Christina’s POV
"You don’t get to tell who she is," Hudson said, his voice ice-cold.
"Hudson! You can’t be serious!" Gwendolyn’s voice hit a pitch that made Akira flatten her ears inside my head. "We’re your family. She’s no one! You’re letting so gold-digging brat twist you around her finger! You think she’s sweet, but she’s manipulative. She uses your na like a badge and your money like her own. That design competition? Please. Everyone knows she won it because of you."
"Enough!" I wished I had sothing to throw at her. "When I entered that competition, no one knew who I was. Not as Hudson’s wife. If I wanted to rig it, I’d have needed a na to flash, and I didn’t use his. You think I throw Hudson’s na around in public? Fine. Na one ti. Where? When? Who heard it?"
She stared at , blinking rapidly. Her lips twitched like she was fishing for a response, but she just exhaled through her nose.
"You’re quick with rumors, but you choke on facts," I continued. "Don’t waste your breath making up stories about . Go find a cody club. Might as well get paid for it."
"That was beautiful," Akira purred. "I love when we make her speechless."
Gwendolyn gaped at like a fish out of water.
She turned back to Hudson.
"I’m saying this for your own good," she said desperately. "You have no idea what she’s planning. She could be after your money, your company, everything! The Sabreridge pack deserves a better Luna than this opportunist!"
"Are you done?" Hudson asked.
"No, I’m not done! You better take what I said seriously!"
He nodded. "Then go on."
"That woman, she’s shallow, she only cares about—"
"Keep going," Hudson said calmly. "Every word adds another year to my father’s ti in Africa."
Gwendolyn froze mid-sentence.
Reginald choked on air.
Silence fell over the room.
Reginald lunged forward and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Shut it. Just shut up."
Gwendolyn flailed against his grip, then squeaked through his fingers, "I didn’t an anything by it. I’ll stop talking."
"Let make it simple," Hudson said. "From now on, every ti you say sothing I don’t like, or pull so stunt I didn’t authorize, my father’s ticket ho gets delayed another year. Do the math. Figure out how many stupid things you can squeeze in before he drops dead over there."
"Hudson—" Gwendolyn started, panicked.
Reginald slapped his hand over her mouth again, harder. "We won’t say another word. About anything. Especially not Christina. Never again. She’s family. We love her. Like a daughter."
He turned to with a forced smile.
"Truly. Like our own."
"He looks constipated," Akira snickered.
When Hudson’s shoulders relaxed slightly, Reginald let out a breath and rubbed his palms together.
"Hudson, listen..." he started, unnaturally sweet. "You’ve co all this way to see . Look at all these outsiders cluttering the place. Don’t you think it’s better if we clear the room and just have a proper father-son chat?"
"About Africa..." Hudson dragged out the words.
I watched Reginald’s face twitch with hope.
"You’re still going."
Reginald stiffened. The color drained from his cheeks.
He started coughing, clutching his chest like he’d been punched.
"Can’t we... negotiate?" he wheezed.
"You can walk out or be wheeled out. Those are the only options."
Heavy steps echoed down the hospital corridor.
A mont later, Edouard Laurent appeared in the doorway, hunched over his cane.
A nurse hovered beside him, one arm under his elbow for support.
He looked half-dead already, sweat beading under his gray hair, lips pale, breathing ragged.
Even his hospital gown hung crooked on his fra.
"Hudson," Edouard rasped, "this is disgraceful. He’s your father. You’re behaving like a goddamn thug—"
"Grandpa, you’re not well. You should stop talking. And you’re old. Stay out of this."
The old man stiffened.
His knuckles whitened around the cane handle.
"I’m tired," he muttered, and turned around.
"Dad!" Reginald shouted after him, desperate.
Edouard didn’t look back.
Hudson looked down at Reginald. "Have you decided?"
Reginald didn’t lift his head. "I’ll go," he said hoarsely.
"Good."
Hudson glanced at Beta Dominic, who motioned to the four security n by the door.
They closed in on Reginald without a word.
One took his suitcase.
Another opened the door.
Reginald didn’t resist. He let them escort him out like a prisoner.
The room emptied in seconds.
Gwendolyn dropped onto the mattress, her spine bent, face ashen.
She looked like a wind-up doll that had run out of energy.
Hudson didn’t let her catch her breath.
"I’ve noticed you’ve had a lot of free ti lately. You’ll be staying ho from now on. No shopping. No luncheons. Your cards are frozen."
Gwendolyn stared at him, mouth open.
"The house allowance? Gone. Since Grandfather’s in hospital and my father’s going to be deep in the jungle, the staff is being cut. If you want to keep your driver, your chef, your cleaner, pay them yourself. Oh, and your year-end dividends from Sabreridge holdings? Cancelled."
Her head snapped up. "What?"
He didn’t repeat himself.
Her eyes rolled back in her head.
She tipped sideways and collapsed onto the mattress, limbs stiff, face slack.
Hudson and I looked at each other.
"Did she just pass out?" I asked, not entirely convinced it wasn’t an act.
"Looks like it," he replied without concern.
"Should we... help her?" I asked, though I couldn’t muster much sympathy.
"Lycaon thinks she’s faking," Hudson said with a slight smirk.
"Akira agrees," I replied. Still, I turned and headed for the hallway, found a nurse, and waved her over.
She brought a doctor and two more nurses.
All four rushed in, crowding around the bed.
One checked her pulse.
Another pressed hard under her nose with a knuckle, testing for a pain response.
The third adjusted the monitor to check her vitals.
Gwendolyn’s eyes cracked open about twenty seconds later.
She blinked, caught sight of Hudson standing in the middle of the room, and made a strangled sound between a gasp and a sob.
Her head flopped sideways.
Out cold again.
"Drama queen," Akira muttered. "If she thinks fainting will get her out of this, she’s delusional."
I bit back a smile. I completely agreed with my wolf.
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