The Scorned Heiress: No More Mercy novel Chapter 731

Inside the Dennis family estate, the atmosphere is suffocating.

"Dad's funeral is set for tomorrow. All the relatives have been notified," Jake says, his voice heavy as he looks at his younger brother.

"And... Tara?" Alec asks hesitantly.

"I sent her a text, but she hasn't replied," Jake answers.

Right now, only the three brothers remain in the sprawling, echoing house. Their father is gone. Their mother, Deanna, is still recovering in the hospital, and they haven't dared to break the devastating news to her yet. As for their biological sister, Tara, she washed her hands of this family a long time ago. The vibrant, bustling household they once knew is nothing but a ghost of the past.

It takes a brutal, bloody wake-up call for people to realize just how disastrously wrong they've been.

"Don't push her. Don't force her into anything. No matter what she decides, we have absolutely no right to blame her," Nikolai says from the sofa, his tone dead serious. Though still recovering from his own injuries, his mind has never been clearer.

Of the three brothers, Nikolai feels his mistakes were the most unforgivable. In the dead of night, the memories of his own actions gnaw at him so fiercely he wants to put his fist through a wall. He had been astonishingly stupid, blindly trusting Jade—an adopted parasite who played them all for fools—while taking the moral high ground to condemn his own flesh and blood.

Looking back, Nikolai nearly lost his life, and Alec was stripped down to his last dime. Only Jake managed to cut his losses quickly enough to survive with minimal damage.

"Jake, why didn't you warn us about Jade's true nature sooner?" Alec asks, the desperation bleeding into his voice.

Jake lets out a bitter scoff. "How many times did I try? You were too stupid to listen. You insisted on digging your own grave. What was I supposed to do?"

Jake rubs his temples, a headache pounding behind his eyes. He has zero patience for Alec's whining right now. Between their father's sudden death, the corporate fallout at Dennis Group, and the endless family crises, Jake is drowning. With his mother ill and his father gone, the entire weight of the dynasty rests squarely on his shoulders. He may not have been exceptionally close to Charles, but the sudden, violent loss still cuts deep. As the eldest brother and the new head of the family, he simply doesn't have the luxury of falling apart.