Riley’s POV
The second page shattered something inside me.
Finished
Every <b>paragraph </b>I <b>read </b>was like a hammer, breaking through thest bits of denial I didn’t even realize I was still clinging to.
Until that moment, I had thought <b>ric’s </b>evil had a limit–that at the very least<b>, </b><b>his </b>depravity had been born out of desperation, of a twisted sense of love or loyalty to that woman, Elira ckthorn, and her daughter Scarlett.
But I had been so, so wrong.
The document didn’t just tell a story–it exposed a monster.
ric hadn’t just manipted Zara, betrayed her, or used her.
He had destroyed her.
He orchestrated the death of her father–the former ruler of Ebonw–by <b>pushing </b><b>him </b>from a construction tower and <b>staging </b>it <b>as </b>an ident.
He watched as <b>Zara</b>, the proud and beloved daughter of the most powerful bloodline in the territory, copsed under the weight of her father’s death and the loss of her newborn daughter–me.
He stole her kidney under the guise of a medical emergency and had it secretly transnted into Elira’s body, all to save <b>a </b>woman who was never supposed to exist in her world.
He allowed Kael–my brother–to be set up as the legal face of the Ebonw Holdings, only toter make him the fall guy when thepany faced legal scrutiny.
He ensured Kael would rot in prison, <b>used </b>of crimes that were never <b>his</b><b>. </b>
And <b>as </b>for me?
I was the mistake ric buried.
The girl he discarded like a piece of trash at the borders of Rogue territory.
The daughter <b>whose </b>name he never wanted spoken <b>again</b>, whose very existence was erased, so his lie of a legacy could shine brighter.
My hands were <b>shaking </b><b>violently </b>as I gripped the documents tighter, fingernails digging into my <b>palms </b>until I felt the warm sting <b>of </b>blood.
How could someone do this–get away with this–and still sleep soundly at night?
How could he, after <b>ruining </b><b>so </b><b>many </b><b>lives</b>, after <b>killing</b>, <b>lying</b>, framing, stealing–<b>how </b>could he n <b>to </b>escape to <b>another </b>country with his little counterfeit <b>family </b>and live in peace while we were all left in ruins?
No
No, I couldn’t let that happen.
I drew in a slow, ragged breath, <b>trying </b>to steady the storm building inside my chest.
But the moment I turned to the next page, my breath caught–frozen mid–thought–<b>as </b><b>a </b>single sentence exploded like thunder across my mind
“In the first month of Zara’s second <b>pregnancy</b>, her father administered a permanent sterilizationpound to ric without his knowledge.
For a moment. I stared nkly at the words.
351PM P P
Finished
I blinked.
Read them again.
And again
Then it hit me.
He was <b>sterile</b><b>. </b>
He had been sterile before I was even born.
Which meant
Scarlett wasn’t his.
Neither was the boy Elira gave birth to yearster.
His entire “family,” the legacy he had built his empire around, the children he treated as his pride and joy–none of them were his blood.
None of them.
Theughter that burst from my chest wasn’t human–it was <b>feral</b><b>, </b>sharp–edged, cracked with years of rage and pain and, finally, justice.
He <b>had </b>spent decades building a throne of bones, <b>a </b>kingdom of lies, only to find out he had crowned <b>another </b>man’s children.
I leaned closer, eyes <b>wild</b><b>, </b><b>as </b><b>I </b><b>read </b><b>the </b>next name that appeared <b>in </b><b>the </b>document–and I froze again.
Caden ckthorn.
Scarlett’s driver.
Elira imed that he was her cousin and begged bic to find a decent job for her cousin, so Caden became Scarlett’s driver, <b>how </b>ridiculous.
The one who <b>had </b><b>always </b>treated me like I was a parasite.
The one <b>who </b>looked <b>at </b><b>me </b>with disdain, who never missed <b>an </b>opportunity to remind <b>me </b>I didn’t belong.
And now I knew why.
He wasn’t just a driver.
He was her father.
<b>Not </b>just by blood–but by intention.
The rest of the report unfolded like <b>a </b>tragedy written by the Moon Goddess herself.
Caden, whose real name <b>was </b>once Caden Wilson, had married Elira long before she stepped into Mooncrest’s elite circles.
They were nobodies–<b>an </b>orphan girl with <b>medical </b><b>dreams</b>, and a Omega–ranked young man with nothing but a loyal heart.
They loved each other fiercely, lived <b>simply</b>, and might have <b>lived </b>happily–<b>until </b>Elira’s body began <b>to </b><b>fail </b>her
Renal failure
No donor
No funds.
No hope.
Finished
Until fate or perhaps something far darker–led Zara into her hospital <b>ward</b>, heavily <b>pregnant </b>with me, <b>apanied </b>by <b>her </b>mate. ric
Elira had ess to Zara’s medical profile.
She knew the match was perfect.
But it was Caden who proposed the solution.
Let ric <b>think </b>he was seducing her.
Let him believe he was the one in control.
Let her be his mistress, worm her way into his life, and buy herself more time.
Time to live.
Time to carry the child she was already secretly bearing–Caden’s child.
Scarlett.
The girl the Moon Goddess said would one day break Zara’s heart.
The girl Elira delivered<b>, </b>wrapped in lies, <b>and </b>handed over to a grieving <b>Luna </b><b>as </b>a “miracle.”
Every line of the document burned into my memory like fire etched into bone.
Send Gifts