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    Third Person’s POV


    A wave of murmurs surged through the gathered crowd like wildfire, every whisperced with disdain as their eyes darted to Riley Vale.


    The pack wolves, the ranked Alphas, the Lunas, and elders–none of them even tried to hide their judgment. Their sharp gazes flicked between Riley and her kneeling parents, as though weighing blood ties against honor.


    And for once, honor was winning.


    ric Vale saw it. He felt it.


    And for a second–just a second–he reveled in it.


    You little bitch, his eyes seemed to say. I raised you. I named you. And I’ll break you right here.


    “Too long have I tolerated your shamelessness,” ric hissed, his voice dark and venomous as he stepped. forward. “A disobedient pup shames the Alpha. And today-” he raised his hand, a broad, calloused thingced with violence “–I’ll teach you what it means to defy your blood.”


    Zara moved too, rushing toward Riley, her movements frantic and unhinged. “Riley, don’t be foolish! Stop humiliating us like this! Come here and-!”


    But neither of them reached her.


    Before their feet could cross the final distance, two shadows moved faster than any of them could react.


    With a grunt and a pair of dull thuds, both ric and Zara were sent flying to the ground–ric by Duke’s boot to the chest, Zara by the sharp strike of the driver’s foot hooking behind her knees.


    The crowd gasped as the two elder Vales crumpled to the marble like sacks of old grain.


    Zara tried to rise first–only for the Duskgrave Estate’s elite security to rush forward, pinning them both to the floor in seconds. ric snarled like a cornered beast, veins bulging along his neck, his face a flushed mask of shame and fury.


    “I am the Patriarch of the Vale family! I sit on the Alpha Council! You will regret this insult!”


    His voice roared through the hotel foyer, but it echoed hollow.


    No one moved to help him.


    Riley stood a few paces away, her posture regal, chin lifted. Her expression didn’t waver–not even as Zara began to cry.


    Tears streamed down the woman’s face, smearing what little grace she had left.


    “Riley, please… we’re your parents! You’re just going to stand there and let these savages treat us like this?”


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    That word again–parents.


    So convenient now. So fragile on her tongue.


    Riley’s eyes narrowed. Memories surged up like shadows<b>–</b>cold meals, locked doors, Scarlett’s smug smirk as Riley was dragged away in chains, the bloody knuckles she wore after each prison fight.


    “You only remember you’re my parents when I’m useful,” she said coldly, voice calm, but cutting. “Where was this concern when I was locked in that rogue cell for a crime I didn’tmit? When I came home to broken ribs and blood on my sheets, and you told the pack doctor to say nothing?”


    Zara whimpered. ric growled.


    “And now that I have power–now that I’ve found a ce where I’m valued–suddenly I’m your daughter again?”


    Her gaze dropped to the sight before her: the proud Alpha couple of Vale Pack, pressed to the polished marble floor like beaten dogs.


    There was no pity in her heart.


    Only satisfaction.


    She turned slightly. “Duke,” she said quietly, “did Lucien send them an invitation?”


    Duke straightened beside her, his face carved in steel. “No, Miss Riley. Their names were not on the list.”


    She gave a soft hum. “Then why are they here?”


    His eyes flicked to the head of security. “Exin. Now.”


    The guard captain paled. Beads of sweat formed instantly on his brow. “I–I’m terribly sorry, Miss Riley. I must’ve… I didn’t realize they weren’t on the official- I’ll remove them immediately!”


    But before he could bark the order, Lucien’s driver stepped forward, calm andposed as ever.


    “There’s a service alley behind the cast wing,” the man said coolly, not even looking at the Vales. “Drag them there.”


    The captain blinked. “Sir, the–what?”


    The driver’s gaze turned cold. Sharp. Predatory.


    “Drag them to the alley,” he repeated. “And break their knees. Both of them. I don’t want the Vales wandering into ces they don’t belong again.”


    The hotel went silent. Even the chandeliers seemed to stop swaying.


    The captain’s lips parted. “B–break their…?”


    “They weren’t invited,” the driver said tly. “They attacked a marked guest of the Duskgrave heir. That is not just disrespect. That is pack treason.”


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    17:04 Thu, Aug 7: C


    No one dared argue.


    The Vale name had weight. But the Duskgrave name wasw.


    –


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    The security team didn’t need to be told again. They mped muzzles over ric and Zara’s mouths to muffle the screaming and began dragging them across the tiled floor toward the service entrance..


    ric thrashed. Zara cried. Their eyes were wild with disbelief, fury–and fear.


    And Riley?


    She simply watched.


    For once in her life, she was no longer the girl on the ground begging for mercy.


    She was the one standing tall while her abusers crawled.


    Somewhere behind her, she heard Andy whistle low. “Damn, girl. That’s what I call justice.”


    Riley didn’t smile.


    But her wolf did.


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