Chapter 70: Plan carried out

Emma POV

I stood there and watched Ava lift the cup to her lips. My heart beat so hard it was almost painful, but not from fear, from excitement. She didn’t pause. She didn’t sniff it or question it. She didn’t even look at me twice.

She just drank it.

All of it.

I kept my face calm, but inside me something dark and sweet curled up, warm with satisfaction. She tilted the cup higher, swallowing the very last drop, completely unaware of what she had just done.

I pressed a fake smile onto my face the moment she lowered the cup.

A small sigh left her lips. “That… actually made me feel better,” she said.

Better.

A slow thrill rolled through me.

If she only knew.

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said softly, forcing myself to sound gentle, supportive. “You looked tired. I thought a drink would help.”

She smiled at me, so trusting, so open it almost annoyed me. She should have known better. She should have been careful. She should have been smarter if she wanted to carry the Alpha’s pup.

But Ava was always so soft. So emotional. So desperate to care for everyone else that she forgot her own safety. And that was why she was an easy target.

She set the empty cup aside and turned back to packing her clothes.

“I need to finish moving,” she said, folding a dress neatly. “Cain wants me settled in his chambers before night.”

My body went cold for a moment. “Cain… wants you in his chambers?”

“Yes.” She didn’t notice my tone, too busy sorting through a drawer. “He wants me close. He wants to make sure I’m safe.”

Safe.

The word cut me deep, sharper than any blade. Safe meant protected.

I forced myself to breathe slowly, to keep my smile in place. I could not let her see any crack, not when the first part of my plan had gone so beautifully.

“That’s wonderful,” I said, even though my jaw felt tight. “You must be very happy.”

She blushed. “I… I’m surprised, but yes. He’s very protective.”

Protective.

Of her.

Not me.

But that would change soon. After tonight, everything would shift. Everything would finally fall in my favor. Ava would no longer be Cain’s priority. She would no longer have his attention or his child.

A faint excitement fluttered inside my chest again. All I had to do was wait.

“I can help you pack, if you want,” I offered.

She turned to me with grateful eyes. “Thank you. I didn’t want to bother the maid.”

Of course she didn’t. Ava always wanted to be kind to everyone. It made me sick sometimes.

Still smiling, I walked to her wardrobe. “Let me help.”

I folded her dresses while imagining them burning. I picked up her shoes and set them neatly in the bag while imagining kicking them out of the room. I tied her cloak carefully, imagining it soaked in tears and regret.

And all the while, she had no idea that with every movement, with every smile I gave, she was one step closer to losing everything she thought she had.

We packed in silence for a moment, the air thick with the soft rustle of fabric. She started to slow down halfway through, rubbing her stomach lightly. The poison was gentle at first, very gentle. It would take time.

Good.

I wanted it to take time.

“You okay?” I asked in a soft voice.

“Just tired,” she said. “But the drink helped. Thank you again.”

I nodded, swallowing a laugh. “Of course.”

When we finished, she lifted the small bags, and I reached out at once. “Let me help with those.”

Her smile warmed. “You’re too kind, Emma.”

If only she knew.

We walked together through the hall. Guards bowed to her now, more than they used to. Servants stepped aside, whispering. Word traveled fast in this castle, everyone knew the Alpha treasured her.

But words could change.

Fortunes could shift.

Futures could burn.

We reached the tall doors of Cain’s chamber. I had seen them before, of course, passing by, cleaning the hall, carrying messages but I had never entered. Only Cain, and now Ava, had that privilege.

The guard opened the door for us.

The moment I stepped inside, my breath caught.

The chamber was beautiful.

Dark, elegant, powerful. Black walls trimmed with silver markings. A high ceiling with a chandelier that glowed like captured moonlight. Heavy velvet curtains. A massive bed carved from dark wood, covered in thick black sheets. Everything smelled like Cain, strong, sharp, masculine. And the air felt different in here, heavy with authority. A room meant for a leader.

A room meant for a Luna.

My fingers curled tightly around Ava’s bag.

One day, I told myself.

One day this room will be mine. One day I will stand here beside him, not her. One day I will be the one sleeping in that bed.

Ava walked in slowly, almost shyly, placing her things by the foot of the bed.

I watched her, imagining the same hand shaking in agony by morning. Imagining her curled on this beautiful floor, crying, bleeding, begging.

A warm shiver of satisfaction ran through me.

She turned back to me and smiled gently. “Thank you, Emma. For helping.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, lifting my chin and smiling back. “I should go now. You need to rest.”

She nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I do feel tired… but better, thanks to that drink.”

I held my smile steady. “Goodnight, Ava.”

“Goodnight.”

I stepped out of the room.

And the moment the door closed behind me, the fake sweetness drained from my face. My lips curled into a smile, dark, triumphant, unstoppable.

A whisper slipped from my mouth, the words tasting like victory.

“Tonight is the night you’ll lose your precious baby, Ava.”