Third Person's POV Each word from Riley Vale fell like a stone, and with every accusation, Lord and Lady Duskcliff looked as though the weight of a mountain had been dropped onto their shoulders. Their faces turned even paler, lips trembling, desperation clawing at their throats as they instinctively tried to defend themselves. But the words never came-choked back by the cruel, inescapable truth. Because the truth was this: Riley's permanent injuries were no accident. They had ordered it. They had orchestrated her suffering from the shadows. And now, guilt clawed through their bones, devouring them alive. All they could do was look at her-eyes pleading, full of regret-as if praying she might give them one final chance. But forgiveness was not something Riley granted to those who had carved their names into her pain. The damage was done. No matter how sweetly they worded their remorse, no apology could erase the five hellish years she had survived behind bars. She was here, alive, sitting in front of the very wolves who had sentenced her to rot-not because of their mercy... ...but because of her own unbreakable will. She had clawed her way through blood and torment, refusing to die beneath a false conviction. She had lived for this moment. For the truth. For vengeance. She wanted every lie burned away under moonlight. She wanted every coward and conspirator to be exposed. She wanted the ones who protected Scarlett Vale to feel their regret like a dagger twisting in their gut. And so, as Lord and Lady Duskcliff wept and begged for her forgiveness, Riley remained cold as winter frost. Without a flicker of hesitation, she reached down and rolled up her pant leg. The room went still.There, in the quiet glow of Lucien Duskgrave's estate, her disfigured leg was revealed. "This leg," she said, her voice low and calm-too calm, "was shattered during my third year in prison." Her left shin was twisted grotesquely, bones healed without alignment. A monstrous scar stretched across her skin, dark red and raised like a bloated centipede wrapped around her calf-ugly and cruel. "They broke it with six iron rods. And no one gave me treatment. I screamed. I bled. I writhed on the floor while the guards laughed. While the other inmates watched me suffer like an animal." The storm in her voice deepened. "It took three months for it to begin healing. Without a doctor. Without even a splint." Lord Duskcliff collapsed back to the ground, as if her words had struck him in the heart. Lady Duskcliff let out a broken cry, her nails digging into the marble floor. Even a simple glance at Riley's leg revealed the truth-her bones had never been set. The fracture had fused incorrectly, layers of tissue and scar wrapping around the damage like a grotesque cage. "Riley," Lady Duskcliff rasped, voice hoarse with tears, "we know we were wrong. We... we don't expect forgiveness. Just... let us atone. Please." She dropped to her knees and lowered her head, slamming her forehead into the floor in a painful, echoing thud. Her sobs tore through the room. "Just give us a chance to pay for what we've done." Even Lord Duskcliff's eyes were bloodshot, glassy with tears he could no longer hold back. And Tessa-Tessa of the Blackmaw Pack-stood frozen, tears spilling freely as she stared at Riley's leg. Her voice trembled. "Riley... it's my fault. If it hadn't been for me, none of this would've happened. I'm the one who should be begging for your forgiveness." Riley closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in deep, dragging the centuries-old rage back down into the cage of her chest. "No," she said, opening her eyes. "You're not the one I blame. You're a victim too." She looked at Tessa, her voice heavy. "But I need to know-on the day of Scarlett's Ascension Banquet... what really happened?"Tessa's hands curled into fists at her sides. Mention of Scarlett Vale lit a blaze of fury behind her eyes, but when she looked back at Riley, her expression was only sorrow. "She was my best friend," she said bitterly. "And she tried to kill me." The room was silent but for the sound of rain beyond the windows. Lucien stood still, jaw clenched. Matriarch Duskgrave, Mrs. Beck, and Mia looked stunned and pale. Even they hadn't heard what had truly happened that night. And as Tessa spoke-describing the events of that cursed night five years ago-Lord and Lady Duskcliff, despite having already learned the truth, could not stop trembling. The facts were undeniable. And they were horrifying. Scarlett Vale and Alpha Alaric had not planned for Tessa to be harmed that night. Their original target... had always been Riley. Their plan had been to stage a grand "accident" during the banquet. To injure Riley publicly-severely enough to justify a hospital transfer. Once there, no matter the extent of her injuries, the Ebonclaw Pack's plan was to declare her brain-dead. Alpha Alaric, as her legal guardian, would then sign the organ donation forms himself. Their goal? To harvest both of Riley's kidneys for Scarlett. And it didn't end there. Her heart. Her liver. Her eyes. Every viable organ would've been stripped from her body-while she was still technically alive. Riley sat frozen. She had always suspected that Scarlett and Alpha Alaric were after her kidney. But this... this was something else. This was slaughter masquerading as tragedy. This was premeditated murder. Her hands trembled. Not from fear-but from rage that pulsed like lava through her veins. She looked at Lucien, whose eyes were molten gold, barely holding back the beast inside him. His claws had unsheathed. Lady Duskgrave stood in silence, expression like carved stone. Mrs. Beck covered her mouth. Mia wept. No one in the room spoke. Because what Scarlett and Alpha Alaric had done... Was monstrous. And Riley? Riley was supposed to be their sacrifice. Their offering. Their spare parts.