- 20 hours ago
Relife The Heiress's Revenge
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Someone had spiked my fiancé's drink.
00:02When he started tearing open Serena Blackwood's dress at the Blackwood Gala,
00:05I did not rush in to stop him the way I had in my last life.
00:08Back then, I had been terrified he would offend Marcus Blackwood,
00:11a man famous for protecting his own at any cost.
00:14I threw myself between them,
00:17drugged out of his mind, dragged me into a guest room, and raped me.
00:21From that night on, the entire pack's old money circle said I had climbed into his bed on purpose.
00:25After I married him, the torment only got worse.
00:28In five years, I got pregnant seven times.
00:31Every baby was lost in another convenient accident.
00:34They called me a slut, a used-up whore,
00:36a woman who must have been passed around by half the men in town before she ever wore Evan's ring.
00:41My parents poured everything they had into making my life survivable in the Brooks household.
00:45They helped push Evan onto the council.
00:47And on the night I went into labor,
00:49Evan and Serena held me down and forced drug-laced water down my throat.
00:52I bled out on the birthing bed.
00:54If you hadn't stuck your nose in that night,
00:55Serena and I would have completed our mate-hand years ago.
00:58You ruined my fated mate.
01:00This is what you owe us.
01:02Then he smothered the baby I had nearly died delivering,
01:05right in front of me.
01:06Blood and tears soaked my face.
01:08When my last breath left me,
01:10there was nothing left in me but hatred.
01:12Then I opened my eyes again.
01:13I was back at the Blackwood Gala.
01:15Back on the day someone spiked Evan's drink.
01:17This time,
01:18I would let them finish the bond they had spent a lifetime blaming me for.
01:22Evan, please!
01:23Serena Blackwood's breathy,
01:24embarrassed moan slipped out of the Lakeview guest suite.
01:27It sounded soft enough to pass for refusal,
01:29and loud enough to be meant for everyone in the hall.
01:32I stood outside the door,
01:33and my stomach dropped.
01:34Through the crack,
01:35Evan Brooks' eyes were bloodshot.
01:37Evan Brooks' eyes were bloodshot.
01:39His bow tie hung crooked at his throat
01:41as he pinned Serena against the floor-to-ceiling window,
01:43and tore open her custom silver-green gown.
01:46Clara,
01:46we have to go in and save her.
01:48Her knuckles white.
01:49Grace Miller grabbed my sleeve.
01:51I looked at the two tangled shadows inside.
01:53Then at Grace,
01:54who looked desperate to rush in on my behalf.
01:56I almost laughed.
01:57Save who?
01:58The woman who in my last life
01:59helped Evan drug me
02:01and leave me bleeding out on a birthing bed?
02:03Or the monster who smothered my child with his own hands?
02:05Evan comes from the minor pack branch.
02:10If he really hurts Serena tonight,
02:12Marcus Blackwood will never let him walk away.
02:14Clara, what are you waiting for?
02:15Did you forget what Mr. Ashford said?
02:17Evan's father had old ties with the Ashfords.
02:19You were supposed to look out for him.
02:21If Evan is ruined here,
02:22your father will blame you.
02:23Grace kept her voice low,
02:25but every word came faster than the last.
02:27She had wanted Evan for years.
02:29She could not wait for me
02:30to sign a mate contract with him,
02:31just so she could follow us
02:33into the Brooks household
02:34and become his hidden mistress.
02:35In my last life,
02:36when I crawled toward the door covered in blood
02:38and tried to call for help,
02:39Grace was the one who pinned my hands and feet down.
02:42She stepped on my bleeding stomach again and again,
02:44smiling as she said,
02:51I clenched my fingers
02:52and swallowed the urge
02:53to strangle her on the spot.
02:55I'll go in and hold him off.
02:56I lowered my eyes.
02:57My voice shook.
02:58Go in and hold him off.
02:59You go to the front hall
03:00and get my mother in security.
03:02Remember, don't alarm the other guests.
03:03Remember, don't alarm the other guests.
03:05The excitement in Grace's eyes
03:06almost broke through her act.
03:08She agreed at once
03:09and hurried away.
03:09She moved like someone
03:10who had just been handed an exclusive scandal.
03:13It had been the same in my last life.
03:14The whole thing could still have been buried
03:16by the Blackwoods.
03:17But Grace had dragged over the council spouses,
03:19old money heiresses,
03:20and donors from the front hall.
03:22They all saw me half-dressed,
03:24pinned under Evan on the bed.
03:25My mother fainted on the spot.
03:26My father spent half a lifetime
03:28building his reputation,
03:29and that night,
03:30it was dragged through the mud.
03:32Even the Ashford girls
03:33became cocktail hour gossip because of me.
03:35Since Grace was so good
03:36at gathering an audience,
03:37I would let her.
03:38Let every important guest
03:39in that front hall
03:40come watch the live sex show
03:41already waiting for them.
03:42And let my dear husband
03:43from my last life
03:44have exactly what he deserved.
03:46A ladder straight into the Blackwood family.
03:48I crouched outside the Lakeview guest suite,
03:50and a savage kind of relief
03:51ran through my whole body.
03:52Patricia Brooks had not yet
03:54forced my face toward the fireplace,
03:55and burned a scar into me
03:57that no powder could hide.
03:58I had not yet smelled infected flesh
04:00mixed with burned salve.
04:01My knees had not yet been ruined
04:03from kneeling on the Brooks household stone floor
04:05until the tissue died.
04:06The Brooks household stone floor
04:07until the tissue died,
04:09turning me into the crippled
04:10whore everyone whispered about.
04:11My belly felt lighter too.
04:12It was not aching every hour
04:14from baby after baby being taken from me.
04:16My nails dug into my palm.
04:18The sharp pain told me
04:19this was not a dream.
04:20When footsteps sounded down the hall,
04:22I lifted my hand
04:23and slapped myself hard across the face,
04:25again and again.
04:26This face,
04:27still untouched by the ruin of my last life,
04:29swelled red almost at once.
