Chapter 67 His Bargain
Elena could not understand why Raphael Farrington stood there, or could she grasp the weight of the words he had just spoken. Her face was blank.
“Of course, Dolphus does not know I am in Moscow,” Elder Farrington said. He set his glasses and book on the small stool beside him and picked up the matching report. “If we keep it that way, I will not tell him that we have met. My daughter needs a kidney transplant. The healers say blood of kin lowers the risk of rejection. I am too old, too weak for it. But you are the perfect match. Will you give it to her?”
Even though he stood here asking for her help, he could not bring himself to call her what she was… his granddaughter.
“She…” Elena pushed herself upright against the head of the hospital bed. She forced herself to sit tall, her wolf whining within her. Her tear-filled eyes shone with worry. “What happened to her?”
“You do not need to know the details,” Raphael Farrington replied. “If you refuse, I will still find another. There is no need for you to carry this burden. You may turn away.”
“If it will heal her, then yes… I am willing. But if there is time, please… wait until I give birth.”
Elena said.
“Tell me… is my baby still alive?” Elena asked again
Raphael Farrington's grip on the report tightening. “Would it not be better if the pup was gone? You are no longer with Drake. A child will only tangle your path with chains you cannot break.”
Raphael Farrington dropped the report onto the stool, refusing to linger on the matter of the unborn child. “Since you have agreed to give my daughter your kidney, I will not owe you. For the next five years, I will see that your living expenses are covered. That is my word.”
He leaned on his cane and rose to his feet.
Elena clutched the fabric around her belly with shaking hands. She bit her tongue, forcing herself into silence.
“We Farringtons never leave debts unpaid,” Raphael Farrington said as he strode toward the door. “We return kindness with strength and betrayal with fury. For five years I will give you every resource you need. What you do with that power is up to you. Do not let those who hunted you walk away unpunished.”
With those words, he left the ward.
Nicholas, his assistant, closed the door quietly before following his master. “Sir, everything is arranged. Elena will be moved before Dolphus arrives from the hotel. But… how do we explain this to him?”
“Dolphus knows gratitude,” Raphael Farrington replied. “These years, I have watched him guard Elena. Even now, he is set on making her his mate here in Russia. I have seen his devotion. But the pack is at a turning point. He must keep his focus sharp. Elena … She will be my responsibility. Tell him that.”
They stepped into the waiting elevator. Nicholas shifted uneasily at his side. “But Sir… did you not just say you would provide for her for only five years?”
Elder Farrington's eyes glinted. “Five years. If she cannot rise by then, then she will have wasted the Farrington blood that runs in her veins. She would not be worthy of our name. She would not even be worthy of the bond of kin.”
On one side, there was the memory of Elena, the woman who had once risked her life to shield his daughter. That memory made him soften, made him feel the ache of sympathy.
On the other side, there was hatred. Hatred for the Monroe blood that tainted his line. He wished to see Elena crawl like the rest of her kin, kept low, crushed under the heel of the world.
When news came of Elena’s victories, of the awards and honor she had gained, Raphael Farrington's chest had swelled with pride. She was his daughter’s child. But pride never came alone. With it, his hatred rose again, Hatred for the Monroes who had destroyed his daughter’s fate.
But this time, after seeing Elena standing before the world, calling out in the program for the punishment of human traffickers, Raphael Farrington felt something shift inside him. The disgust he once held for Elena loosened its grip. It was as though her howl had reached into his chest and torn away the chains of anger.
He could feel it deep in his bones. Raphael Farrington knew if the Moon Goddess gave Elena the chance to trade her own life for time’s reversal, Elena would do it without hesitation. She would burn herself to ash if it meant preventing his daughter’s kidnapping.
That was the kind of wolf she was. And because of that, his grandfather forgave her.
The words he had spoken in Elena’s hospital bed about a kidney donation, that had only been a test. A trial of loyalty and spirit. He knew well that if his daughter truly needed one, Nathan could easily step forward and the matter would end. But Elena needed to prove herself.
Raphael Farrington came to the hospital that day ready to do what many thought he never would. He came to give her the blood-right of the Oliver family. He looked at her not as an outsider but as his granddaughter.
He told her that the Farrington family would no longer stand in her way. Those who had bullied her, hurt her, tried to break her spirit. He would allow her to take her own retribution.
And so, in five years, by her own power, she would have her revenge. That was his final test for her. If Elena could claim it, then she would return to the family not as a beggar, but as a wolf who had carved her own path through blood and fire.
Later that night, after freshening up and changing clothes at the hotel, Dolphus rushed back to the hospital. He pushed through the doors of the sickroom, only to find the bed empty. Elena was gone.
Instead, Nicholas, the special assistant, stood there beside Elder Farrington's chair. Nicholas bowed his head politely to Dolphus. “Dolphus, Lady Farrington has been transferred to another hospital. Elder Farrington asked me to wait here for you.”
Dolphus’s gaze hardened when he caught the change in Nicholas’s words. No longer lady Monroe. Now it was Lady Farrington.
“Is Father planning to bring Elena home?” Dolphus asked.
Nicholas’s smile did not falter. “Not exactly. Your father has one last test for Elena. Only if she meets his expectations will he bring her back into the Farrington family.”
“And so?” Dolphus asked.
Nicholas stepped closer, lowering his voice. “And so, your task is the corporation. Focus on that. Do not interfere in Elena’s affairs. I know you have been persuading your father to bring her back, but it was not until he saw her stand and demand harsher punishments for the traffickers that he finally relented. That was what gave her this chance.”
“Father has met Elena, hasn’t he? Where is he now?” Dolphus demanded.
Nicholas did not deny. “He is already on the way to the airport.”
Dolphus’s wolf surged forward, carrying him out of the hospital. He ran through to meet him. When he finally caught up, Elder Raphael Farrington was stepping out of his car.
Dolphus planted himself in his path.
Elder Farrington wasn't surprised to see him standing on his way. “Since you are here, let us return back home together.”
Dolphus’s voice cut the air. “Where is Elena?”
The elder wolf’s gaze hardened. “If you want her to return to the Farrington family with dignity, do not ask too much. You have carried her out of guilt for years. That is enough. If she is as great as you claim, if she truly carries Farrington's blood, then let her prove it. Let her walk back into this family on her own strength.”
His voice grew heavier, pressing down. “Your duty is not to Elena anymore. Your duty is the corporation. Carry it through the next three to five years. If you fail, even if she returns, there will be nothing left for her to lead. Do you understand, Dolphus?”