Chapter 181
181
Finished
Third Person’s POV
Zara’s tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks, falling in heavy drops onto the hospital sheets, blooming into dark stains like blood.
Desperate, she struggled wildly and–with a loud thud–tumbled from the hospital bed onto the cold floor.
But she didn’t feel a thing.
She lay sprawled on the ground in utter disarray, her once–proud form crumpled, eyes locked onto Riley’s retreating figure, her gaze brimming with desperate hope–hoping, praying, that Riley might turn back, might glance at her with even the smallest flicker of care.
But she didn’t.
Riley didn’t stop walking. She didn’t even pause at the sound of the fall.
And even if she had heard it, she wouldn’t have looked back.
When Riley’s silhouette vanished at the threshold of the room, Zara’s pupils dilated in horror. Her face twisted in fear and despair.
“No, don’t go-!”
“Come back–Riley , come back! Please, I’m begging you-!”
Zara lay there on the floor, trembling violently, her body wracked with sobs .
Her tears fell like a dam broken. Her hands stretched forward, clawing at the air in futility , as if she could drag Riley back just by willing it hard enough.
“Riley! Riley-!” she screamed hoarsely , each cry soaked in heartbreak and crushing regret . Her voice grew ragged and sharp, echoing painfully in the sterile room. But there was no answer. No one came.
Riley was gone.
Out in the corridor , Riley walked forward step by steady step, her pace unwavering, her mind resolute.
But when she reached the corner of the hall, she suddenly halted.
Caelum Knox stopped behind her , a flicker of confusion in his sharp amber eyes. “Miss Riley, is something wrong ? ”
Riley stood at the perfect vantage point–just ahead , she could see Alabic’s hospital room.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. A glint of icy cunning flashed in her gaze, like a silver blade catching the moonlight. Then her lips curled into a smile–subtle, knowing, and darkly amused.
She murmured, “Take a guess. What do you think the Zara will do next ? ”
Caelum Knox thought for a moment before answering calmly, “ She’ll likely go confront Alabic.”
Riley chuckled softly. There was no warmth in that sound.
“I thought the same. And a show like that… how could I possibly miss it after coming all this way?”
There was a flicker of surprise in Caelum Knox’s eyes.
He’d known Riley for just over a month. In that time, she had always struck him as composed and graceful. But in this moment–calculated merciless in her justice–be saw another side of her A side forged in fire and betrayal
He couldn’t help but feel a quiet awe. Beneath her seemingly gentle exterior was a spine of steel Anyone who had once underestimated this she–wolf would pay dearly for it.
3:52 PM P P ·
181
And sure enough, not long after, they saw Zara being wheeled with urgency straight into Alabic’s room.
Riley’s eyes gleamed. Like a hunter catching the scent of prey, she picked up her pace and followed swiftly behind.
Caelum Knox trailed closely, ever–vigilant.
Inside the hospital room, Alabic’s expression was as dark as storm clouds over the ridge.
Finished
Moments earlier, he had received grim news from his secretary–news that had shattered what little peace he had left.
The Ebonclaw estate, once the most powerful in the Southern Territories, had collapsed overnight.
Kael–his heir, his son–was sitting in a prison cell, charged with embezzlement, tax fraud, and illegal pack fund transfers.
And Scarlett, his precious daughter, had been arrested by the Lycan Tribunal for robbery.
The fall of the Ebonclaw fortune, he could tolerate. That was a part of his calculated plan–he’d placed Kael as the legal owner of their shady operations years ago, just in case things turned sour. That was the cost of shielding himself.
But Scarlett?
Scarlett getting locked up was unacceptable.
His darling girl, the only one who reminded him of his youth and his ambition–sitting behind silver bars like a common rogue?
“Damn that girl–Riley!” he seethed, bloodshot eyes gleaming with fury. “ If I still had my legs , I’d drag her back myself!”
As he furiously mulled over how to bail Scarlett out, the door burst open.
Zara stormed in, seated in her wheelchair, her eyes red and wild.
Alabic froze for a moment, surprised by her sudden appearance.
But then his expression shifted–calculating, sly. A new idea sparked in his scheming mind.
If he wanted to save Scarlett, it would take gold. Lots of it.
The embroidery Scarlett destroyed was valued at over twenty million. They’d have to pay every coin of it to the Lunar Trade Guild.
But money alone wasn’t enough.
With someone like Lucien involved–Riley’s future mate and a judge of the High Lycan Tribunal–getting Scarlett out would require heavy bribes, hush money, and political favors.
It would cost at least forty or fifty million.
Technically, he still had that kind of wealth. Years ago, he’d already funneled every coin of the Ebonclaw fortune into accounts under Blackthorn’s name.
But that money was meant for their future abroad–for new identities, lavish estates, endless pleasure.
To waste it now, just to protect the illegitimate daughter of a dead empire?
His gut churned with rage at the thought.
Not because of the risk.
But because he hated spending money when he wasn’t the one holding the leash.