04:32I had been slapped so often
04:33in the Brooks household
04:34that even now,
04:35when I split my own lip
04:36and felt blood drip down my chin,
04:38it barely hurt.
04:39Clara,
04:39why are you still here?
04:40Grace came rushing over
04:41with a crowd of donor wives
04:43and council spouses
04:44in evening gowns.
04:45The moment she saw me
04:46still guarding the door,
04:47panic flashed across her face.
04:49I pinched the soft inside
04:50of my thigh as hard as I could.
04:52My eyes went red at once.
04:53Then I rushed forward
04:54with tears all over my face
04:55and threw my arms out
04:56in front of the sweet door.
04:57The corridor's crystal light
04:59spilled over me.
05:00The handprints on my face
05:01and the blood at the corner
05:02of my mouth
05:03landed clearly
05:03in every pair of eyes.
05:05The handprints on my face
05:06and the blood at the corner
05:07of my mouth
05:07landed clearly
05:08in every pair of eyes.
05:10One woman's champagne glass
05:11rose halfway to her lips.
05:12Someone cursed under her breath.
05:14The daughter of the Ashford family
05:15was an old blood heiress.
05:17On any other day,
05:18even a scraped finger
05:19would have been enough
05:20to send the whole family office
05:21into a panic.
05:22Now half my face was swollen
05:23and blood was still running
05:25from my mouth.
05:26Catherine Blackwood
05:26was the first to frown.
05:27Tonight was the Blackwood Gallop.
05:29If a guest was injured
05:30in her family's private wing,
05:31it was the Blackwoods
05:32who lost face.
05:33She had just started toward me
05:35when I pressed myself
05:36flat against the door.
05:37Don't go in.
05:39Please don't go in.
05:40The warmth Catherine
05:41had been wearing
05:42for the room
05:42went cold at once.
05:45Clara,
05:45this is the private wing
05:46of the Blackwood estate.
05:47It is not an Ashford doorway
05:49for you to go.
05:49She lifted one hand
05:50and two house staff members
05:51immediately stepped forward
05:53to pull me away.
05:53I acted as if
05:55the lightest touch
05:55might shatter me.
05:56I was trembling hard,
05:57but I clung to the doorframe
05:59and would not let go.
06:00No,
06:01you can't go in.
06:02Half staff and security
06:03came together
06:03to pry my hands loose.
06:05In the chaos,
06:06someone's stiletto
06:07came down hard
06:07on the back of my hand.
06:08Something in the bone
06:09shifted one.
06:10Something in the bone
06:11shifted one.
06:12I screamed before
06:13I could stop myself.
06:15Helena Ashford
06:16had stayed silent
06:16because this was
06:17the Blackwoods' house,
06:18but now pain and fear
06:19broke across her face.
06:20She grabbed my arm.
06:22Clara,
06:22what are you doing?
06:23Making a scene
06:24at someone else's
06:25gala like this.
06:25What do you expect
06:26the Ashford family to do?
06:27I looked at my mother
06:28standing in front of me,
06:30alive and whole.
06:31Her hair not yet
06:31turned white overnight
06:32because of my scandal.
06:33Mom,
06:33don't make me...
06:34Tears flooded my eyes.
06:36I have a reason.
06:37I really can't
06:38let them go in.
06:39Helena's voice
06:39changed with panic.
06:40What are you even saying?
06:42My knees gave out
06:43and I dropped directly
06:45in front of Catherine.
06:46Catherine, please.
06:46Don't.
06:47The whispers in the crowd
06:48finally broke loose.
06:50What is wrong
06:50with Clara Ashford?
06:51There isn't really
06:52something shameful
06:53behind that door.
06:54Is there?
06:55I curled up at the threshold,
06:56holding up the hand
06:57that was already swelling,
06:58my whole body shaking
07:00so hard I could not stop it.
07:01Catherine's face
07:02went completely dark.
07:04Very good.
07:05A perfectly decent
07:06Blackwood gala
07:07and somehow Ashford's
07:08daughter is blocking my door.
07:10Since she has made
07:11this much of a scene,
07:12I will not be the only one
07:13deciding what happens next.
07:15Go to the front hall.
07:17Bring Marcus and Richard here.
07:19Go to the front hall.
07:20Bring Marcus and Richard here.
07:22I pressed down the smile
07:24tugging at my mouth.
07:25Those slaps
07:25had not been wasted.
07:27At last,
07:27the scene was big enough.
07:29Tonight was the
07:29Blackwood Alliance gala.
07:31Marcus Blackwood
07:31and my father,
07:32Richard Ashford,
07:33were not the only
07:34powerful men
07:35in the front hall.
07:36Several Whitmore
07:36High Council candidates
07:37were here, too.
07:38Evan and I had been
07:39husband and wife
07:40for an entire lifetime
07:41after all.
07:42This time,
07:42of course I had to make sure
07:43he and his beloved Serena
07:45had a full audience.
07:46Within minutes,
07:47Marcus arrived with a crowd
07:48of councilmen and donors
07:49at his back,
07:50security following
07:51close behind.
07:52Richard Ashford
07:53moved the fastest.
07:53The moment he saw me
07:55covered in mud and blood,
07:56guarding the door
07:57as if my life depended on it,
07:58his face changed.
08:00The next second,
08:00he lifted his hand
08:01and slapped me hard
08:02across the face.
08:03Clara, you've always known
08:03how to behave.
08:04Have you lost your mind tonight?
08:06The council spouses
08:08around us shook their heads.
08:09In the East Coast
08:10Pac-Zircle,
08:11I had always been
08:11the Ashford family's
08:12most proper daughter.
08:13Now I was crying
08:14and making a scene
08:15at the Blackwood Gala,
08:16blocking the private wing
08:17and refusing to let
08:18anyone through.
08:19Half the obedient reputation
08:20I had built over the years
08:21was already gone.
08:22Half the obedient reputation
08:24I had built over the years
08:25was already gone.
08:27Marcus's expression darkened.
08:28He gave me one cold glance.
08:30Then he simply raised his hand.
