CHAPTER FIVE

EXPOSED CLAIMS

Nina’s POV.

The room went deadly silent as the video continued to play.

There I was on the screen, standing far too close to Axel and the two men beside him. The angle was clearly manipulated, it was carefully zoomed, cropped, edited to remove the main context.

It showed the two men smiling at me, biting down on my lower lips another time, Axel’s hand briefly hovering near my arm before pulling back.

Anyone watching without knowing the truth would think I was conspiring with enemies.

“So?” Nate drawled, leaning back in his chair like a king who had already won.

“Care to explain why you were meeting Shadow Clan outlaws and biker Alphas behind the pack’s back?”

Shadow clan?! Really? So that was why they looked familiar? Shit, how could they be my mate?

A murmur rippled through the elders, pulling me back from my thoughts into the reality before.

“Shadow Clan?” Elder Josie whispered in disbelief.

My chin tautened, but I forced myself to stay calm.

“That video proves nothing,” I said calmly, though my pulse was racing.

“It was merely an act of kindness, I saved a child who was in danger and they turned out to be her fathers. Simple as that.” I pressed my lips together, what I just said sounded insane.

Fathers? Who on earth would believe that a girl had three fathers? I can't even understand or explain.

Gina scoffed. “Fathers? Don't you think you are mentally deranged? So you happen to save a child and not just any child.” She paused, her eyes and tone mocking.

“But the daughter of three of the most dangerous men connected to the New Revengers Biker Club?”

Her words were poison, carefully chosen, aimed at proving a point.

“And you are trying to make us believe you were with three of them because of a child? You are pathetic, Nina.” Nate spat, his lips curled in disdain, nostrils flaring as he wrinkled his nose.

“Enough,” Elder Moses barked. “Alpha Nate, where did you get this footage?”

Nate’s eyes flickered for a fraction of a second before he smiled. “Security cameras, I mean they are everywhere and the city is full of them.”

“A lie,” I said flatly.

He snapped his head towards me, his gaze burning. “Watch your tone.”

“No,” I snapped, finally losing my patience, as everything I felt this past years surfaced.

“I’ve watched my tone while you beat me, humiliated me, drugged me, and tried to steal my parents’ legacy. But now I am done.”

Gasps echoed around the room.

Gina’s face went pale. “Nina, why are you lying? Nate would never…”

“Shut up,” I said coldly, turning to her. “You lost the right to say my name the moment you climbed into my bed.”

The elders erupted into arguments, voices overlapping.

Nate slammed his fist on the table.

“Enough! She is unstable, Nina, my wife has been having mental issues these days.” He took a deep breath, his voice softened and his eyes dropped.

“The bruise on her body was as a result of what she did to herself,” he rolled up his sleeves, revealing cuts and bruises on his two hands.

“Oh my gosh, she did this to you?” Gina gently touched the bruises and Axel flinched.

“I didn't want to humiliate her, that's why I offered for her to step down peacefully. I can't stay with a woman who hurts me and everyone around.”

If I wasn't the one he was talking about, I would have fallen for their genius acting skills.

The hall went quite as I jammed my hands together, applauding their raw talent, the hall went silent.

“What a great show!” I leaned forward, meeting his gaze head-on. “Why don't you admit you are terrified?”

My newfound boldness terrified me, but I was definitely loving it.

“Are you that scared to lose everything?” I intertwined my fingers and placed them on my laps which were crossed under the table.

“If that's the case, you need more than these poor acting skills.”

I watched his fist roll into a ball, he was ready to attack.

“Miss Hartford,” Nate’s lawyer cut in smoothly, “regardless of emotions, the evidence shows repeated contact with known enemies of the pack. According to pack law…”

“The same pack law that states no Alpha may accuse Luna without undeniable proof of betrayal.” I asked with a smirk on my face.

I turned to Mr. Bruce. “Do we have the original will?”

The room stilled.

Nate’s head snapped toward him. “What will?”

“The will my parents signed before they died,” I said, my voice steady even as my heart thundered. “Not the copy you conveniently manipulated after I handed everything to you.”

Mr. Bruce swallowed. “I… I requested it from the vault last night.”

“And?” Elder Moses urged.

He hesitated, then placed a thick file on the table.

Nate stood abruptly. “This is ridiculous.”

“Sit,” Elder Moses growled, his Alpha aura flaring.

Mr. Bruce opened the file with trembling hands. “According to the original will… the pack was never meant to be permanently handed to Alpha Nate.”

Silence descended on the room.

“It states that leadership would remain with Nina Hartford temporarily, until Ryan Hartford returned to claim his birthright.”

Gina gasped. “That’s impossible!”

“Ryan?!” Nate repeated, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

I watched their reactions with so much satisfaction, thank God Ryan warned earlier.

“Yes,” Mr. Bruce said. “The Alpha and Luna acknowledged his lifestyle, but they never disowned him. They believed he would one day return stronger and wiser.”

Nate’s face twisted with fury. “That document is forged.”

“Actually,” a familiar voice drawled from the doorway, “yours is.”

Every head turned.

Ryan stepped into the room, leather jacket draped over his shoulders, eyes blazing like a storm. Behind him stood three figures I hadn’t expected to see so soon.

Axel and his brothers, Lina stirred with so much excitement I had never experienced before.

Mate? That was what she kept whispering, ignoring the tension in the room.

The air became extremely tense, wolves stirred, Elders bristled.

“You,” Nate snarled. “You have no right to be here.”

Ryan smiled without humor. “Funny. My bloodline says otherwise.”

Axel’s gaze found mine, filled with longing and restraint. He didn’t step closer, he didn’t say a word.

“We came, because this so-called Alpha has been playing everyone like fools. He had the guts to forge wills, edit footage, abuse his own wife and that video?” He scoffed. “Shot by his man.”

Nate lunged to his feet. “Lies!”

Kaiden stepped forward, his presence overwhelming. “Careful, Alpha. You’re standing in a room full of people who are suspecting you.”

“Suspecting me? I did nothing but love her.” He shook Gina off him and walked towards me.

Before he could get to where I was standing, the three men stood in front of me.