Penelope's POV "Are you hurt?" I sink into the chair across from Dr. Reeves' desk. "The fire—are you okay?""I'm fine," Mom says with a sigh that sounds like it carries the weight of the world. "But the basement is destroyed. All my files, all my evidence—years of work, gone.""He did this," I say, my hands clenching around the phone. "Alpha Blackthorn. He threatened me and mentioned the fire in the same conversation.""Of course he did," Mom says, sounding defeated in a way I've never heard before. "He always wins, sweetheart. Always.""No," I say, refusing to accept that. "We'll rebuild the case, get new evidence. There has to be another way.""There isn't," Mom says, her voice cracking. "I've been fighting this battle since you were young. I'm tired, Penelope. So tired.""Mom" I start, but she cuts me off."Let it go," she says. "Focus on Timothy, on your mate bond, on building a future. The past is gone, literally up in smoke.""I can't just let him win," I say, the words coming
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