08:31The security men
08:32at his side
08:33stepped forward,
08:34lifted me away
08:35like they were removing
08:36an out-of-control guest,
08:37and threw me down
08:38near the rain-soaked edge
08:39of the lawn.
08:39It had rained two days ago.
08:41The Blackwood Estate's
08:42stone path
08:43had been scrubbed spotless,
08:44but the grass beside
08:45it was still full of mud.
08:47The hem of my pale lavender gown
08:48sank into the muck,
08:49filthy enough to make me look
08:50as if I had crawled
08:51out of a service alley.
08:53Everyone walked around me
08:54and headed straight
08:54for the sweet door.
08:56Helena's tears fell in a rush.
08:57How are you supposed to stand
08:58in fact society after this?
09:00I wiped the muddy water
09:02from my face
09:02and smiled at her.
09:03The crowd had barely
09:04reached the door
09:05when every step
09:06stopped at once.
09:06A woman's moan,
09:08soft and sticky,
09:09slid through the crack,
09:10tangled with a man's
09:11low, restrained panting.
09:13The sound was so obscene
09:14it made heat crawl
09:15up people's faces.
09:16Then came the dull thud
09:17of a headboard
09:17hitting the wall,
09:18again and again.
09:20No one needed to go in
09:20to know exactly
09:21how lively it was inside.
09:23Several donor wives
09:24who had brought
09:24young daughters with them
09:25immediately covered
09:26the girls' ears
09:27and ordered house staff
09:28to take them away.
09:29Then the woman inside
09:30let out another
09:30honey-sweet sound.
09:31Her voice stretched thin
09:33and breathless at the end.
09:34The guests looked
09:35from one face to another,
09:36each expression
09:37uglier than the last.
09:38The Blackwoods
09:39had humiliated themselves
09:40completely tonight.
09:41In broad daylight,
09:42in a guest wing,
09:43doing something this lewd,
09:44an outspoken council wife
09:45clutched her evening back.
09:47Her voice was low,
09:48but every word
09:49landed clearly.
09:50The way everyone
09:51looked at Marcus
09:51and Catherine
09:52now carried
09:52an unmistakable
09:53edge of mockery.
09:54Marcus' face
09:55flushed dark purple.
09:56Beneath his beard,
09:57his jaw clenched tight.
09:59I pushed in
09:59from the edge of the crowd
10:00and caught his sleeve
10:01with trembling fingers.
10:02I shouldn't go in.
10:04At least think
10:05of the reputation
10:06of whoever is inside.
10:07Marcus' gaze
10:08cut quickly
10:09across the guests.
10:10The Whitmore heirs
10:11stood behind him
10:11in immaculate
10:12black formal wear.
10:13He was not afraid
10:14of offending
10:14some irrelevant guest,
10:16but whoever dared
10:16to do this
10:17at the Blackwood Alliance Gala
10:18had dragged the Blackwood name
10:19through the mud
10:20on purpose.
10:20There was no dignity
10:22left for him to protect.
10:23Marcus ripped the
10:24Brass Master key
10:25from the house steward's
10:26heavy key ring.
10:27The metal keys
10:27clattered hard
10:28against the doorframe.
10:29Move.
10:30His voice came out
10:31in a low growl.
10:32He shoved me aside
10:32without mercy and jammed.
10:34The brass key
10:34into the iron lock.
10:36With a violent crash,
10:37the frame of the
10:37Lakeview guest suite
10:38split open.
10:39Half the door
10:40hung crooked,
10:40then dropped hard
10:41onto the carpet.
10:42The sky outside
10:43had not gone fully dark,
10:44but the suite blazed
10:45with light.
10:45The white wall scouts
10:46lit up the mess
10:47on the floor.
10:47A kicked-side gown,
10:48a shirt,
10:49and a piece of
10:50red lace lingerie.
10:51The whole room
10:51reeked of sex and sweat,
10:53sharp and fishy
10:53like Bradford blossoms
10:54in spring,
10:55strong enough
10:55to tighten the back
10:56of the throat.
10:57Some council spouses
10:58covered their mouths,
10:59others cried out.
11:00Marcus was already
11:01past reason.
11:02He overturned the
11:03frosted glass screen
11:04with one brutal shove.
11:05On the king bed,
11:06Evan Brooks was
11:06completely naked,
11:07with a woman's
11:08bare thighs hooked
11:09over his shoulders.
11:10The red lace lingerie
11:11was still clenched
11:12in his hand.
11:13The air went dead silent.
11:15Even the sound
11:16of high heels
11:17sinking into the carpet
11:18seemed loud.
11:20Marcus?
11:21He fumbled
11:22for the comforter,
11:23trying to drag it
11:24over the woman
11:24beneath him
11:25and hide her
11:26from view.
11:27To Marcus,
11:27that looked less
11:28like shame
11:29than provocation.
11:31Evan might have been
11:32a rising pack attorney
11:33this year,
11:33but in Marcus's eyes,
11:35he was still nothing
11:36more than a lower pack
11:37legal associate
11:38with no real power
11:39and no real bloodline.
11:41A scholarship-born climber
11:42like him
11:43would not even
11:43have been allowed
11:44near the Blackwood
11:44side door
11:45on an ordinary night.
11:46And now he had dared
11:47to turn the Blackwood
11:48guest wing
11:48into this kind
11:49of debauchery.
11:50It was uglier
11:50than spitting
11:51in Marcus Blackwood's
11:52face.
11:53Low-born trash!
11:55Marcus's eyes
11:55went bloodshot.
11:56He grabbed the iron poker
11:58from beside the fireplace
11:59and swung it down
12:00hard at the bedpost.
12:01Evan clutched
12:02the woman against himself
12:03and scrambled naked
12:04across the bed,
12:04trying to dodge.
12:05The sight of him
12:06stumbling bare
12:07in front of every
12:07important guest
12:08nearly drove Marcus
12:09and Catherine mad.
12:10One council space
12:11after another
12:12looked away,
12:12stepping back
12:13on their heels.
12:14Catherine's chest
12:14rose and fell
12:15with fury.
12:16She had no polished
12:18hostess mask
12:18left to wear.
