Free Web NovelChapter 54: Chapter 54
Aria’s POV
For a brief moment, I saw the flicker of unease cross Margaret’s face.
I let the words linger, the truth hanging in the air like a toxic cloud. Back then, I’d come to Margaret with those crucial documents, for consultation. I’d trusted her. But then, somehow, Sophia had taken them, and that’s how it had all started... That was the first mistake I’d made in trusting anyone. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Margaret’s gaze darted away, and I saw the flash of guilt in her eyes. She had always known the truth, but... She still wouldn’t admit it. She still wouldn’t take responsibility.
"I’m your mother," Margaret muttered, her voice softening, but the pleading tone only made the wolf inside me growl in disgust. "And Sophia didn’t mean it. You’re so capable—can’t you just help her out?"
Help her out? My nails dug into the palms of my hands, my blood simmering, the wolf inside me clawing at the restraints of my human skin. "Help her? By taking her place in prison?"
I stepped closer, the words slipping out before I could stop them, like poison dripping from my tongue.
"If you love her so much, why didn’t you go to prison in her place? When you stood in court giving false testimony, did you remember you’re a lawyer? That you’re my mother?"
Margaret flushed, and I could see the flicker of realization that I wasn’t backing down. The guilt was there, but her stubbornness was even stronger.
"It’s done. And it was your fault for not securing those documents. You left them with me and forgot to take them back. It’s not all Sophia’s fault," she snapped, her voice sharp and defensive.
She pulled Sophia into her protective embrace, glaring at me as if I were the one who had wronged them.
I stumbled back, the blood in my veins boiling, and I couldn’t help the sharp laugh that escaped my throat. "Well, really? Need me to jog your memory?"
I crossed my arms, my stance firm as the wolf inside me fought to tear free. They think they can just push me around, steal everything I’ve earned.
"You told me to put the documents in your safe," I continued, my voice cutting through the room like a blade. "You said you’d keep them secure. You said only you and I knew the combination. You said our family and the Hemsworths were tied together, and since I was their legal counsel for years and Nathan’s Luna, he wouldn’t mind. You told me to trust you."
I stepped closer, my eyes locking onto Margaret’s with an intensity that made her flinch. "You said you’d return them after reviewing them. You said you are a seasoned lawyer and knew the risks of a leak better than I did. You told me to rely on you."
That was the mistake I had made. Trusting her once, just once.
That one mistake had dragged me into hell.
And now, standing here in front of them, I realized how deep the wound really was. I’d been wrong to trust my own mother, even for a second.
The air in the room had become so thick with tension it was suffocating. Alexander stood awkwardly, lost in this private storm of grudges and buried truths. I could feel his discomfort, but I couldn’t care less.
Margaret looked away, breaking our gaze, and her words were clipped, desperate to change the subject. "A will needs at least two witnesses, doesn’t it? Alexander alone isn’t enough. Who else can verify this document’s authenticity?"
My fingers twitched at my sides. My wolf stirred uneasily, pacing restlessly, sensing the tension in the room.
Margaret, I thought, the word bitter on my tongue. She used to be someone, more than just my mother, more than just the woman who had raised me.
She had once been a legal star, a sharp, brilliant mind with a commanding presence. Before she’d become someone’s wife, before she had been reduced to this shell of herself, Margaret had been known across the legal world, admired and respected. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
I’d stepped onto the legal scene like a force of nature. People noticed me immediately, not just for my talent, but because they knew who I was. Margaret’s daughter. They all said the same thing, didn’t they? Her child was bound to be exceptional, inheriting her remarkable talent.
I had thought they were right. I thought that in my own way, I could prove them right. That I could be her equal.
And for a while, I had been. In the first three years of my career, I won cases that stunned Asterfell. I was praised as a prodigy by veteran lawyers. I had made my mark. But all I ever wanted was her approval.
I thought that, maybe, just maybe, she would be proud of me. That she’d look at what I had accomplished and see that I was more than just her daughter, I was my own person, my own success.
But I was wrong.
Margaret, who should have understood me better than anyone, had never acknowledged my efforts, my brilliance. Instead, she showered praise on Sophia.
For what? Finishing an ordinary thesis? It had been like that from the beginning. And over time, I had stopped hoping for her approval, I had stopped caring. The only person I lived for now was Lana.
I blinked, pushing back the sting of tears that threatened to blur my vision. I was done. The grief, the disappointment, those things were over. I accepted it now. My mother had never really seen me. She had used my expertise to manipulate me, to stand against me.
I focused on the present, pushing all those thoughts to the back of my mind. Alexander’s face twisted in unease, his hand clutching the will like it was a hot brand, burning through his skin.
I could see sweat beading on his forehead, his eyes flicking nervously from one of us to the next.
"Well..." Alexander finally spoke, his voice hesitant.
Margaret pressed, unrelenting. "If you can’t prove its validity, this so-called will shouldn’t take effect."
Her words cut through the air, and I could feel the tension crackling in the room. My heart pounded, the beat steady beneath the wolf’s growl, itching to break free.
Alexander took a deep breath, his face pale. "When Madam Osborne drafted this will, I was the only one by her side. She was in her final moments, and by the time the notary arrived, she’d already been moved from the ICU."
"So who’s to say you weren’t bribed by Aria?" Sophia’s voice broke through, sharp and mocking.
