Riley’s POV
+8 Pearls
Tve already <b>paid </b>with a broken leg and a stolen organ,” I said quietly, voice like steel wrapped <b>in </b>silk. “That <b>should </b>be more <b>than </b>enough to repay them for the so–called ‘gift of life.”
Kael–no, I refuse to call him my brother anymore–stared at me like I’d pped him. The <b>words </b>weren’t meant to wound. but they cut deep anyway, slicing through the falsehoods he still clung to like a coward hiding from a storm.
The truth had long been exposed, and I had no intention of dressing it up anymore.
But still, he tried. He pointed at Lucien like <b>an </b>animal backed into a corner. “You’d really choose to stand by him?” His voice trembled with rage. “You’re <b>siding </b>with the very wolf who had our parents‘ legs broken? Riley, what the hell is wrong with you?!”
I <b>didn’t </b>answer <b>right </b>away. Maybe because, deep down, I didn’t know how to exin it in a way Kael could understand. How do you exin falling for someone whose entire being <b>is </b>carved out of fire <b>and </b>fury, and yet somehow still manages to <b>hold </b>you like you’re made of <b>ss</b>?
Lucien wasn’t perfect. He was lethal. And maybe <b>that’s </b><b>what </b>made me feel safe.
But silence, to someone like Kael, was as good as <b>an </b>admission.
“You’ve lost your damn mind,” he spat, the veins in his neck bulging, face red with disbelief. “You’re a full–grown <b>she</b>–wolf now. Can’t you tell right from wrong?”
He stepped forward, fists clenched, rage boiling just beneath his skin. “They had their legs broken, Riley! Can you even imagine how much pain that is?!”
Iughed.
I didn’t mean to,
It just slipped out..
But it wasn’t joy. It wasn’t mockery. It <b>was </b>something colder–emptier.
“Can I imagine the pain?” I repeated, lifting my gaze <b>and </b>meeting his eyes.
Kael’s breath <b>caught </b><b>in </b><b>his </b><b>throat </b>the moment he looked down and remembered. His eyes flickered to my leg–the one that never healed right, the one <b>that </b>reminded me every <b>damn </b>day of what I’d survived.
Yeah, I could <b>imagine </b>the pain <b>just </b>fine.
“I <b>don’t </b>need to imagine it,” I said, <b>voice </b>calm butced with <b>venom</b>. “I lived it.”
Karl took a <b>shaky </b>step back, the wind knocked from him by nothing but my words. <b>His </b>mouth opened, but whatever excuses he was ready to conjure died on his tongue.
“I don’t believe Lucien had anything to do with what happened to <b>your </b>precious parents,” I added, casting a sideways <b>nce </b>at the man who stood beside me like a shadow I’d chosen for myself
Lucien’s expression was unreadable–stone–<b>faced</b><b>, </bposed–but his eyes glittered <b>with </b>something <b>warm </b>Something dangerous.
“With me? No he <b>said</b>, almost amused. I’ve been with Riley all day. <b>Ask </b>Duke<b>.</b>”
Duke, ever the obedient beta, nodded eagerly “Our Alpha hasn’t left her side. I’d bet my tail on it
We turned to the driver, and Lucien gave him a sharp nod. The driver didn’t even <b>blink</b>. “The Vale <b>couple </b>slipped down the steps outside the hotel idental fall. <b>Broke </b>both legs
My eyebrow arched.
Jou w
Lucien tilted his head slightly.
Even Duke paused <b>mid</b>–breath.
Seriously?” I muttered.
“Absolutely.” the driver said without missing a beat. “I witnessed it.”
+8 Pearls
Karl exploded. “Bullshit!” he roared. “Those steps are barely ten high! No one breaks both legs falling from <b>that</b>!”
“You don’t have to take my <b>word </b>for it,” the driver said<b>, </b><b>still </b>maddeningly calm. “Ask the guards. They were watching.”
A small group of security guards had clearly been eavesdropping <b>and </b>now stepped forward, their faces full of strained professionalism <b>and </b>fake smiles.
“We all saw it,” the captain said quickly. The elder Vale couple took a tumble. Clean fall. No one touched them.”
“Yep, echoed the rest. “Totally saw it. Self–inflicted.”
Kael’s mouth opened and closed, disbelief etched into every angle of his face. He looked like a wolf whose world had just spun off its axis.
I let my lips curve into a cold, cruel smile. I wasn’t proud of it but damn, it felt good.
“Familiar feeling, isn’t it?” I asked softly, stepping toward him. “When everyone around you spins the same lie, and no matter how much <b>you </b>scream the truth no one listens.”
His
eyes w
widened in realization, the
memory
of
five years ago crashing over him like a tidal wave.
Back then, it was Kael and his perfect little Vale family, lining up to lie. Dismissing <b>every </b>word I said. Ignoring the bruises. Ignoring the pain.
Back then, I screamed too.
No one listened.
Tonight, I didn’t have to scream.
Kael staggered back, looking around for something–anything–to prove he wasn’t insane. His gaze locked on a security camera high on the wall. His eyes lit up with desperate <b>hope</b>.
Then Lucien <b>spoke </b>Calm. Low, ley.
“My people clean up after themselves,” he said, <b>his </b>tone like a <b>de </b>sliding through silk.
The implicationnded like a death sentence. Even if there was footage, it was gone.
Just like the footage five years ago <b>that </b>could’ve saved me.
The <b>faint </b>sound of water <b>sshing </b>behind us drew <b>my </b>attention. The fountain lights hade on, illuminating the koi fish below <b>like </b>tiny golden ghosts.
Lucien idly turned his <b>ring </b>around his finger, then flicked a nce at the driver.
“Well done” he <b>said</b>. “Double <b>your </b><b>bonus </b>thus quarter”
The driver grinned. Thank you. Alpha. Then, turning to me, <b>he </b>added with a <b>wink</b>, “I owe this one to <b>you</b>. Miss Riley”
Karl looked like he might actually fain from rage.
You, you mona
His words trailed off, swallowed by the <b>night </b>and the low <b>hum </b>of the city
A Broken Alpha Heiress Revenge