269 The Truth Laid Bare

    Lucian

    When I stepped back into the room, Jennifer was there with Richard bnced carefully on her hip.

    “Good morning, Master,” she said with a small smile. “Madam asked me to bring him to you.”

    I nodded, my chest tightening as I looked at my son. He was getting stronger-his little face fuller, his dark curls thickening, those piercing blue eyes blinking curiously up at me. My eyes.

    Despite everything-despite Tina-he was mine. A part of me.

    And Mara… she was caring for him like he’d been hers all along. No resentment. No hesitation. Just love.

    That quiet act of eptance told me everything I needed to know.

    Whatever storm wasing-I didn’t have to face it alone.

    I took Richard from Jennifer, and he giggled-sweet and pure, that soft sound that made everything else fade for a moment. He wrapped his tiny fingers around my thumb, and I couldn’t help but smile.

    Mara had changed into a short, breezy dress, and despite everything weighing on us, she still managed to look effortlessly stunning. I groaned softly at the sight of her, and she caught it-her face lighting up with a teasing smile as she walked toward me.

    She reached for Richard, and scooped him into her arms.

    Maraughed, spinning him gently. His squeals filled the room, his chubby hands grasping at her face like she was his whole world. Watching them like that-so full of life, so natural together-I felt something sharp and warm in my chest.

    But beneath it all, a quiet ache stirred. One day we would have to tell him the truth-that the woman who brought him into this world was behind bars, and the woman he called “Mama” had stepped into that role by choice, not blood. I just hoped that when that day came, it wouldn’t break his heart.

    We yed with him for a while longerughs, tickles, and small, quiet joys-until a knock echoed through

    the room. Denis.

    I rose to answer it.

    Denis stepped in, and Keisha followed close behind him. Her smile was soft, her steps steady. She looked healthier-lighter somehow-and I prayed the peace in her eyes would stay.

    “Hey!” Mara called out, crossing the room quickly to embrace Keisha.

    “How are you feeling now?” she asked warmly, concern glinting behind her smile.

    “I’m better, Keisha replied, voice sincere.

    Mara beamed and gently motioned her closer. “Come say hi to Richard.”

    The women gathered around the boy, theirughter bubbling around him as he delighted in the attention. Watching Mara, Tiffany, and Keisha so naturally together made the room feel less like a battlefield and

    more like a home.

    Meanwhile, Denis and I stepped aside.

    “Why didn’t you go on vacation with her?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

    He shrugged. “Keisha and I talked about it. Felt wrong to leave when everything’s heating up here. She’s staying, and I’ll go to Neev with you-as your Delta.”

    I frowned. “I told you, it’s a duel.”

    He gave me a knowing smile. “And if that bastard ys dirty, you’ll have backup.”

    He was right, and I knew it. ric Moongrove wasn’t known for fairness. I didn’t want to admit I was relieved, but I was. I nodded, pressing a hand to his shoulder.

    “Thank you,” I said simply. “And thank Keisha-for understanding.”

    “I already did,” he murmured, and we both looked toward her, now giggling with Mara and Richard as if the

    weight of the world hadn’t touched her.

    Just then, Tiffany and Darian stepped into the room, Emma in Tiffany’s arms. The moment Keisha and

    Tiffany locked eyes, they hugged-tight, familiar.

    It was good to see. We’d never told anyone about Keisha’s struggle with her health, so I could only assume

    she’d chosen to confide in Tiffany herself. That meant she was opening up. Healing.

    And as the women stood thereughing,forting, supporting one another-I realized something rare

    was taking root in our home.

    Strength. Unity.

    Family.

    “We still need to make the press release-ept the venue and name our champion,” Darian reminded

    me, his voice steady but urgent.

    I rose reluctantly. I didn’t feel like going to headquarters, not with everything pressing down on us, but I

    knew he was right. We couldn’t afford silence-not now. ric’s allegations, no matter how theatrical, had to be answered. Not just by me, but by my father and Martha too. It was the only way to weaken the weight of his words before they dug deeper into the hearts of the ind.

    Denis, Darian, and I left the women in the room and made our way to my office in the east wing. As we walked, I linked my father and Martha, asking them to meet us there.

    To my surprise, when we arrived, Rowan was already inside, standing at attention.

