Chapter 77
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Fear flickered in the eyes of Kael Vale, Maddox, and Ronan Duskcliff. None of them wanted to face the truth. All they wanted was to escape.
Riley took in their distressed expressions with a twisted sense of satisfaction. For the first time in five years, she felt the cold thrill of vengeance. Her lips curled upward slightly.
But just as Tessa’s eyelids began to flutter–just as the long–awaited truth was about to be revealed–a sharp, commanding female voice rang out.
“What do you all think you’re doing crowding a patient’s room like this? Don’t you know she needs rest?”
A woman in a white coat stormed in, her tone filled with outrage. Right behind her trailed Alpha Alaric and Luna Zara of the Ebonclaw Pack.
eyes lit t
The moment Scarlett spotted the woman, her like a wolf seeing her pack leader. She nearly lunged forward into the woman’s arms to cry her grievances, but held herself back at the last second.
When the woman’s gaze landed on Scarlett, it turned gentle–almost doting. But the moment she looked at Riley and the others, her demeanor hardened into stone.
“Are you all deaf? The patient needs rest. Get out,” she snapped.
The doctor Ronan had called in earlier quickly stepped forward and asked with deference, “Dean, I didn’t know you were coming. Why are you here?”
“If I hadn’t shown up, I suspect this entire room would’ve been torn apart. All of you–out. Now.”
Her tone left no room for discussion.
Riley stood her ground, her gaze never leaving the three wolves–Kael, Maddox, and Ronan–whose shoulders visibly relaxed. She hadn’t expected it, but they all looked relieved.
Kael was the first to speak. “The Dean’s right. We weren’t thinking. Let’s give Tessa space. Come on,” he said, tugging Scarlett toward the door.
But Riley’s voice rang out, sharp and unyielding. “No one is leaving until the real attacker is identified.”
Kael paused mid–step. He turned back, clearly annoyed. “Riley, that’s enough. Can’t we talk about this at home? You’re making a scene in a hospital.”
She let out a bitter laugh, full of mockery. “Right when the truth is about to come out, you want to run home? How convenient.”
“Today, we unmask the real culprit. No one walks out until then.”
“You!” Kael trembled with frustration. Scarlett, tucked safely in his arms, looked like a fragile flower on the verge of tears.
“Riley,” Scarlett said, voice quivering with calculated innocence. “I’ve always seen you as my real sister… but
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why do you keep targeting me? If I did something wrong, just tell me. I’ll change. Please…”
Her sobs began, soft and pitiful.
“Shut up!” Riley snapped, raising her hand to slap her.
Before the blow could land, the Dean’s hand clamped around Riley’s wrist, yanking her back and shoving her away with surprising strength. Pain radiated through Riley’s arm.
“This is a hospital, not a courtroom,” the Dean barked. “Take your disputes elsewhere. The patient needs peace, not your theatrics.”
Her glare held more than warning–it held disdain.
Behind her, Alpha Alaric and Luna Zara said nothing, but their judgmental stares spoke volumes. If Riley caused any more trouble, they were ready to drag her out by force .
Riley drew in a breath, trying to calm herself.
She narrowed her eyes at the Dean.
Just moments ago, Tessa had been about to name her attacker. But at the exact moment of truth, this Dean had appeared–too conveniently.
Though she addressed the room at large, her gaze had been fixed on Riley. And when Riley moved to punish Scarlett, the Dean had stopped her with nearly bone–crushing strength.
There were too many coincidences. Riley didn’t believe in coincidence.
This Dean wasn’t just a bystander.
“What’s your relationship to Scarlett?” Riley demanded. “Why is it that you only protect her?”
The Dean’s expression faltered for a split second before regaining composure. “You’re being ridiculous. I’m simply doing my job–maintaining order in my hospital.”
Riley scoffed. “Order? You mean protecting Scarlett.”
“The patient hasn’t asked anyone to leave. She’s not tired. You’re the one pushing us out–because you’ve got something to hide.”
“Watch your mouth,” the Dean snapped, her voice rising with fury,
“I’m just stating the truth. You might be the Dean, but you have no authority to silence a witness, especially not one who’s about to name the wolf who nearly got her killed. If you keep trying to stop her, I’ll have no choice but to suspect you’re shielding a criminal.”
“She will name the one who harmed her. And no one–no one–is stopping that from happening.”
Her voice rang like a blade through the tense room.
