Chapter 210 Revenge For What? Savannah For the second time today, every pair of eyes in the room locked on me. But for the first time, I didn’t shrink back. I didn’t recoil like their stares were drawn swords pointed at my throat. I stepped forward. “Revenge for what?” My voice didn’t tremble. “And you said it was part of the plan. What plan?” Paula’s eyes flicked up from beneath her lashes—calculating, hollow, terrified in a way she was trying very hard not to show. Her hands were shaking, but her tone was flat when she spoke. “He said Chloe’s father hurt his daughter for years,” she said. “He wanted to get back at him. He always wanted revenge for his daughter. That was why he reached out to me.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she took a long breath before continuing. “He told me he had things planned. A lot of things. But the first step was Chloe.” She dropped her head as she spoke the last part. “I don’t know all the details. He’s the only one who knows everything. But I’ll tell you everything I know if you swear you’ll let me go, Blackwood.” My brain froze. I hadn’t said Roman’s last name. I was certainly sure I hadn’t. My eyes shot to him. He was already tense, jaw flexing, shoulders drawn back like a predator who had just heard something very, very interesting. “How do you know my name?” Roman asked quietly. Paula flinched. “Please. Just—just keep your word.” She said instead, not answering the question. He stepped forward, voice low and steady. “You have my word. Tell us everything you know.” Before Paula could open her mouth, Chloe’s shrill laugh sliced through the air. “Uncle Jace… paid you to seduce me?” She sounded halfway between disbelief and hysteria. “So… everything has been a lie? You’ve been lying to me all along? Is that it?” Paula finally turned toward her slowly. For a second, she looked like she might stay silent or apologize, or at least show some shred of emotion. Or I thought she might try to comfort her. Maybe offer some twisted justification. Maybe even tell her how much she loves her. But I was wrong. Instead, she gave the coldest smile I’d ever seen. And with a voice cold enough to frost over the walls, she said, “it was nothing personal. I was paid to do my job, Chloe.” Her tone was ice. “And I always do what I’m paid to do.” A chill crawled down my spine. There was nothing human in her voice. No sympathy. No guilt. Nothing to show that this was the same girl Chloe had been living in a love bubble with, half way across the world. Roman didn’t waste time, towering over Paula. “What else did Jace tell you?” Paula’s eyes flicked to him. “He wanted another man dead. Asher Kingston. For his daughter.” The room tilted. I caught myself before I stumbled. “What?” I whispered, even though some part of me already knew. Already feared. “He desperately wanted him dead,” she continued, her gaze dragging to me. The way she looked at me made my skin prickle—slow, knowing, like she was peeling away my layers one by one. “And I understood why he did.” Her voice softened, becoming almost gentle. “He told me Asher touched his daughter. And Chloe’s father did nothing to protect her.” Silence hit the room like a slap. For a moment, there was nothing. No sound. No breath. Just white noise roaring through my ears. Chloe gasped. “What? Whatever happened with sick Uncle Jace, his psycho daughter and my dad, what does that have to do with me? Why would he play such a sick game on me? I trusted you, Paula! I thought you loved me!” Paula laughed—a bitter, humorless sound. “Loved you? How delusional are you to believe love builds on the foundation of substance abuse and crime?” Her eyes hardened. “Can’t you connect the dots? Don’t you see that all this connects to you?” Chloe blinked like someone had slapped her awake. Confusion. Anger. Panic. All swirling with nowhere to land. I stepped forward. “Julius covered for Asher Kingston after what he did to me. Julius is your father, Chloe. What do you think? Still don’t understand what this has to do with you?” She looked at me—and then she snapped. She burst into laughter. Not normal laughter—manic, loud, borderline feral. “Finally, Savannah. Finally you got your wish. You’ve been wishing for this for ages. Now you finally got it.” “Shut up, Chloe.” Roman’s voice cracked like a whip. Even I flinched. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m getting fed up with your bullshit. What the hell do you have up there? Plastic? Can’t you reason for once?” Chloe shrank under his voice like she’d been struck. She recoiled like he’d struck her. But she didn’t stop. “What are you talking about, Chloe?” I asked. She turned on me, her voice dripping venom. “You finally have men moving mountains and getting their hands bloody for you. You’ve always loved attention from the boys. Now you finally have it. You must be over the fucking moon, Savannah.” I stared at her. Then a smile slowly stretched across my lips. “You’re observant, Chloe. But so am I. Want to know something else I noticed?” She stiffened. I leaned down until our faces were inches apart. “Guess who got played this time?” Her face was drained of color from head to toe. She lunged before she even thought about it. The guards held her back easily, but her scream tore through the air. I stepped back laughing. “You fell for someone and it turned out to be a ploy. You should be ashamed, Chlo. Someone beat you at your own game. That’s enormously embarrassing.”“I hate you, Savannah! I fucking hate you!” she screamed, thrashing against the men holding her down. “Burn in hell, you bitch!” “That’s not news, Chloe!” I cackled. “You’ve hated me since forever.” “Well, it’s nothing compared to what I feel now,” she spat. “I freaking despise you.” I crossed my arms. “Feeling’s mutual.” Her chest heaved, fury vibrating off her in waves. I tapped the side of my head. “Know what else I noticed? No one’s on your side anymore, Chloe. You’re all alone.” Her eyes shot to Paula. “You bitch! I’ll never forgive you for this. Don’t forget that.” Paula scoffed. “Next time you threaten me, I’ll make sure it’ll be the last time you ever speak. Don't mess with me.” Chloe froze. Then suddenly burst into unhinged laughter. “I can’t believe this. This is unbelievable. Fuck my life!” Roman ignored her, turning back to Paula. “Keep going. Tell me everything you know. I promise I’ll let you go.” Paula exhaled. “I lied earlier.” Her voice wavered—not with guilt, but with exhaustion. “I know Jace really well. He was one of the few people who were ever nice to me.” My breath hitched. She looked directly at me, and the room went quiet. “Your father saved me.” “What?” My voice cracked, because the word hit something raw. But she wasn’t finished. Paula kept speaking like she was reading off a list. She turned to Roman and me, eyes hollow. “The pregnancy wasn’t gotten rid of by this brat here. I induced it because Jace Hart instructed me to. Among other things.” The room blurred. For the first time since I learned Uncle Jace was actually my father, something unexpected bloomed in my chest. Pride. And I didn’t push it away because despite everything he’d done, he had avenged me. He had fought for me. He had destroyed people who hurt me. He had set this entire thing in motion… for me. A broken, twisted part of me understood him. And that scared me more than anything else.