    I paused at the threshold. “How long have you been here?” I asked.

    269 The Truth t aid Bare

    Ports

    He straightened and bowed slightly. “Just arrived, Alpha. I saw the press release-figured you’d need me.”

    I nodded in appreciation, hiding the slight irritation that no one had informed me. But truth be told, we were short-staffed-only two butlers, and the rest were kitchen hands. I couldn’t fault anyone. Not today.

    “I’m d you’re all here,” I began once the door closed behind us. “We need to respond, and we need to do it now. A press release epting ric’s challenge, naming our champion-and more importantly, addressing the lies he spewed. Silence will only make them fester.”

    My eyes found Martha.

    “This won’t be easy,” I said gently, “but I need you to tell Mooncrest the truth. How you came into my father’s life. If we let ric frame the narrative, the stain on Darian won’t fade-not even after ric is

    gone.”

    There was a long silence.

    “No, Lucian,” my father said sharply, stepping forward. “Martha won’t humiliate herself like that, not

    publicly.”

    But Martha raised a hand, quieting him. Her gaze never left mine.

    “I’ll do it,” she said, voice calm, resolute. “The people need to know who he really is. What he did to me, to his so-called ‘beloved’ daughter. How he maniptes, uses, discards.”

    She turned to Vander, her voice softening. “Please, let me. He made himself look noble in that broadcast- empathetic, even. But I won’t let him rewrite the past to cover his sins. This… is for Darian.”

    My father stared at her, torn between pain and pride. He said nothing. But the silence itself was an answer.

    Martha’s hand touched her heart. “He won’t expect me to speak. He thinks I’m still that frightened woman willing to take his secrets to the grave.” Her eyes shed. “Let him find out just how wrong he is.”

    I looked around the room-at Denis, at Darian, at Rowan-and saw the same thing in their faces: respect.

    Resolve. This was the only way forward.

    “As painful as it may be,” I said, “it has to be done.”

    And in that moment, I knew-Martha wasn’t just protecting Darian’s honor.

    She was reiming her own.

    We agreed it would be best to broadcast our reply from the safety of home. No dys, no filters-just raw truth, recorded and sent straight to every household in Mooncrest.

    First, we filmed my part-me epting the venue, naming my father as our champion. My words were sharp, measured, but beneath the surface, my blood was running hot. Then it was Martha’s turn.

    She sat tall before the camera, her voice steady butced with a quiet fury. And then… sheid it all bare.

    She spoke of how ric had forced her-and other girls in Goldenpeak-into prostitution. How he had

    269 The Truth Laid Bare

    Points

    married her by force, not out of love, but to ensure she couldn’t run. How for years, he used her, abused her, stripped her of dignity until there was nothing left to take. How he had once considered throwing Lacy away like trash because she was an “inconvenience.”

    Then she told them the truth that would turn stomachs-how my father had saved her, and how ric had killed my mother, boasting of it to Lacy like it was a victory. How he had sent her into our home, ordered her to marry my father and kill us all, but she could not bring herself to murder the man who had shown her kindness without demanding her body in return.

    She confessed to staying-not out of fear, but because she had finally found peace in her marriage. She told the world how ric had ckmailed her for twenty-three years, draining her of money and freedom.

    How he had deceived their own daughter into poisoning her, just to create chaos so he could rob me.

    Her voice grew colder as she spoke of the unthinkable-how ric began pimping his own daughter when she resisted him, deciding instead to “train” her. Rockville, she revealed, was his den of ouws, where his men broke her daughter’s spirit under his orders. “That ce deserved to be erased,” she said, and there

    was no mistaking the truth in her tone.

    By the time she finished, the room was heavy with silence. My throat felt tight. I hadn’t expected tears, but they came anyway. Martha had walked through hell and lived to tell the tale, and now she had set it ame behind her. I could only hope she and my father would find a way to heal from all this.

    Once the recordings wereplete, we sent them to the television station. No turning back now.

    A momentter, Mara walked into the office. She greeted everyone, her presence softening the edges of

    the tension, then turned to me with a smile.

    “Tiff and Keisha are helping to set up the bunker,” she said. I smiled back,forted by the thought that

    Emma and Richard were safe with Jennifer and Emma’s nanny.

    It was time.

    Time to n the trip that would decide everything.

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