, their faces twisted into expressions of terror or ecstasy, as if they truly stood upon a battlefield of life and death.
Some guests swung their arms wildly, fighting unseen enemies; others clutched their heads and tried to flee, mouths screaming incoherently, yet their bodies moved in strange, jerky spasms.
The banquet hall descended into utter chaos. The once–elegant atmosphere was completely destroyed.
The Rivers family was no exception.
Marshall stared, wide–eyed and disbelieving, his body swaying helplessly to the phantom rhythms. Helen and Samantha clung tightly to each other, trembling uncontrollably, their eyes filled with horror, yet they could not break free from the
illusion.
6:55 PM P P
Chapter 24 The Performance, a Bewitching Melody
Mason’s eyes were bloodshot with madness.
He roared, “Lucas, go to hell!”
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At that instant, the music stopped abruptly. And in the blink of an eye, Lucas vanished from right before Mason’s eyes.
The guests staggered out of the hallucination, staring around at the wreckage in shock and terror.
Mason was still frozen in mid–lunge, the dagger in his hand poised to strike. Realizing what he had just shouted, cold sweat poured down his back.
“You demon!” Shane’s voice trembled with fear as he pointed at Sloane, “What did you do to us?”
The others glared at Sloane with a mixture of fear and hatred.
Sloane only shrugged innocently. “I just played a song. What else could I possibly have done?”
Then she tilted her head slightly, her tone growing sly and mischievous, “My master once said, ordinary people who hear this piece will feel as if they’re transported into another world. But those with wicked hearts, they’ll have their darkest desires exposed and fall into madness.”
She turned her gaze onto Shane, her smile sweet yet sinister. “So, tell me… What exactly did
you
see?”
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