When I heard Monica beg, I almost laughed.
Just hours ago, she had pushed Lincy onto the stage, urging her to steal attention and stir chaos at the gathering. The goal had been clear humiliate me, disgust Grant , and poison my standing in Snowville.
Not long before that, she had tried to circle my mate. And before that, she had worked behind the scenes with Yenik, slicing away at my life piece by piece.
So now I was supposed to forget the past twenty years?
Forget the way my mother was sidelined.
Forget how Riley was crushed, ignored, and finally broken?
This mother and daughter survived by taking what wasn't theirs. Lies. Manipulation. Quiet cruelty dressed up as grace. Why would they ever believe I'd lift a finger to save them?
I tilted my head and put on a confused look.
"Aunt Monica," I asked gently, "what exactly are you saying? Are you sure Lincy… actually killed someone?"
I could see it then the way her breathing stuttered. Fear has a smell. Sharp. Bitter.
