CHAPTER 490: IF SHE WERE YOUR REAL MOTHER

Sage advanced into the cold cell. He took in the sight of Blythe, her limbs constrained by the heavy, dull shackles. In the span of a single night, her usual imposing arrogance had vanished.

"You are abusing the authority granted to an Alpha," Blythe asserted, pushing herself upright. The chains clinked against the concrete. "The moment I secure my freedom and these fabricated accusations are withdrawn, you will be the first I expel from this pack."

A low chuckle escaped Sage. "Innocent? That ship sailed long ago. While there is no current proof to back Vance’s statement, you will confess the truth anyway. I am the Alpha of this pack; I possess the absolute right to execute you. Any individual who chooses to defy my order will be crushed and silenced."

"No, you won’t do that. William will never allow it," Blythe countered, her voice laced with desperation, leaning on the supposed authority of her mate.

A shadow crossed Sage’s features as he took another step toward her. "My father won’t interfere. He hasn’t even bothered to visit you since your arrest last night." He kept the crucial detail that he had actively barred his father’s access to himself.

"Furthermore," Sage continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous calm, "I will ensure your daughters are stripped of everything. They will have no inheritance, no financial support, and no protection from the pack. They will be cast out penniless."

He paused, letting the severity of the threat settle upon her. "For their sake, why not confess the truth? Why did you slaughter Vance’s parents? They were simple vegetable sellers. What offense could have possibly driven you to such merciless murder?"

Blythe was scared to hear Sage’s words. But if she opened her mouth, she would be punished severely.

"I grant you two hours to reconsider your decision," Sage announced. "Once you reveal the truth, your daughters will be guaranteed safety within this pack. If you refuse to cooperate, however, I will ensure every word of my previous threat is carried out."

He pivoted on his heel and exited the cell. He felt a faint twinge of guilt; using Naomi and Zoey as leverage was distasteful. Unlike their mother, his half-sisters were genuinely decent and reasonable. But to extract the necessary confession, he had to present his most ruthless face to Blythe.

Reaching the main house, Sage found William, his two half-sisters, and Katelyn gathered in the tense silence of the living room.

"Are you planning to keep Blythe permanently in that holding cell?" William demanded, pushing himself aggressively to his feet.

"Not permanently, Father," Sage pronounced. "The moment she confesses, I will sentence her to death."

"Our mother can’t die!" Zoey cried out, springing up from the sofa.

"Have you lost all sense? How dare you utter such nonsense in front of your father!" William bellowed, his temper instantly detonating as he glared at Sage. He then registered Katelyn’s presence, inhaled several deep, shaky breaths, and abruptly stormed out of the room, clearly intent on finding a way to undermine his son.

"Your mother is responsible for the murder of Vance’s parents," Sage told Zoey bluntly. "He orchestrated the kidnapping to secure justice. Are you truly so ignorant of your mother’s character?"

"Sage, may we speak privately?" Katelyn intervened, stepping forward and giving Naomi a significant look. "You should take Zoey back to her room." Naomi immediately stood, placing a protective arm around her distressed sister.

"What was that behavior? How could you deliver such a cruel statement in front of your own sisters?" Katelyn scolded him with disappointment.

"I merely stated the facts, Kate," Sage stated flatly.

"Listen to me. Until an individual has admitted their guilt or until irrefutable evidence is produced, they are not guilty," Katelyn asserted with legalistic reason. "The way you are conducting this entire process suggests you are acting on a personal vendetta against your stepmother. This behavior is unacceptable. Furthermore, arresting her without any concrete proof is fundamentally wrong."

"I am fully aware of the backlash and risk I am inviting with this action," Sage conceded. "However, my stepmother will confess the truth soon. I need you to trust me on this."

"Zoey is still in her sophomore year," Katelyn noted, her tone softening slightly. "I believe you need to approach her with a little more gentleness and patience."

"Hmm. I will go check on them," Sage replied. "Wait for me in the room upstairs," he suggested. Katelyn nodded once and headed towards the stairs while Sage walked down the hall to find his half-sisters.

Sage paused outside Zoey’s door, giving a brief, respectful knock before easing the door open.

Zoey and Naomi sat huddled together on the plush bed, both sisters tilted their heads in unison to meet his gaze.

"I apologize for speaking so harshly earlier," Sage began, his voice lowered for the intimate space. "Listen, Vance has suffered a terrible injustice. If anyone else were in your mother’s position, I would have pursued the matter exactly the same way. Yes, I know it appears as if I’m acting this way because she isn’t my birth mother, but you must understand the severity of the accusation: it’s the murder of two innocent people."

Zoey’s gaze was unflinching. "Brother, would you have truly done the same if she were your real mother?" she questioned.

Sage’s brows furrowed tight together, a visible sign of his internal struggle.

"You wouldn’t have made an immediate arrest," Zoey asserted, her voice gaining certainty. "Instead, you would have spent days gathering undeniable evidence first. You are doing this because Mom never once treated you like her son. If she had been kind to you, you would never have pursued this path."

Sage offered a slow nod. "You are right," he conceded. "I might not have followed this exact approach if your mother had treated me with any degree of kindness."

He met Zoey’s eyes, the intensity of his gaze unwavering even as he revealed his own vulnerability. "Then, perhaps, you should consider this: because she consistently beat and abused me when I was younger, I have simply chosen to return a similar kind of treatment to her now."