Third Person's POV When Aurora arrived at the Bluemoon Pack estate, her heart sank to see the grim reality laid bare before her. The court envoys had already swept through, leaving the grand hall stripped of all the treasures Caelum had once bestowed upon her. Every gem, every trinket, every gilded relic had been seized without hesitation. "My daughter!" Emilia's voice trembled, thick with worry as she caught sight of Aurora. "Those jewels… those were gifts from Caelum! How could they just… seize them like that? You have to go to him, figure something out!" Aurora's jaw clenched. Begging Caelum? Never. The man's cruelty had always run deeper than she'd allowed herself to see. Even now, faced with her life hanging by a thread, she could not bring herself to rely on him. "Mother," she said, her voice low but resolute, "don't expect anything from Caelum. If anything, he's probably glad it happened. He wants me to suffer." Emilia's hand flew to her mouth. "But… I can't believe this. That Freya-Freya Thorne-she's so vicious. Already divorced from Caelum, and now she's scheming to take what's mine! And… and she even brought Victor Ashford to handle it for her!" Aurora froze at the name. Victor Ashford, the undefeated legal wolf of The Capital. Even the thought of facing him sent a chill down her spine. Any lingering hope she had of a favorable outcome had been shattered. "Mother," Aurora pressed, urgency cutting through her fear, "how much cash do we have at home? Take what you can. We need a lawyer, no matter the cost. That border wildfire case-if I lose, I could end up in the holding cells, and I cannot allow that!" Emilia's shoulders slumped. "You know we don't have much liquid capital, Aurora. Hiring a top-tier lawyer would cost a fortune…" Aurora's fists clenched. "Then sell the land! Sell the estate plots if you must. And what about your jewels, your handbags? Those could be liquidated for funds too." "That house cannot be sold-you know your father won't approve. And my jewels… selling them won't cover even a fraction. Any competent attorney who sees this case wants a retainer of at least twenty million credits. Twenty million! How are we supposed to raise that now?" Aurora's claws dug into her palms. "So… you'd rather see me rot in a cell than try?" Her voice cracked, raw with hurt and rage. "Even if you served a few years, you're pregnant," Myra said, a mixture of fear and cold pragmatism in her tone. "By the time you deliver, you'd be nursing, and they might show leniency. But the money, twenty million credits-if you lose, that's gone. And with Wing fired… your reputation in shambles… where would you get that kind of money?"Aurora's eyes narrowed, disbelief mixing with a hot, bitter rage. "So you mean… you'd rather I sit in prison than spend to protect myself? I'm your daughter!" "Because you're my daughter, that's exactly why," Emilia snapped. "We pushed to get you into the Wing, remember? If we hadn't greased some wheels, you wouldn't have risen to deputy pilot so quickly. You think it was your talent alone? Do you see all the other capable pilots stuck at the bottom while you climbed so fast?" Aurora's chest tightened. Her pride, her achievements, all felt like ashes in her claws. She had worked, obeyed, sacrificed, only to be crushed by the very people she wanted to impress most. "You realize what you've done," Emilia continued, voice rising with shame and anger, "brings dishonor to your father and me. We cannot face our peers, our allies… the whispers and scorn would follow us like a pack of wolves on the hunt!" Aurora shook her head, her lips trembling with indignation. "I did nothing wrong! I dropped a single ember, it was chance that it sparked the wildfire. All my accomplishments, all the sacrifices I've made-gone because of one unlucky mistake? One slip of fate?" Emilia's eyes hardened. "Either you go to Caelum for help or hire a mediocre lawyer. We aren't going to throw any more money at you." Aurora's eyes burned with disbelief and betrayal. "Not waste money? So all your fortune, all your estate investments, they're for my brother? You've bought him houses, vehicles overseas, yet I cannot get even a fraction to defend myself against ruin?" The slap came sharp across her cheek, echoing through the vaulted estate hall. Aurora staggered back, stinging with both pain and the harsh truth it carried. "You speak nonsense! Your brother is to support us in the elder years. Everything we spent on you has already been more than fair!" Myra hissed. Aurora's face burned with more than the sting of her mother's hand-it was the blow to her heart, to her very identity. She had spent her entire life chasing approval, striving to be seen as worthy, proud, capable. She had excelled at university, become Bluemoon Airborne Wing's first female pilot, captured the admiration of pack and tech lords alike… and yet here she was, abandoned by blood, left to fend for herself. All for a single ember. Laughter ripped from her throat, bitter and broken. Tears streamed unchecked, hot and stinging, carving tracks down her cheeks. "Ha… ha… how absurd," she whispered, voice tight with fury. "How laughable it all is." Her gaze hardened, flashing with raw, predatory resolve. "The way you treat me today, mother… the way Caelum treats me now… mark my words. One day, it will return to you. The law of the wilds does not forget. Karma, retribution… I will wait. And Caelum… I will watch and see how he suffers for what he's done!"Aurora's eyes glinted like moonlight on silvered fur. Despite the world closing in around her, despite the law, despite her pack, she would fight. She would claw her way back from this abyss, sharpened by betrayal and driven by the blood bond of vengeance.