12:19At this point,
12:21the Blackwoods
12:21had no dignity
12:22left to protect.
12:23I want to see
12:23which little slit
12:24dared go into heat
12:25in my house!
12:27Catherine,
12:28for my sake,
12:30don't.
12:31But Evan Brooks
12:32had no sake
12:33to speak of
12:33in the Blackwood house.
12:34Catherine let out
12:35a cold laugh
12:36and pulled
12:36with both hands.
12:37With one harsh rip,
12:38she tore
12:39the entire comforter
12:40away.
12:40A completely naked
12:41woman was exposed
12:42in front of everyone.
12:43She covered her face
12:44with both hands,
12:45her legs pressed
12:46tightly together,
12:47too afraid to lift
12:47her head.
12:48Several bright red
12:49hickeys stood out
12:49on her pale shoulders.
12:51Her hair was damp
12:52and tangled,
12:53as if she had just
12:53been dragged out
12:54of the sheets.
12:55The Blackwood female
12:56aides beside Catherine
12:57reacted first.
12:58They stepped forward,
12:59pinned the woman's wrists
12:59and ankles,
13:00and yanked her hair back,
13:01forcing her face up
13:02for everyone to see.
13:03Little slut,
13:04still trying to hide?
13:05And that beautiful,
13:06sweat-damp,
13:07painfully familiar face
13:08was shown to every
13:09person in the suite.
13:10A glass knocked
13:11against a serving tray
13:11with a bright,
13:12brittle sound.
13:13The entire room
13:14seemed to explode.
13:15Serena Blackwood
13:15was there,
13:16naked and exposed,
13:17helplessly displayed
13:18in front of every
13:18council witness.
13:19Catherine Black
13:20froze on the spot.
13:20She looked as if
13:21someone had struck
13:22her straight
13:22between the eyes.
13:23One hand flew
13:24to her head
13:24as she staggered back.
13:25The guests looked
13:26from the scandal
13:26pair on the bed
13:27to me.
13:28My eyes reddened
13:29and tears rolled
13:30down my face
13:31at exactly the right
13:32moment.
13:32I did not need
13:33to say anything anymore.
13:34Everyone had already
13:35put the story together
13:36for themselves.
13:37I was an old-blood
13:38Ashvind heiress.
13:39Who would dare
13:40put a hand on me
13:41so easily?
13:41The answer seemed obvious.
13:43I must have stumbled
13:44onto Serena's
13:45filthy secret.
13:46Serena must have
13:47slapped me,
13:47and then she must have
13:48forced me to stand
13:49outside and guard
13:50the door for the
13:51two of them.
13:52Bastard!
13:52He tightened his grip
13:54on the fireplace poker
13:55and brought it down
13:55hard across
13:56Ebonbrooks' back.
13:57The iron edge
13:58scraped through flesh
13:59and a long,
14:00ugly gash
14:00split open at once.
14:02I lowered my head
14:03and used the back
14:03of my mudsteed hand
14:04to hide the corner
14:05of my mouth.
14:06Ebonbrooks,
14:07you deserve that one.
14:09A raw scream
14:10tore out of
14:10Ebon's throat.
14:11He touched
14:12the torn skin
14:12on his back
14:13and tried desperately
14:14to explain.
14:15Blame.
14:15Marcus, listen!
14:16I was drugged!
14:17Someone set me up!
14:18Marcus was beyond listening.
14:20He raised the fireplace
14:21pinel again
14:22and swung it straight
14:23for Ebon's neck.
14:24Marcus, stand down!
14:25He's still a licensed
14:26council attorney.
14:26We investigate first.
14:28I watched coldly,
14:29almost regretful.
14:30What a shame!
14:31One cleaner hit
14:32and he might have died
14:33right there.
14:33No matter how furious
14:34Marcus was,
14:35he could not ignore
14:36the Whitmerts in front of them.
14:37Investigate!
14:38Tear the Blackwood estate
14:39apart if you have to.
14:40Bar logs,
14:41cameras,
14:41badge swipes,
14:42sweet access,
14:43I want everything!
14:45Ebon let out
14:46a breath of relief,
14:47then swept one cold
14:48glance over me.
14:49That single look
14:50told me everything.
14:51He had come back too.
14:53Those were not the eyes
14:54of a newly admitted
14:54PAC attorney.
14:55They were Ebonbrooks' eyes
14:57after years soaked
14:57in council politics
14:58in our last life.
14:59Still on his knees,
15:01he planted both hands
15:02against his thighs
15:02and slowly straightened
15:03his spine.
15:04However I was set up tonight,
15:06Serena's public standing
15:06is already ruined.
15:07I'm willing to sign
15:08a responsibility statement,
15:09acknowledge this
15:10mate bond scandal,
15:11and enter an alliance
15:11engagement with Serena.
15:13He thought that sounded noble.
15:14He thought Marcus and Catherine
15:15would be grateful
15:16that he was offering
15:17to clean up Blackwood's mess.
15:19P!
15:19You think you're what exactly?
15:21A no-pittage
15:22low-pack cur
15:22thinks he can crawl
15:23into the Blackwood bloodline?
15:24Evan squeezed his eyes shut,
15:26his entire face flushed red.
15:28In all his years,
15:29no one had ever humiliated him
15:30like this in public.
15:32After all,
15:32in my last life,
15:33whenever he dealt
15:34with Marcus,
15:35Marcus had always
15:36clapped him on the shoulder
15:37and called him promising.
15:38Marcus had even said
15:40he admired a man
15:40who climbed by talent.
15:42What a joke.
15:43In that life,
15:44Evan Brooks
15:44had been my husband.
15:45My father,
15:46Richard Ashford,
15:47was the PAC council's
15:48chief legal strategist.
15:49The respect Marcus gave him
15:50had never belonged to Evan.
15:52It had belonged
15:52to the Ashford family.
15:53I would snap
15:54my own daughter's neck
15:55and dump her in the Hudson
15:56before I let trash like you
15:58touch my bloodline.
16:00In a fresh burst of age,
16:01he kicked Evan hard enough
16:02to send him crashing
16:03into the low table.
