Semua Bab The Alpha's Scorned Bride: Bab 181 - Bab 187

Ava’s POV.Victor's expression hardened into stone. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black card. The same one I had left behind.He set it on the table between us."Keep this," he said. "Buy what you need. If it's not enough, let me know."For a moment, I only stared at the card.Money… that was all he ever offered. As if silver and paper could mend broken bonds or wash blood from guilty hands.My wolf bared her teeth.Throw it at him.But before I could move, Victor turned and walked toward the door.I snatched the black card off the table and hurled it at his back. It struck the wall beside the door and clattered to the floor."Victor, are you deaf?" I shouted, my voice ragged with fury. "We're done. I never want to see you again for the rest of my life!"He paused for half a second but didn't say anything. He didn't even bother to pick up the card.Then he disappeared down the stairwell like a shadow slipping away. The silence he left behind was worse than his presence.

Ava's POVA visible shiver ran through Nora. I knew how cruel it sounded, and I also knew I did not care.Victor and Laura had taken a soft-hearted woman and ground her against stone until only sharp edges remained.Nora sighed heavily and motioned for Richard to sit down and eat. Neither of them argued further. They chose, wisely, to ignore the boy outside.So did I… at first.*****By ten o’clock, the outside remained quiet. At last, Nora could not hold herself back.“Ava... what if the kid gets abducted?”I leaned back calmly, wiping my hands with a napkin.“If he gets kidnapped,” I said evenly, “then the kidnappers can demand ransom from the Smith family.” I met Nora’s eyes. “What does that have to do with me?”I felt the old ache stir in my chest, but I kept my face unreadable. “Does that child even call me Mother?”No… to the world, he was the son of Laura and Victor, not mine.“Ava,” Nora said softly, her voice tight with worry, “I’m not concerned about him. I’m afraid they’ll

Ava's POVRichard and Nora had to be close. They had to be searching nearby. I just needed to hold on until we found them.Just a little farther. But my body was too weak.I coughed and spat a mouthful of blood onto the pavement.Jasper gasped. I slapped a hand over my mouth and kept running.Another cough tore free, and warm blood spilled through my fingers, splattering across Jasper’s cheek as I dragged him onward.He looked up at me then and saw my pale face, my tightly drawn brows, the blood, and the pain I could no longer hide.And for the first time since I had known him, the arrogance left his eyes.“Damn bitch!” Ryan’s voice roared through the air. He had reached us.Before I could steady myself, his hand tangled in my hair, yanking hard enough to make my vision blur. The world spun, and then my back slammed against a tree with sickening force.Then came the slap.My head snapped to the side, the crack echoing unnaturally loud to my heightened hearing. My wolf snarled, clawing