I watched Emily's face drain of color as I stood in the dining hall of the estate that should have been mine. Her heart was racing. I could hear it from across the room, smell the fear rising off her skin like smoke.
"I have come to take everything that belonged to my mother," I said. My voice was steady, controlled. "The estate. The pack lands. The savings. Every piece of jewelry she owned. Hand them over, Ned."
Ned's gray eyes widened. He was a tall man, broad-shouldered with silver streaking through his dark hair. He had once seemed so strong to me. Now he just looked old.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" His voice was sharp, defensive. "This estate belongs to me. Everything inside belongs to me."
I walked through the hall slowly, letting my fingers trail along the stone walls. Every corner of this place held memories. Vague images of my mother laughing in the gardens. The scent of her perfume still lingered in certain rooms, or maybe that was just my imagination.
"This house should have been my sanctuary," I said quietly. "Instead, Emily made it my prison."
"How dare you." Codysa appeared in the doorway, her blonde hair pulled back tight, making her sharp features even harsher. She was wearing expensive silks, jewelry that probably belonged to my mother. "Father, Mother, throw this filthy omega out of here. I will not stand for this."
I turned to face her, and she actually took a step back. Good. She should be afraid.
"You wait and see who gets thrown out, little wolf." I kept my tone light, but the threat was clear. "You and your miserable parents are going to leave my estate when the Pack Council arrives."
Emily made a choking sound. The Pack Council. She knew what that meant. No more hiding. No more lies.
I turned back to Ned. "Meanwhile, tell me everything you know about my mother. And about the man who is my father."
"I am your father." His voice cracked on the words.
"Foster father," I corrected. "I want to know about my real father. Everything you know."
Codysa hissed, an actual wolf sound, and stomped out of the room. Emily stayed, her dark eyes fixed on me with pure hatred.
"I do not know what you are talking about." Ned stood up from the table, his chair scraping against the floor.
"Then get ready to vacate my property." I straightened my shoulders. "I was supposed to inherit everything when I turned eighteen. I am well past that age now. The Pack Council will contact you with terms."
I turned and walked toward the door. Every step felt heavy, but I kept my head high.
"Wait."
Ned's voice stopped me. I heard him moving behind me, heard Emily's sharp intake of breath. But I did not turn around. Not yet. I wanted him to see my back, to understand that I was walking away from him just as easily as he had let me suffer all those years.
I stepped outside into the cool evening air. Jerome was waiting by the sleek black vehicle, the one Alpha King Jack had given me after I saved his life. The moonlight reflected off its polished surface.
"Miss Aurora," Jerome said softly, opening the door.
"Please, wait." Ned appeared at the top of the stone steps. His eyes were fixed on the vehicle. I could see the calculations running through his mind. Where did she get that? How much is it worth?
I slid into the back seat without acknowledging him. "Drive, Jerome."
As soon as the door closed, the tears came. I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to keep the sobs quiet. Jerome said nothing, just drove smoothly through the winding roads leading away from the estate.
Even Ned did not know who my father was. After all these years, after everything, there was no trail to follow. My mother had hidden the truth so well that it died with her.
"He hurt her," I whispered to the empty space around me. "My father hurt my mother. She loved him, and he betrayed her with her own friend."
The pieces were falling into place now. Things Ned had said, fragments of truth mixed with lies. My father had gotten my mother pregnant and then abandoned her. He had chosen someone else. And my mother had been so broken by it that she made sure we could never find each other.
But why? Why would she do that? To protect me? To punish him? To punish herself?
The questions swirled in my mind as Jerome pulled up to my office building. I wiped my face quickly, trying to compose myself. I was not that scared girl anymore. I was stronger than this.
I walked through the glass doors and took the elevator up to my floor. My assistant looked up with wide eyes as I passed.
"Miss Aurora, you have a visitor waiting in your office. I told them you were out, but they insisted on waiting."
I frowned. "Who is it?"
"They would not give their name."
I pushed open the door to my office, ready to deal with whatever business matter this was. Then I froze. Sitting in the chair across from my desk, backlit by the floor-to-ceiling windows, was the last person I ever expected to see.
Back at the estate, Emily grabbed Ned's arm the moment he stepped back inside.
"How did she get that vehicle?" Her voice was shrill. "Even if we sold everything we own, we could not afford something like that."
"I asked her the same thing." Ned sank onto the sofa, suddenly looking every one of his sixty years.
"And? What did she say?"
"The Alpha King gave it to her. As thanks for saving his life."
Emily's face went pale. "The Alpha King? She has the Alpha King's favor?"
"Yes." Ned closed his eyes. "Which means we cannot fight her. Not on this."
"But the estate, the lands, everything we have built..."
"Was never ours to begin with," Ned said quietly. "Susan made me promise to keep it safe until Aurora turned eighteen. I was supposed to hand it all over then."
"And you did not?"
"I thought I had more time. I thought she would never find out."
Emily paced the room. "What else did you tell her?"
Ned was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"I told her about her father. The secret Susan made me swear to keep. She called me her safe, said some secrets are too dangerous to write down or speak aloud. But today, I opened that safe. I told Aurora everything."