Free Web NovelChapter 209: Chapter 209 Hugo’s Last Smirk
Sylvia’s POV
The tires of my Audi screeched as I pulled into the parking lot of the Lycan Tribunal. My heart pounded against my ribcage, each beat echoing Charna’s rage. Hugo had always been arrogant, entitled—but this? Imprisoning and assaulting an innocent Omega? This was beyond anything I could have imagined.
"Calm down," I whispered to myself, though Charna was far from settled. My wolf wanted blood. Hugo’s blood.
As I approached the imposing stone building, I spotted Selene pacing anxiously near the entrance, her normally perfectly styled hair disheveled, her designer outfit wrinkled as if she’d slept in it.
"Selene," I called, quickening my steps.
She whirled to face me, her eyes red-rimmed and wild. For once, the carefully constructed mask she always wore in my presence had completely shattered.
"This is insanity," she hissed, grabbing my arm with surprising strength. "That Omega bitch is lying. She has to be. Hugo would never—"
"Let go of me," I said firmly, though not unkindly. I understood her desperation, even if I didn’t share her delusions about Hugo’s innocence.
Selene released me, her hands trembling. "You don’t understand what’s at stake. If word gets out about this, the Frost name will be tarnished by association. Mother is beside herself."
Of course. Even now, her primary concern was our family’s reputation.
"Where is she? The Omega?" I asked, ignoring her comment.
"In the witness preparation room," Selene replied, her lip curling with disgust. "With her advocate."
I nodded, already moving toward the entrance. "I want to see her."
"What? Why? Sylvia, we need to be united on this. We need to present a unified front and—"
"United in what, exactly? Protecting a rapist?" My voice was dangerously low.
Selene flinched. "We don’t know if those allegations are true."
"Then let’s find out."
An official guided us to a small anteroom where the victim was being prepared for her testimony. When the door opened, I froze on the threshold, my breath catching painfully in my throat.
The girl sitting there couldn’t have been more than twenty. She was petite, with long dark hair and delicate features. Features that were hauntingly similar to my own.
Beside me, Selene made a choked sound of recognition.
Rosalie’s eyes widened with fear when she saw us, her body instinctively shrinking into the chair. The reaction of someone who had been conditioned to expect pain.
"Miss Frost," her advocate said stiffly, moving protectively in front of her client. "This is highly inappropriate. The victim isn’t required to speak with you before the proceedings."
I raised my hands in a placating gesture. "I’m not here to intimidate or influence. I just... I needed to see."
And now I had seen. The resemblance was unmistakable. The reason Hugo had targeted this particular Omega was standing right before my eyes. He had found himself a substitute—someone who looked like me but lacked my status, my protection, my power.
Bile rose in my throat, hot and acidic.
"Sylvia," Selene whispered, her voice uncharacteristically small. "Let’s go."
I barely heard her, my focus entirely on Rosalie. "I’m sorry," I told her, the words wholly inadequate. "What he did to you... I’m so sorry."
Something like surprise flickered across her bruised face, followed by the faintest hint of relief. Perhaps she had expected me to attack her character, to defend Hugo as Selene had been doing.
"Come on," Selene tugged at my arm again, more insistent this time.
I allowed her to pull me from the room, but the image of Rosalie—of her bruises, her fear, her face so eerily similar to mine—was seared into my memory.
Once we were alone in a private waiting area, Selene collapsed into a chair, her composure finally breaking completely.
"He never saw me," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "All this time, I thought... but he never really saw me at all."
"I want to kill him," I said quietly, taking the seat beside her. "I want to tear him apart for what he did to that girl. For what he was planning to do to her again. For using you."
Selene wiped at her tears, her practical nature reasserting itself even through her grief. "We need to contain this situation. The tribunal hasn’t started yet. We could approach her, offer compensation—"
"Are you serious right now?" I stared at her in disbelief. "You want to buy her silence? After everything he did?"
"I’m thinking about our pack!" Selene snapped, her voice rising. "About Mother, about our reputation, about the consequences if this becomes public knowledge!"
"And I’m thinking about justice!" I stood, unable to remain seated as my anger bubbled over. "That could have been me, Selene. That’s why he chose her. Because she looks like me. And you want to silence her? To let him get away with it?"
Selene’s eyes widened at my outburst. "I—"
"No," I cut her off. "I won’t let you do that. Hugo Gray hurt that woman. He hurt you. And he’s going to pay for it."
"Why do you care?" Selene asked, genuine confusion in her voice. "About me being hurt? After everything..."
I sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. The weight of our complicated relationship, the years of competition and resentment, seemed to press down on me.
"Because we’re Frosts," I said simply. "Like it or not. And no one gets to use a Frost woman and get away with it." freeweɓnovel.cøm
Selene stared at me for a long moment, something shifting in her expression. Not warmth, exactly—we were far from that—but perhaps a new understanding. An acknowledgment. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"I really believed he loved me," she admitted quietly, a vulnerability I’d never seen before.
I sat back down beside her, not touching but close enough to offer comfort if she wanted it. "I know."
"What happens now?" she asked.
"Now we let justice take its course," I replied firmly. "We stand with Rosalie, not against her. We show Hugo and anyone else watching that Frost women protect their own—and that includes other women who’ve been victimized."
Selene didn’t immediately agree, but she didn’t argue either. Progress.
The door opened, and an official appeared. "The tribunal is ready to begin."
As we rose to enter the courtroom, Selene caught my wrist. "Sylvia..."
I paused, waiting.
"Thank you," she said, the words clearly difficult for her to voice. "For coming today."
I nodded, surprised by the genuine gratitude in her eyes. "We’re sisters," I replied simply.
It wasn’t forgiveness for all that had passed between us. It wasn’t even a promise of a better relationship moving forward. But as we walked into the tribunal chamber side by side, I felt something shift between us—a tiny fracture in the wall of resentment that had divided us for so long.
Hugo would face justice. And perhaps, in a small way, Selene and I had taken our first step toward healing.
