Chapter 289

"Why did Aunt Martha suddenly call my wife over?" Michael Stone frowned deeply.

"I'll head back first." Emily Johnson nodded politely to Aunt Martha and the others.

"Emily, we couldn't have done it without you today." Aunt Martha grasped her hand, eyes wide with astonishment. She'd assumed this city-born niece-in-law would be delicate, but the woman fought more fiercely than any man.

Patricia Stone scurried home with her neck tucked in, heart pounding. From now on, she'd steer clear of the third son's wife—those terrifying swings of the wooden rod still haunted her.

At the clinic, little Sam River's eyes were swollen from crying, tiny fingers clutching his aunt's blanket.

"Still unconscious?" Daniel River's voice trembled.

Sam shook his head, fresh tears falling.

Daniel's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, itching to break every bone in Christopher Garcia's body.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned at the Garcia household. Christopher groaned in bed while his mother wailed, "What sin have we committed? Is that Stone woman the devil incarnate?"

News spread like wildfire across the villages.

"Did you hear? Michael Stone's wife single-handedly took down five Garcia men!"

"My cousin saw it—she wielded that rod like a whirlwind!"

Emily had just finished bathing, her hair still dripping, when Daisy Miller burst in.

"You actually beat up the Garcias?" Daisy's eyes bulged. "They say you knocked them down like whack-a-moles!"

Emily massaged her temples. "It wasn't that dramatic..."

"Those Garcias are monsters!" Daisy slammed the table after hearing the full story. "Breaking ribs? That's attempted murder!"

Two small faces peeked from behind the door. David bit his lip. "Mommy, will Aunt Jessica die?"

Emily's heart clenched as she knelt to embrace her son. "No, sweetheart. When she's better, we'll visit her."

Outside, the blood-red sunset cast an uneasy glow. Emily tightened her grip on the wooden rod as she gazed toward the clinic—if anything happened to her sister-in-law, she'd gladly let the Garcias taste its wrath again.