16:06Evan coughed up
16:07a mouthful of blood
16:08on the spot.
16:09You touched a Blackwood daughter
16:10and now you dare
16:11use her as your ladder?
16:13Security,
16:14drag him out,
16:15beat him until he can't
16:16open his mouth again.
16:17Evan had not even managed
16:19to get up before
16:19Blackwood security
16:20prissed his arms and legs.
16:22They dragged him
16:22toward the door
16:23like a bag
16:23of rotting trash.
16:25No!
16:26This isn't how
16:27it was supposed to happen!
16:28Marcus!
16:28Serena,
16:29Rena,
16:29save me!
16:29Marcus grabbed
16:30a whiskey tumbler
16:30and smashed it
16:31against Evan's head.
16:32Glass splattered,
16:33Evan's scalp
16:33slid open at once.
16:34Blood ran down
16:35his brow
16:35and dripped
16:36all over the floor.
16:37Gag him.
16:39A cur like him
16:40doesn't deserve
16:40to say Serena's name.
16:42Serena Blackwood
16:43was completely stunned.
16:44She kept her head down
16:45and did not dare
16:46say a single word
16:47for Evan Brooks.
16:48Marcus!
16:49You can't be this heartless!
16:51She is our daughter!
16:52She was harmed!
16:53How can you tell her to die?
16:55Of course Marcus
16:56had spoken in rage.
16:58Serena was still
16:58his own blood.
17:00He could not truly
17:01bring himself to kill her.
17:02But after saying
17:03so much in front of everyone,
17:04he could not simply
17:05let it go either.
17:06So he slammed
17:07one hand down
17:07on the coffee table.
17:08Are my investigators dead?
17:10Who dared touch the drinks
17:11at a Blackwood gala?
17:12Do I pay security
17:13to be useless?
17:14If you can't give me
17:14an answer,
17:15I will tear apart
17:16the entire staff chain.
17:17A security supervisor
17:18came in with his shoulders
17:19hunched,
17:20his voice shaking.
17:21Marcus,
17:21the badge log shows
17:22that Maya Ellis,
17:23Serena's personal aide,
17:24handled Evan's glass.
17:24The room broke
17:25into low,
17:25crackling murmurs.
17:26Every pair of eyes
17:27turned to Serena.
17:28A personal aide
17:28usually acted
17:29on her employer's instructions.
17:30No!
17:31It wasn't me!
17:32It was Maya!
17:33Maya wanted to hurt me!
17:35Maya Ellis looked less
17:36like a living person
17:37than a ghost.
17:38Trembling all over,
17:39she collapsed
17:40onto the floor.
17:41No!
17:43I didn't!
17:45She had just started
17:46to defend herself
17:47when she looked up
17:48and met Serena's eyes.
17:49The rest of the words
17:50died in her throat.
17:51If Maya told the truth,
17:53the Blackhills had
17:53a hundred ways
17:54to strip her of her job
17:55and every clean reference
17:56she had left.
17:57Serena threw herself
17:58at Maya,
17:59sobbing as she beat her.
18:00Was I not good to you?
18:02Why would you stab me
18:03in the back?
18:03It was me.
18:05I thought Serena
18:06favored Tessa Rowe
18:07and treated me unfairly.
18:08The guests looked
18:09at one another.
18:10The same faint mockery
18:12appeared on every face.
18:13That excuse
18:14was too weak to stand.
18:15But what else
18:16could they do?
18:17Serena was Marcus
18:17and Catherine's daughter.
18:19If they did not
18:19let Maya take the fall,
18:21were they supposed
18:21to admit Serena herself
18:22had gone into heat
18:23and dragged a man
18:24into bed?
18:25Marcus,
18:25who had been ready
18:26to beat someone
18:26to death a moment ago,
18:28suddenly looked as if
18:28a dirty rag had been
18:29shoved into his mouth.
18:30Serena was still
18:31hitting Maya and crying.
18:32Then,
18:33from the jacket
18:33draped over Serena's
18:34shoulders,
18:35a sealed clinic pouch
18:36slipped out.
18:37Maya had already
18:37been beaten weak.
18:38Her body tilted
18:39and she landed
18:39directly on top
18:40of the pouch.
18:41A small blood vial
18:42shattered under her weight.
18:43Fresh red spread
18:44instantly across
18:45the pale carpet.
18:46What is that?
18:46A private pack clinic
18:47label was stuck
18:48to the clear bag.
18:49Half a sheet of paper,
18:50already soaked
18:51at the edge
18:51with blood showed through.
18:53An ordinary gala guest
18:54might not have a clue,
18:55but among the council wives,
18:56healer donors
18:57and old money maidens here,
18:58who hasn't had to deal
18:59with a fertility scandal
19:00for the family.
19:01CG blood test results
19:02from a private clinic,
19:03a forged healer intake form
19:04and a fake bond status file.
19:05All that stuff is enough
19:06to rip the mask off,
19:07Serena as the innocent,
19:08wronged Luna candidate.
19:09Most of the gogglers
19:10don't know the ins and outs,
19:11so they're craning their necks
19:12asking everyone around.
19:13Every time someone asks,
19:14Serena's face goes even peeler.
19:16Evan Brooks,
19:16beaten bloody
19:17and dragged back
19:18into the suite,
19:19saw the evidence explode
19:20at exactly the wrong moment.
19:21He was still
19:22a licensed council attorney.
19:24No matter how furious
19:25Marcus was,
19:26Blackwood security
19:26did not dare beat him to death.
19:28If this had been Evan
19:29before the last life,
19:30he would have been
19:31nothing more than
19:31a newly risen pack lawyer.
19:33A shattered blood vial
19:34and half a sheet of
19:35HCG paperwork
19:35might not have meant
19:36much to him.
19:37But he had lived
19:38an entire life already.
19:39In his last life,
19:40he had climbed high
19:41in council circles.
19:42Paternity fraud,
19:43forged healer files,
19:45backroom scandal cleanup.
19:46What had he not seen?
19:47One look at the blood
19:48on the carpet,
19:49the soaked clinic date,
19:50and he understood.
