Julian’s eyes stayed locked on . I could feel the storm inside him even before he spoke guilt, grief, confusion... and sothing else I didn’t want to na.
After a long mont, his shoulders dropped, and his voice ca out low and heavy.
"My first mate is gone," he said. "It doesn’t matter who I marry now. I’ll let Aunt Riley handle everything."
How dramatic.
Julian and Camilla...
If acting were a pack sport, they’d both be crowned champions.
He plays the grieving, loyal mate.
She plays the fragile, misunderstood girl.
I’d let their performance go on long enough. I couldn’t allow Camilla’s plans to slip any further. Not after what she’d already done. I needed both of them contained. No more chaos. No more destruction.
Camilla finally stepped into the silence, her voice soft and trembling.
"Julian... would you really mate with soone else? After everything between us?"
Her act had lost its shine.
Her hold on Julian was slipping, and she knew it.
His voice sliced through the room.
"I’d rather bind myself to a pig than look at you again. Don’t say my na. It makes my skin crawl."
The sa venom he once threw at .
The sa coldness I had lived under.
Funny how quickly loyalty dies when temptation is no longer convenient.
He kept saying he still loved .
But those words felt rotten now like he was trying to soften his guilt by pulling back into his orbit.
Jeffrey finally lost his patience and lifted a hand.
"Enough. Mr. Morrigan, sign the agreent. Take your daughter and leave. As of today, she has no connection to the Hales."
Malcom didn’t even flinch.
No disappointnt.
No fatherly pain.
Just acceptance like he’d expected the deal to end this way.
Vivian, though... she looked like soone had driven a spike through her chest.
"Nolan," she whispered, "give Camilla your coat."
He obeyed, draping it over Camilla’s shoulders.
Vivian brushed her daughter’s cheek gently.
"Sweetheart... even if the Hales reject you, you still have us."
"Thank you, Mom," Camilla whispered, shaking just enough to seem believable. "You’ve always been good to ."
Vivian smiled softly. "You’re my daughter. Who else would I protect, if not you?"
I stepped forward slowly. My voice stayed calm, but the edge beneath it was sharp enough to cut.
"It’s beautiful," I said. "Seeing such love between a mother and daughter. But tell , Mrs. Morrigan... do you still rember your older daughter? The one who died so brutally her body couldn’t even be recognized?"
Vivian stiffened.
Camilla’s head snapped toward , hate blazing in her eyes.
Vivian pulled Camilla behind her, voice hardening.
"Miss Ashbourne, my family has done nothing to you. Why are you so determined to tear us apart?"
"Tear you apart?" I gave a cold laugh. "Is that what you think I’m doing? Speaking the truth is ’tearing your family apart’?"
I stepped closer, just enough for her to feel the chill in my tone.
"Not even a week after your eldest daughter’s funeral, your younger daughter was already climbing into her brother-in-law’s car. Should I describe what happened inside, or would you like to do it?"
Vivian’s face flushed with rage. "That’s enough!"
But I didn’t stop.
Not today.
"Camilla unzipped Julian’s pants and reached inside. Tell was she searching for car keys? Or sothing she already knew too well?"
Vivian trembled.
Camilla froze.
And I watched them closely.
Vivian had known. She’d simply chosen to look away.
Now I was forcing her to face what she’d protected all along.
And that was only the start.
I took one more step forward, my voice like a blade sliding cleanly through the air.
"At the banquet," I said, "do you rember what your innocent daughter did under the dinner table? She slipped off her undergarnts and handed them to Julian. And the mont they disappeared into the greenhouse, she bent forward and presented herself to him bold as anything."
"Enough!" Camilla scread, voice cracking.
She hadn’t expected to speak so clearly.
Or with such certainty.
Too bad for her.
I wasn’t done.
She always assud soone like born into a strong bloodline, trained to stay composed would smile, nod, and obey every unspoken rule of the pack. She never expected I’d flip the entire room on its head.
Even with her thick skin, her face went pale. Her scent tightened with fear, and the soft chatter around us shifted sharp whispers cutting through the air.
But I didn’t stop.
"You want to be quiet now?" I asked, my voice steady but edged with sothing dangerous. "Where was that modesty when you were on your knees behind the greenhouse, trying anything you could to keep Julian’s attention?"
A low ripple of discomfort moved through the hall. Malcom shifted. Her brothers stared at the floor, their pride bruised. They never imagined their "perfect" sister would drop so low just to cling to a stronger future.
Vivian trembled, pointing at like I’d struck her. "You’re so young! How can you speak so shalessly, so disrespectfully? Where is your decency?"
I t her gaze without flinching. My pulse pushed against my skin, my instincts humming under it.
"Respect?" I repeated quietly. "Then tell , Mrs. Morrigan... how did soone like you raise a daughter so manipulative, so heartless? She looks polished on the outside, but you and I both know she’s rotten to the core."
Then I turned to Camilla.
I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t need to. The air shifted with , following my steps like a warning.
I leaned in, close enough that she would feel the weight of my presence. "Tell , Camilla," I whispered, "do you ever think about your sister the one who’s dead? She wasn’t even cold before you were in her fiancé’s arms. Doesn’t it bother you? Doesn’t it keep you awake at night? Aren’t you afraid she might co back for you?"
Camilla gasped, stumbling back. Her energy cracked like glass, her posture collapsing. For a mont, she looked like she might drop to the floor entirely.
Malcom rushed to steady her. He slled like panic the kind that cos when a billion naira alliance is about to vanish. "Camilla, breathe. You alright?"
She nodded weakly... until she looked at again.
And then she really saw .
Not Elena.
Riley.
The fear in her expression flickered then sharpened. She straightened slightly, the predator inside her waking up.
"So this was your plan?" she hissed. "Push out so you can climb higher? You think taking down puts you in the perfect place as the lady of this family?"
In her head, I wasn’t Riley reclaiming anything. I was Elena’s grieving shadow, hungry for a seat that wasn’t mine.
Fine. Let her believe whatever makes her sleep at night.
I smiled at her slow, calm, steady. "Whether I deserve this seat or not... I’m already sitting in it. And unlike you, I didn’t trade myself for scraps of affection. You gave everything away and still got tossed out like trash."
Her jaw tightened. Her anger rolled off her like heat, heavy and sour.
Before she could snap back, I stepped closer.
"Watch yourself," she said, voice shaking. "Pride cos before a fall."
I tilted my head slightly, smiling like her threat amused . "True. But if anyone falls, it’ll be you. You’ve done so much wrong that even the ground rembers your sins."
I leaned in until she stopped breathing.
"Rember how she died? Broken. Shattered. Nothing left but pieces. Imagine those pieces dragging themselves across your floor at night. Imagine hearing them scrape toward your bed."
"Stop!" Camilla scread.
Good.
Let her be afraid for once. Let her finally taste the fear she sowed.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.
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