I stood before Ethan, my body trembling with grief and rage. The truth about Lily''s


    death had been buried for too long, and I couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    "Ethan Stone, Lily suffered so much..." My voice cracked as memories of my daughter''s pain flooded through me. "I finally found apatible donor, just one step away, she could have


    been healthy..."


    My emerald eyes burned with intensity as my wolf howled with anguish beneath my skin. The


    animal part of me wanted to tear into Victoria, to make her pay for what she''d


    done to my


    precious daughter.


    "But Victoria Frost, that vicious woman, deliberately redirected Lily''s kidney donor,


    cut off her


    chance of survival, and let her die tragically on the operating table." I stepped closer to Ethan,


    searching his face for any sign of understanding. "Shouldn''t I make her pay for Lily''s life?"


    Ethan remained silent, his amber eyes clouded with shock and what looked like a dreadful


    premonition. His silence only fueled my despair.


    "Do you know how much Lily suffered in her final days?" I asked, my voice barely above a


    whisper. "She kept asking for you. ''When is Daddying?'' Every single day." Ethan flinched as if I''d struck him. Good. Let him feel a fraction of the pain I''d been carrying.


    "She believed in you until herst breath," I continued, tears streaming down my face. "Even


    when the doctors told us the donor was no longer avable, she said, ''It''s okay, Mommy. Daddy will find another one for me."


    I watched as guilt washed over Ethan''s features. He hadn''t been there. He''d been with Victoria


    and Emma while our daughter died alone.


    "Ethan Stone, you can distrust me, you can distrust your grandmother." I pleaded with him,


    appealing to whatever paternal instincts he might still possess. "But, can you please not


    blindly protect Victoria Frost? The one who died is Lily, your biological daughter."


    His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought I''d finally broken through his stubborn denial.


    But then his expression hardened again, shuttering away whatever momentary doubt he''d felt.


    "You have no proof," he said tly. "Just usations and coincidences."


    < Chapter 110: Despair


    +15 Points >


    I stared at him in disbelief. Even now, after everything, he was choosing Victoria over the truth.


    "Your grandmother had proof," I reminded him. "Why do you think Victoria killed her? She knew


    Matriarch Evelyn had discovered what she''d done."


    Ethan''s eyes shed with anger. "My grandmother died of heart failure, not murder. And I won''t


    have you spreading these usations without evidence."


    Iughed bitterly, the sound hollow and broken. "Evidence? What more do you need? The


    timing of Emma''s miraculous recovery? Rnd Warner''s confession? Your grandmother''s


    death immediately after confronting Victoria?"


    Ethan remained unmoved, his expression cold and distant. "Coincidences, all of them. I need


    facts, not your emotional outbursts."


    My shoulders slumped as thest of my hope drained away. There was nothing I could say to


    make him see the truth. Victoria had himpletely under her spell.


    I copsed back into my chair, tears silently streaming down my face. My wolf whimpered


    with grief, curling into itself as thest of my hope faded away.


    "Fine," I whispered, too exhausted to fight anymore. "Believe what you want. But remember this


    moment, Ethan Stone. Remember when you chose to protect your daughter''s killer over


    seeking justice for her death."


    Ethan''s expression flickered with unease as he watched me surrender to despair. He pulled out


    his phone, his fingers moving quickly across the screen.


    I didn''t care what he was doing. Nothing mattered anymore. Lily was gone. Matriarch Evelyn


    was gone. And the man I''d once loved was standing before me, a stranger who refused to see


    the truth.


    Ethan approached me cautiously, draping his ck Alpha Overcoat over my shoulders. The


    gesture was so unexpected that I didn''t immediately push it away.


    "You''re shivering," he said quietly, his voice softer than before.


    I didn''t respond. The coat smelled like him-pine and winter air-a scent that had


    once brought mefort but now only reminded me of betrayal.


    Dr. Harold Bet arrived momentster, his medical bag in hand. He knelt before me,


    examining the cuts on my leg with professional detachment.


    “These need cleaning,” he said, opening his bag. “Some of the crystal fragments are still


    embedded in the wounds."


    < Chapter 110: Despair


    I nodded numbly, beyond caring about physical pain. Dr. Bet worked


    methodically, removing the shards and cleaning the wounds. Each piece he extracted sent sharp pain through my leg, but I remained stoic, my face a mask of indifference.


    +15 Points


    Ethan watched from a few feet away, his expression unreadable. I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to meet his gaze.


    "All done," Dr. Bet announced, applying the final bandage. "Try to keep weight off this leg


    for a few days, Miss Winters."


    I thanked him quietly, my voice hollow. As he packed up his supplies, I stared at the floor, lost


    in thoughts of Lily and what might have been if Victoria hadn''t stolen her chance


    at life.


    The days that followed passed in a blur of grief and numbness. Before I knew it, it was time


    for Matriarch Evelyn''s funeral.