19:51Evan was barely
19:52holding together
19:53from the beating.
19:53Yet somehow
19:54he found strength.
19:55He forced himself up
19:56and lunged
19:57toward the king bed.
19:58With one hand,
19:59he ripped back the comforter.
20:00The white fitted sheet
20:01was clean.
20:01There was nothing there
20:03that could shove the pup
20:03in Serena's belly
20:04onto tonight.
20:05The truly glaring proof
20:06was the blood-soaked paper.
20:08Sample collected,
20:09four weeks before gala.
20:11Gestational estimate,
20:12five weeks.
20:13Sire pending.
20:14Everyone had just seen
20:15Evan naked
20:16and pressed over Serena.
20:17But the evidence told them
20:18Serena had already
20:19been pregnant before tonight.
20:20She had even prepared
20:21a forged healer
20:22intake in advance,
20:23ready to frame herself
20:24as a Luna candidate
20:25ruined by this one night.
20:27Please.
20:27What a perfect
20:28little paternity trap.
20:29Too bad it had not
20:30closed neatly around
20:31Evan's throat.
20:32Even I had not expected
20:33the scene to turn
20:34this ugly this fast.
20:35In my last life,
20:36after I married Evan,
20:38I went to a private
20:38pack clinic during
20:39my first pregnancy.
20:40There,
20:41I happened to see a woman
20:42in a hood quietly
20:43asking for abortion medication.
20:44The clinic healer
20:45warned her that she was
20:46already close to 16 weeks.
20:48If she forced
20:49determination at that stage,
20:50her body might not
20:51withstand it.
20:52The woman had wrapped
20:53herself up carefully,
20:53but when she passed near me,
20:55I still caught a faint trace
20:57of custom scent suppressor.
20:58Across the entire
20:59East Coast pack circle,
21:00only Serena Blackwood
21:02loved that scent.
21:03At that point,
21:04three months had passed
21:04since the night at the
21:05Lakeview guest suite,
21:06which meant that when
21:07Evan was drugged tonight,
21:08Serena already had a pup
21:09more than a month along.
21:10Who dared bring that
21:11filthy drug into the
21:12Blackwood gala?
21:13The answer was suddenly
21:14obvious.
21:15Serena had wanted to find
21:16a public sire for
21:17somebody else's pup,
21:18and Evan Brooks was
21:19supposed to be the fall
21:20guy.
21:21Once I pieced it together,
21:22I could only think how
21:23ugly this world really was.
21:25In my last life,
21:26Evan and I had already
21:27been bound by the scandal.
21:28Trying to reopen the
21:29Blackwood incident from
21:30three months earlier would
21:31have been a joke,
21:32so I buried the truth and
21:33locked it away.
21:34This time,
21:35my plan had been simple.
21:36Let Serena and Evan both
21:37get what they wanted.
21:38One would find a father for
21:39the pup in her belly.
21:40The other would climb the
21:42Blackwood old blood
21:42ladder at last.
21:43I had not expected Serena's
21:45own clinic evidence to
21:46tear open first.
21:47Evan's face looked as if
21:48someone had slapped him in
21:49front of the entire room.
21:50He threw himself at
21:51Serena and seized her
21:52shoulders,
21:53Serena Blackwood!
21:54Shaking her hard.
21:55You set me up!
21:56You told me you had no
21:57registered bond.
21:58You said you wanted me and
22:00no one else.
22:00You told me you couldn't
22:01hold back your scent.
22:02That you would break
22:03council protocol just to
22:04give yourself to me.
22:05You used me as a public
22:06seer for another man's pup,
22:08you pregnant little whore!
22:09Serena shook in his grip
22:11like a soaked silk scarf,
22:12as if she might fall apart
22:13at any second.
22:14Her mouth opened and
22:15closed, but not a single
22:17word came out.
22:18Marcus heard every word,
22:19and his brows drew tight
22:21again.
22:21But this time,
22:22he had no ground to
22:23stand on.
22:24Even if he hated that a
22:25low-pack liability like
22:26Evan had overstepped,
22:27he had no reason left
22:28to keep beating him.
22:29Evan Brooks had been
22:30beaten too badly,
22:31and the truth had
22:32struck him too hard.
22:33Blood surged up his
22:34throat and sprayed
22:35across Serena Blackwood's
22:36face.
22:37Then he fell backward
22:38and passed out cold.
22:39The room erupted into
22:40chaos again.
22:41No matter how unwilling
22:42Marcus was, no matter
22:43how badly he still
22:44wanted to kill someone,
22:45he had to call in the
22:46estate medic and the
22:46pack healer.
22:47Several council wives
22:48looked at me with pity
22:49and tenderness.
22:50How did she get
22:51dragged into something
22:51like this?
22:53Clara has suffered
22:54too much tonight.
22:55One after another,
22:56they sighed for me.
22:57They believed I was a
22:58young heiress with no
22:59registered mate bond.
23:01Dragged for no reason
23:02into a sex scandal
23:02this filthy.
23:03Even if I was innocent,
23:05it was still a stain.
23:06My pack reputation
23:07and alliance prospects
23:08would take a hit.
23:09After tonight,
23:10the mate alliances
23:11open to me would
23:11probably drop by an
23:12entire tier.
23:13The Whitmore heirs
23:14especially would never
23:15consider me now.
23:16They had no idea.
23:18Compared with my last
23:19life when I married
23:20Evan and was slowly
23:21ground down inside the
23:21Brooks household,
23:22this was already an
23:23escape from death.
23:24Later, I heard that
23:25when Evan was carried
23:26back, he looked as if
23:28he had been dragged
23:28out of a pool of
23:29blood.
23:30Blackwood security knew
23:30Marcus was still
23:31furious, so they had
23:32put their backs into it.
23:34From the ER surgeon
23:35to the pack healer
23:35to the spinal specialist,
23:37every doctor who saw
23:38him only shook their
23:38head.
23:50Some said Evan was pitiful,
23:52a scholarship-born legal
23:53climber, ruined like this
23:55by the Blackwoods.
