"ENOUGH!"
Hugo's roar cut through the room like a whip, making Kathrine flinch despite herself.
"Enough of this nonsense, Kathrine," he thundered. "Do you even realize who you're talking to?" He pointed sharply at Roseline. "She is your mother. The woman who accepted you wholeheartedly even before I gave her my name. And this—this is how you repay her? By accusing her?"
Roseline sobbed softly beside him, clutching her chest as if deeply wounded.
Hugo turned back to Kathrine, his anger barely contained. "You've crossed every boundary tonight."
But Kathrine didn't back away.
She straightened instead.
No tears. No apologies.
Just clarity.
"You can shout all you want, Dad," she said quietly. "It won't change the truth."
Hugo scoffed. "Truth?" he snapped. "You're letting paranoia poison your mind."
Kathrine's lips curved—not into a smile, but into something sharper.
"Then answer me this," she said. "Why did she ask me to run away when I refused to marry Daniel?"
