Judy’s POV Tears filled Cora’s eyes, which surprised me. I looked at Gavin, who gave me the same look in return, both of us confused by Cora’s sudden mood shift and teary eyes. I thought about reaching out and comforting her because that was in my natural instinct. “I have never told this story to another living soul,” Cora admitted as she wiped away a fallen tear on her cheek. “But looking at you… seeing how much you look like her… I know you are the person I need to tell this story to, or you’ll never know who you truly are.” “What story?” I asked, my voice coming out barely above a whisper; I feared what I was going to learn today. “The story about what I had done…” she said softly, her eyes shifting to her hands, which were folded on her lap. She was nervous, that much was clear, and I found my heart beating faster than normal. I was nervous too. “Okay…” I said, cautiously. “What exactly did you do?” She sniffled and remained silent for a while; I didn’t think she was going to talk again, but she took a deep breath and lifted her gaze to meet mine. “When I was a little girl, I was in the car with my parents and my best friend, Ivy,” she said, stuttering on Ivy’s name as it pained her to speak out loud. “Ivy and I were in the backseat, goofing around. My powers had just started to come through, and Ivy thought it was the coolest thing; she’s never met anyone with powers before, and she wanted to see how they worked. I knew I shouldn’t have been playing around with something I barely understood… I was old enough to know better… but I didn’t listen to my intuition, and I started to show off some of the powers I discovered I had.” My heart thudded rapidly against my chest as nerves fluttered in my belly. “I knew better…” Cora whispered, more tears filling her eyes. “I lost control of my powers that night, and I couldn’t reel them back in… they were too powerful, and I was too new and afraid. By the time my parents realized what was happening… it was too late. The car crashed over the side of the bridge we were driving on and went straight into the ocean…” My heart stopped in my chest. “Oh no…” I whispered. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, her hands trembling. I managed to get out as the car was sinking, and Ivy also got out… though she was pretty badly banged up. My magic seemed to have protected me from serious injuries, so I got out without any issues. Ivy struggled through and had to be hospitalized…” “And your parents?” I found myself asking. She let out a shuddering breath. “My parents didn’t make it out of the car. They were later found decomposed…” she whispered.“Oh, Cora… I’m so sorry,” I whispered, tears filling my own eyes. Gavin wrapped an arm around me as if to anchor me, and I was grateful for his presence as I leaned into him. “Ivy lost her memories,” Cora whispered. “She woke up in the hospital not knowing who she was or where she was. She had an injury so bad that it ruined her dance career, and her vocal cords were all messed up, so she could no longer sing. She used to have such a beautiful voice and wanted to attend Juilliard after we graduated high school… but that dream never became a reality. I never told her about my part in her injuries. I tried to be her friend even though she didn’t remember me or anyone in her life. Her boyfriend ended up leaving her, not able to take the stress of having her in his life any longer, and her family pretty much disowned her for not being their perfect little girl anymore… I pretty much destroyed her life.” “And she never knew about it?” I asked. She let out a breath. “One evening, I was speaking with my grandmother, Esme…” she said softly. “And Esme told me that one day, my brother and his girlfriend at the time would get married and have a baby. This baby was going to take after me… she was going to be extremely powerful… even more so than me. This power would someday change the world. She was going to be the perfect hybrid between a wolf and a witch. She told me this information because she knew how badly I struggled with my powers, and she couldn’t imagine what it would do to this newborn baby… not to mention Selene. So, I told her that I would be there to help my brother and his future wife, and I won’t let anything happen to this baby.” She paused for another moment as she gathered her thoughts. “I then confessed to my grandmother what had happened and that I didn’t want something like that happening again… I couldn’t bear it if it were to happen again and I could prevent it,” she said softly. “We were at the hospital when I confessed this to my grandmother, and I didn’t know that Ivy was also there at the time. She overheard the confession and the prophecy, and to say she was furious and hurt… is an understatement.” “She overheard everything?” I asked, my chest tightening. Cora nodded. “Yes…” she said softly. “She accused me of ruining her entire life. She was hurt and upset and told me that I deserved to rot for what I had done. Then, she told me that if this baby were that powerful, she could restore everything that she had lost. She told me that she would keep my dirty little secret from my brother and those closest to me, and maybe even one day forgive me… if she gave me this baby.” “And you agreed to it?” I asked. She nodded. “I was selfish and desperate to keep my brother from knowing that I was the reason we had no parents,” she admitted. “Plus, I wanted Ivy’s forgiveness… though our friendship was ruined after that night. I agreed to it. My grandmother told me that the baby with the power would be the third born… a girl. So, Ivy agreed to wait until that baby was born to make another appearance in my life. By then, she had somewhat redeemed her life. She married Arthur Churchill…” I gasped at the name and looked at Gavin, whose jaw clenched. “Levi’s father?” Gavin asked. Cora nodded grimly. “Yes, however, she already had a daughter with her former boyfriend, who held no title and, in her eyes, wasn’t good enough for her. She got pregnant with his baby and at that point had a little girl…. Megan…” “Meg…” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “My mother…” Cora didn’t reply to that; she cleared her throat and continued. Ivy married Arthur and joined the two families together. Arther had a couple of kids of his own, as you already know… one of them being Levi. He was a bit older, and he was mean as can be to Meg. They tormented her… they were cruel. The whole family turned their backs on her, even her own mother. Meg had run away many times, but the family had people drag her back time and time again… then she met someone. Someone who made her feel seen for the first time in her life.” “My father…” I whispered. She didn’t reply to that either; she continued as if I hadn’t said anything. “They snuck around for a long while, and then they were found out by her family. They locked her up. She eventually escaped and tried to run away after she found she was pregnant. But once again… they were found out, and she was dragged back to their family home. They didn’t let him go, though… they killed him on the spot, right in front of her. She was devastated, and later she ended up running away for the final time. This time, she managed to get far enough away, and she lived in hiding for many months. And then her baby was born, and she gave birth in neutral territory…” I let out a breath; tears were pouring down my cheeks, listening to this tale, and Gavin’s arms tightened around me like he was trying to anchor me and keep me grounded. “Ivy and Arthur eventually found her and came to this hospital… it was around the time that Selene was about to give birth as well… at the same hospital. It was her third child… a girl. I ran into Ivy when she was heading to see her daughter, and that was when she reminded me of our deal…” “To give her the baby?” I asked, my brows pinched together. She nodded slowly. “She figured if her daughter was to have a baby… she would want a powerful one. A child that could make them stronger and restore everything that Ivy has lost…everything that I took from her when we were children. However, she didn’t know that I planned to take the powers out of the baby and put it in the family heirloom that my grandmother had given me. Taking the powers out of the baby would also make the baby untraceable… so I’d be able to hide her… but I knew Ivy wouldn’t stop looking for her. So, I did the only thing that I could think to do…”Cora closed her eyes, letting out a shuddering breath. I dreaded what she was about to say, but I knew I needed to hear it. “What did you do?” I dared to ask; my voice barely came out above a whisper. She opened her eyes to look at me. “I switched the babies,” she said softly, more tears filling her eyes. “I gave them Selene’s baby… and in return… Selene had theirs.” My heart fell deep into my stomach as reality came crashing down around me. “Are you saying… Meg wasn’t my mother?” I asked. She nodded slowly. “Meg was not your mother,” she confirmed. “Your mother is Selene.”