23:55Others said Evan deserved
23:57it.
23:57If he had not wanted to
23:58climb the Blackwood old
23:59blood ladder himself, he
24:01would never have suffered
24:01like this.
24:02The person who reacted
24:03most violently inside
24:04Ashford House was
24:05graced milk.
24:06Clara!
24:07If you had gone in and
24:08stopped it, Evan would
24:10never have ended up
24:11like this!
24:11He was perfectly fine
24:13and now he's lying in a
24:14bed half-broken!
24:15How can you still eat?
24:17I held a bowl of chilled
24:19almond porridge and took
24:20my time swallowing a
24:20spoonful.
24:22What reaction should I
24:24have?
24:24Should I go mourn at
24:25Evan's bedside like he's
24:27already dead?
24:28Grace's face flushed with
24:29anger.
24:29He's still alive, isn't he?
24:31How can you be so
24:32heartless?
24:34She realized she had
24:35crossed the line, her
24:36voice going soft at
24:37once.
24:38I only think Evan is
24:39pitiful.
24:40I didn't mean it that
24:41way.
24:42I looked coldly at
24:42Grace, the girl who
24:44had grown up beside me.
24:45If you pity Evan so
24:46much, then go take care
24:47of him.
24:48You don't need to enter
24:49my suite again.
24:50Grace snapped her head
24:51up as if she could not
24:52believe what she had
24:53heard.
24:53Marion, pull Grace's
24:54staff file, NDA,
24:55access badge, and
24:56housing agreement.
24:58Suspend her Ashford
24:59access immediately.
25:02The Brooks household
25:03needs a live-in aid,
25:04doesn't it?
25:04Send over her
25:05caregiving contract.
25:06If she refuses to
25:07leave, have security
25:08escort her off the
25:09property.
25:10Tell them the Ashfords
25:11and the Brooks go
25:12back years.
25:13We arrange someone
25:14specially to help care
25:15for Evan.
25:15After that, she does
25:16not come back.
25:19Only then did Grace
25:20seem to wake up.
25:21Clara, I was wrong.
25:22I shouldn't have said
25:23that.
25:23She crawled toward me,
25:25sobbing and begging.
25:25For the sake of all
25:26the years we grew up
25:27together, please forgive
25:28me this once.
25:29I almost wanted to
25:30forgive her.
25:31But when had Grace
25:32ever spared me for
25:33the sake of all the
25:33years we grew up
25:34together?
25:35It was not until the
25:36day I died in my last
25:37life, after hearing her
25:38words, that I finally
25:39understood.
25:40Why?
25:40After I became pregnant,
25:42after I had been
25:42careful and then more
25:43careful, I still lost
25:45one baby after another.
25:46With Grace at my side,
25:47altering my medication
25:48and my care records for
25:49Evan again and again,
25:51how could any child in my
25:52belly have survived?
25:53Of course she did not
25:54want to go to the
25:54Brooks household now.
25:55Of course.
25:56Evan and his mother,
25:57Patricia Brooks,
25:58lived in a worn-down
25:59duplex outside town.
26:01They were so poor that
26:02all they had left was
26:02one aging age.
26:03Now that Evan Brooks'
26:04leg was damaged, his
26:06council career was as
26:07good as over.
26:07On paper, no one could
26:09throw him out simply
26:10because he might need a
26:10cane.
26:11But after the sweet
26:12scandal at Blackwood
26:13Ridge, with a license
26:14review and ethics
26:15complaint and a DA
26:17inquiry pressing down
26:18layer after layer, who
26:19would dare put him
26:20anywhere near the public
26:20eye?
26:21Unless someone with real
26:22votes chose to protect
26:23him.
26:23And now, who would
26:24protect Evan Brooks?
26:25Ashford would not.
26:26Blackwood certainly
26:27would not.
26:28He had no family strong
26:29enough to lift him.
26:30He did have a handsome
26:31face, and at first, a
26:33few old-money families
26:34had considered him as a
26:35potential son-in-law.
26:36Now, those heiresses
26:37probably thought he
26:38carried bad luck.
26:39Because the scandal
26:40touched the High
26:40Council's reputation,
26:42Eleanor Whitmore took a
26:43personal interest.
26:44The High Council and
26:45the DA liaison turned
26:46Blackwood Ridge inside
26:47out.
26:47As for the pup in
26:48Serena Blackwood's
26:49belly, no one could
26:50say for certain who
26:51had fathered it.
26:51The personal aides around
26:53Serena had tried to
26:54protect her at first.
26:55But once the perjury
26:56warnings and immunity
26:57deals came down, one
26:58after another, they
26:59cracked.
27:00A stable hand.
27:01Gate security.
27:02A procurement
27:02runner.
27:03A jewelry store sales
27:04guy.
27:05Serena had never been
27:06picky.
27:06As long as a man had
27:08a decent face, she
27:09dared drag him into
27:10her bed.
27:10After a while, the
27:11number of men she had
27:12slept with was not
27:13just 10 or 12.
27:14It was more.
27:15If the pup in her
27:16belly had actually been
27:17born, only a DNA
27:18panel could have
27:19sorted out the father.
27:20After a disgrace like
27:21that, how can Marcus
27:22allow her to give
27:22birth to another
27:23man's pup?
27:24I heard he found some
27:25dirty private clinic and
27:26forced Serena through a
27:27termination.
27:28At first, Marcus even
27:29wanted them to prepare an
27:30overdose of sedatives.
27:32Only after Catherine
27:33cried, begged, and nearly
27:34threw herself over a
27:35balcony was Serena's
27:37life spared.
27:37Her life was spared.
27:39The rest of her did not.
27:40After that forced
27:41termination, Serena's
27:42bleeding would not stop.
27:43Her periods never
27:45settled.
27:45She grew thin very
27:46quickly.
27:47Her face pale, her
27:48legs too weak to hold
27:49her steady.
27:50Marcus lost the old
27:51lift of his chin in
27:52council rooms.
27:53He had been proud his
27:54whole life, and now one
27:55daughter had dragged the
27:56Blackwood name through
27:57filth.
