Chapter 189

Chapter 189
Third Person POV

The moment Madilyn walked into the hall, the entire place filled with whispers and gasps. People looked shocked. Jayden, who just seconds ago looked proud and in control, suddenly froze. His face went completely pale, as if he had seen something terrifying.

“What is she doing here?” Amanda and Leila shouted together, their voices full of shock and fear.

Amanda narrowed her eyes with anger and jealousy. She looked straight at the way Mason had his arm wrapped gently around Madilyn’s waist. That simple touch made Amanda feel something sharp and unpleasant—jealousy.

Leila also looked at Amanda, both of them clearly realizing that something had gone wrong. They had not expected this. It was clear their carefully made plans were falling apart.

Madilyn didn’t seem scared. She looked Jayden in the eye and said in a clear, calm voice, “Surprised to see me?”

Jayden tried hard to stay calm. He forced a weak smile, but it looked fake and stiff.

“Well, good to see you again, Madilyn,” he said. “But you being here doesn’t prove anything. How are we supposed to believe—”

Madilyn didn’t let him finish. She pulled a file out of her bag and held it up.

“Believe this,” she said, handing it to him.

Jayden took the file, looking unsure. But as he started reading what was inside, his jaw tightened. His face changed. The papers clearly showed that Madilyn owned Mistyca—the perfume company involved in the case. It was clear evidence.

Leila quickly grabbed the file from Jayden’s hands. She read the pages, her hands starting to shake. Fear spread across her face. The truth was there in front of her: the perfume used on the Lycan King came from Madilyn’s company.

Before either of them could say anything, Madilyn gave them a calm, confident smile.

“The good news?” she said cheerfully. “This makes everything easier. I’ve been having problems with those perfumes going unnoticed. So, I made a detector. It can find any of my scents if they were used in the past fifteen days. I’ve already asked someone to bring it here.”

The room went quiet again. Everyone seemed tense.

Madilyn’s smile grew as she looked at Jayden and Leila. Jayden looked even more nervous now. Sweat formed on his neck, and he clenched his fists, trying not to show how worried he was.

Madilyn continued, “First, we’ll place it in the king’s room to see if it picks up any scent. Then we’ll scan everyone in the castle. If we get a match, we’ll know who was involved.”

Mason leaned over and kissed Madilyn on the head. Then he looked at Jayden with a grin.

“And that’s how we’ll catch the killer,” he said. “Isn’t that what we’re all trying to do?”

Jayden looked like someone had hit him.

Then Mason turned toward the ministers. His expression turned serious.

“Anyone have any objections?” he asked loudly.

The ministers looked at each other and then slowly nodded. No one dared to speak against him.

“Perfect,” Madilyn said brightly. “The detector will be here today. We’ll keep it in the king’s room overnight. Tomorrow, we’ll all meet here again.”

Jayden looked like he had no choice. He gave a slow nod.

His eyes went to his mother, who looked pale but tried to look calm. She gave a small nod too.

Jayden turned to Madilyn and Mason. “I’ll see you both tomorrow,” he said before quickly walking out. The others followed him one by one.

The last to leave was Johnson. He looked bored, as if none of this interested him. But before leaving, he stared at Madilyn with a cold look. Then, without saying a word, he walked out, leaving the room silent.

Madilyn’s POV

As soon as they all left, I let out a deep breath. I had been holding it in the whole time.

“Do you think they fell for it?” I asked Mason nervously, rubbing my hands together.

All the confidence I had earlier was gone. Now I was scared. We were taking a huge risk, and I couldn’t stop worrying.

The truth was, there was no real perfume detector. All we had was a fake shell that didn’t work. But we were hoping Jayden and Leila would try to mess with it—and that would trap them.

Mason stayed calm. He looked into my eyes and smiled gently.

“I know my brother,” he said. “He’s sneaky. He’ll try to change the results himself, because sneaking someone else into the king’s room at night would be too risky.”

I nodded slowly. Our plan depended on Jayden and Leila messing with the fake detector.

We made it carefully. It had a small hidden camera that could record everything around it. It would also catch fingerprints if anyone touched it. If Jayden or Leila tried to tamper with it, we’d have the proof.

“The plan is solid,” Mason said softly, reading my thoughts.

He kissed the tip of my nose. I smiled, though my heart was still racing.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” I said. “It’s us against all of them.”

Mason cupped my face with his hands and looked into my eyes.

“We’re enough,” he said simply.

I nodded, feeling a little more steady. We had set everything in motion. All we could do now was wait and see what Jayden and Leila would do.

Just then, Mason’s phone buzzed. He looked at the message.

“It’s Caleb,” he said. “He’s here with the detector and Ariana.”

He kissed my cheek and turned to leave. “I’ll go get them.”

I was about to follow when I suddenly heard a sound behind me.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

I froze in place. My heart jumped.

I turned slowly and saw Johnson leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was smirking.

“You two came up with quite the plan,” he said.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

“You? What are you doing here?” I whispered.

He shook his head like he was disappointed.

“Madilyn, I’m not like the rest of them. I’ve worked in diplomacy all my life. I know how power works in palaces. The moment I saw you both walk in, I knew you were plotting something. So I came back through the secret door—one only I know about. And lucky me, I got here just in time to hear your whole plan.”

My heart pounded. He knew. He knew everything.

“How much did you hear?” I asked quietly.

“Oh, enough,” he said with a half-smile. “Enough to know that your little detector is fake. Just a trap.”

I clenched my hands, staring at his cold face. I hated how seeing him still hurt.

He was the man who had caused me so much pain.

He was my father.

One of my enemies... was my own blood.

“Can’t you just leave this alone?” I asked softly. I didn’t mean to sound so broken, but the words came out that way.

He looked at me strangely for a moment. Then his face turned hard again.

“Of course not. I don’t care who killed the king. He was weak anyway. But my daughter Amanda is close to Leila now. I won’t let your plan hurt her.”

His words stung. Amanda. His daughter. It burned just to hear it.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He shrugged. “Tell them everything, of course.”

He turned and started walking toward the door.

I felt helpless. Our whole plan was falling apart.

But just before he reached the exit, the doors opened.

Ariana ran in with all her usual energy and flew into Johnson’s arms.

He didn’t expect it—and her necklace got caught on his cufflink.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

He reached up to free the chain... and stopped.

His fingers touched the small emblem on her necklace.

His eyes froze.

It was a silver wolf with red eyes.

A symbol he knew well.

His family’s mark.

Something only his blood could wear.