The Dean’s face darkened, veins twitching along her temple. If she could’ve torn Riley’s tongue out right
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“You’re being unreasonable,” she hissed. “If you don’t calm down, I’ll call security and have you removed.”
Riley stepped forward instead, her eyes locked onto the Dean’s like steel on steel.
“Go ahead. Call them. Then everyone in this hospital will know–the Dean of Mooncrest Medical is protecting a would–be murderer. Let’s see how long you hold onto that title after that.”
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ve years.
His fists clenched tightly at his sides, knuckles pale from the pressure.
If Riley truly hadn’t been the one to hurt Tessa… then what had all those years of revenge been for? What did that make him?
Kael Vale, Alpha of the Ebonclaw Pack and Riley’s biological brother, stared at Tessa with wide eyes, disbelief carved across his face. He had always favored Scarlett, tuning out Riley’s protests, even helping drag her down when she was at her weakest. He had stood in court and testified against his own sister, claiming with full confidence that Riley was the attacker.
Now, the world spun beneath his feet, and his legs nearly gave out.
Maddox, a respected member of the Lycan Tribunal, looked equally stunned. As a law wolf, his duty was to seek truth and uphold justice–but when it came to Scarlett, he’d let personal bias blind him. He had even tried to convince Riley to take the blame for what happened to Tessa. He couldn’t fathom back then that sweet, delicate Scarlett could be the real monster.
He’d accepted the Ebonclaw Pack’s narrative without question.
Now he saw how wrong he’d been.
Sweat beaded on Maddox’s brow. His gaze flitted nervously between the others, guilt tightening around his throat.
Riley watched all of them, her sharp eyes recording every flicker of their shame. She had once believed their pain would bring her a sense of satisfaction.
It didn’t.
Instead, bitterness welled up in her chest like poison. Even if her name was finally cleared, those five years- those blood–soaked, soul–crushing five years–would never leave her. The damage done would haunt her forever.
She didn’t want just justice. She wanted them to suffer too.
If she had to drown in that pain, they would drown with her.
She turned toward Tessa again, voice steady and unforgiving, “Tessa. Tell them. Was it Scarlett who lured you into the Black Forest that night?”
Kael, Maddox, and Ronan all froze, holding their breath.
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Suddenly, none of them wanted the answer.
Because if it was yes, then every belief they’d clung to would collapse. They would be forced to face a truth. they’d never prepared for–and their own roles in that cruel deception.
Kael stepped forward, his voice sharp. “Riley, that’s enough. Tessa’s only just woken up. She needs rest. Let’s go home.”
He reached out to grab her, but Riley slipped out of his grasp like smoke.
Maddox, ever the peacemaker, gave a nervous smile. “Riley… Kael’s right. This isn’t the time. Let’s not upset her. We’ve already–disturbed her enough for one day, don’t you think?”
Her eyes turned to ice. “Oh, I see. You’re scared. Scared to know the truth. Scared that your precious Scarlett isn’t the pure little saint you convinced yourselves she was. Scared to admit you’ve all been played for fools.”
Their jaws clenched. But neither Kael nor Maddox said another word.
They couldn’t. Not after everything.
She turned then to Ronan, who had been watching silently, struggling with the war inside him.
Her gaze pierced through him, sharper than any blade.
Ronan Duskcliff, don’t you want to know who really hurt your sister? Or are you going to stand there like a coward and protect the wrong person again?
His face turned ashen. He was caught in a storm–guilt, doubt, rage all swirling together. If what Riley implied was true… then his hatred had been misplaced all along. The punishment he’d dealt her had been unjust. Unforgivable.
But if he knew the truth… could he live with it?
Riley saw his hesitation and nearly laughed. So this was the kind of brother who claimed she could never repay the sin he thought she’d committed. And now, standing at the edge of truth, he balked.
He couldn’t even stand up for his own sister.
She took a bold step back and moved beside Tessa, forming a silent but resolute alliance.
“Tessa,” she said clearly. “Tell them. Was it Scarlett who lured you into the Black Forest that night–the one who caused your coma?”
Her voice rang with the weight of justice long denied.
The moment of reckoning had come.
Tessa’s eyes fluttered shut–deliberate. Definite.
One clear answer.
Scarlett began to shake uncontrollably. Her limbs trembled, and she seemed to collapse inward, curling like
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prey that had just been spotted by a predator.
The room fell into a deafening silence .
The truth, after five years buried, had finally begun to surface.
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