27:57People said he spent his
27:58days drinking himself
27:59senseless.
28:00When he finished drinking,
28:01he would go to Serena's
28:02room, smash whatever he
28:04could reach, and curse her
28:05until security came
28:06lonely.
28:07Every day, Blackwood Ridge
28:08was full of screaming,
28:09breaking glass, and the
28:11sound of guards' footsteps.
28:12Less than three months
28:13later, Serena, driven
28:14past the edge, grabbed a
28:16kitchen knife and stabbed her
28:17own father to death.
28:18A room full of aides and
28:20guards watched it happen.
28:21She could not run from
28:22that.
28:22Once the murder charge
28:23landed, it was enough to
28:25seal her fate.
28:26That same day, the high
28:27council stripped her of
28:28every inheritance right.
28:29When the criminal court
28:30sentenced her, she was
28:32sent to a women's prison
28:33for life without parole.
28:34On the day Serena was
28:35sentenced, I was having
28:36tea at the newly opened
28:37laurel room in the city.
28:38Mrs. Ashfield, this is
28:40from a gentleman
28:40downstairs.
28:41He said he would like to
28:43see you and say a few
28:43words.
28:44A server brought over a
28:45hibiscus chestnut tea
28:46cake I had not ordered.
28:47I looked at the small
28:48pastry and suddenly found
28:49it funny.
28:50During my marriage to
28:51Evan, he had bought the
28:52same thing for me a few
28:53times.
28:53After I lost our first
28:55child, after Patricia
28:56Brooks forced me to
28:57kneel every few steps in
28:58the name of pack
28:59discipline until I passed
29:00out, until my knees split
29:01open and festered.
29:03Evan probably always
29:04believed that as long as
29:05he handed me this one
29:06sweet little cake, I
29:07should calm down.
29:08I should forgive him.
29:09I should make peace with
29:10him.
29:11But to me, it had never
29:12recorded comfort.
29:13It recorded every injury
29:14Evan and the Brooks
29:15household had dealt me,
29:16again and again.
29:18Please return it to the
29:18gentleman downstairs.
29:20Tell him I don't dare eat
29:21it.
29:22I'm afraid there might be
29:23something in it.
29:24The server quickly carried
29:25the tea cake back, but
29:26Evan did not leave.
29:27When I stepped out of the
29:28laurel room, he was
29:29waiting at the entrance.
29:31Clara.
29:31His voice broke, and he
29:33reached for the edge of
29:33my coat.
29:34Mr. Brooks, step back.
29:36Don't touch her.
29:37Harper Lane, the new
29:38aide at my side, immediately
29:39stepped between Evan and
29:41me.
29:41Evan's face twisted with
29:42misery.
29:43Clara, I treated you
29:44terribly before.
29:46I let people lie to me.
29:48I misunderstood you.
29:49I thought that scandal was
29:50something you set up so you
29:51could marry me.
29:52I never meant to hurt you.
29:54Evan, were you lied to,
29:56or did you choose to lie to
29:57yourself?
29:57I am an old blood Ashford
29:59heiress.
30:00You?
30:01If I had wanted it, even the
30:02Whitmore line would have been
30:03within reach.
30:04Why would I need to scheme my
30:06way into marrying you?
30:07The color drained from Evan's
30:08already ruined face.
30:09He had once been handsome in a
30:11clean, refined way.
30:12After all these days of pain,
30:14he had wasted down until he
30:15was almost nothing but bone.
30:17Whatever dignity he once had
30:18was gone.
30:19He was lucky, really.
30:21At least both legs had not
30:22been ruined.
30:23Only his right leg would never
30:24be steady again.
30:25From now on, he could not walk
30:27without a cane.
30:28My gaze swept once over his
30:29right leg.
30:30Evan immediately pulled it
30:31back.
30:32Maybe he remembered my last
30:33life, when he and Patricia
30:34Brooks had ruined my leg.
30:36Maybe he remembered how many
30:37times he had sneered at me,
30:38and called me a crippled little
30:40liability.
30:40One of the Ashford House
30:41staff hurried toward me.
30:42Mrs. Ashford, we've been
30:44looking everywhere for you.
30:45Please return at once.
30:47The High Council just sent
30:48word.
30:48Sebastian Whitmore has been
30:49confirmed as High Alpha
30:51Elect.
30:51The Whitmore line has also
30:53filed a Maid Alliance
30:54statement.
30:54Once you personally confirm
30:55it, the Council will publicly
30:57recognize you as Luna
30:58Elect.
30:58Evan's mouth fell open.
31:00He looked as if he could not
31:01believe what he had just
31:02heard.
31:02In my last life, Sebastian
31:04had become High Alpha
31:05too.
31:05Only then, he had never
31:07publicly recognized a Luna.
31:08Even after he took full power,
31:10he never brought anyone to
31:11stand beside him.
31:13So that was why.
31:15Sebastian likes her, doesn't
31:16he?
31:17Evan muttered the questions to
31:18Grace Miller beside him.
31:20They were together already,
31:21weren't they?
31:22Bracing him like a cane, and
31:23Patricia had worn her down until
31:25she barely looked human.
31:26No secret dates.
31:28No private gifts.
31:29Nothing improper.
31:30Only.
31:32Only what?
31:34Only that every time Sebastian
31:36saw her, he smiled.
31:38For the decades that followed,
31:39Sebastian proved Grace right.
31:41He was a good husband.
31:42A very good one.
31:44As for Evan, I never saw him
31:46again for the rest of my life.
31:47The last time I heard news of
31:48him was before I moved into the
31:50Whitmore Council residence.
31:51I heard there was no path left
31:52for him back to the Council.
31:53He could not stay in the East Coast
31:55Pack Circle either.
31:56So he took Grace and Patricia back
31:58to that low-pack hometown of his.
32:00Maybe Blackwood Ridge had damaged
32:01more than his leg.
32:02Later, Patricia arranged
32:03engagements for him and pushed
32:05a few dependent girlfriends
32:06into his life.
32:07But in this life, no one ever
32:09carried his pup.
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