Chapter 126 RECORDED TRUTH
Medea's Pov
The day after Raphael publicly rejected Medea I arranged to meet with him again. I sent him a message saying I needed to talk before I could commit to coming back to him permanently. He agreed immediately and we met in his office that evening.
What Raphael did not know was that Lucian had hidden cameras and microphones throughout the office. Every word of our conversation would be recorded and broadcast live to screens set up throughout the pack territory. Everyone would hear what Raphael was about to confess.
I walked into his office and he stood up immediately looking hopeful and nervous.
"Celestia thank you for coming. I was worried you changed your mind after seeing how brutal the rejection was yesterday," Raphael said.
"It was brutal but Medea deserved it. She made my life hell and now she knows how that feels," I said.
"So you are still planning to reject Lucian and come back to me?" Raphael asked hopefully.
“I want to,” I continued, my voice trembling despite my effort to keep it steady. “But I need something from you first. I need complete honesty about what happened five years ago. I need to hear the full truth before I can move forward.”
The words hung between us, fragile and dangerous.
He stiffened, just barely. I saw it in the tightening of his jaw, the way his gaze flickered away from mine for a heartbeat too long. That reaction told me everything—there was more… So much more than the half-answers and carefully edited versions I’d been given.
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Finally, he exhaled slowly, as if bracing himself for a blow. “If I tell you,” he said quietly, “you may never forgive me.”
My chest ached, but I didn’t look away. “Then I deserve to decide that for myself.”
His eyes met mine again, dark with regret and something that looked dangerously close to fear.
"What do you mean? I already told you I made mistakes and believed lies," Raphael said.
"I need more than that. I need you to tell me everything. Every detail about what really happened the night I gave birth. About how the babies were switched. About why you really exiled me. I need the complete truth with nothing held back," I said.
Raphael looked uncomfortable and I could tell he was debating how much to reveal. But his desire to have me back won out over his shame.
"Alright. I will tell you everything. But you have to promise that once I do you will forgive me and we can move forward together," Raphael said.
"I promise. Once I hear the truth and understand what really happened I can let go of the past and focus on our future," I lied smoothly.
Raphael took a deep breath and began his confession. His voice was low at first, strained with years of guilt, each word measured as if he feared the weight of saying it aloud.
Then, without warning, a hum of static filled the air. Outside, throughout the pack territory, dozens of screens flickered to life, projecting our conversation for everyone to see. Faces froze in the crowd. Whispers erupted, quickly drowned out by murmurs of shock and disbelief.
I felt my stomach twist. The moment I had thought would be private, the bridge between us, had been ripped open for the entire pack to witness. Every hesitation, every nuance of his confession—exposed.
Raphael’s eyes met mine, dark and vulnerable. “I… I wanted to tell you in private,” he said, voice cracking. “I didn’t mean for—”
But the screens didn’t care. The truth was no longer ours alone and somewhere in the crowd, I could feel the weight of judgment already forming, poised to crush anyone caught in the fallout.
Yet despite the humiliation, the fear, the anger simmering just beyond the edges, I couldn’t look away because what he was about to say would change everything. “Everything.”
"The truth is I knew Medea's baby was not going to survive. The doctors told me days before you both went into labor that her baby had severe complications and would likely be stillborn or die shortly after birth," Raphael started.
"You knew her baby would die?" I asked.
"Yes. And Eclipse came to me with a plan. She said when you both delivered we could switch the babies. Tell everyone that your baby died and Medea's survived. That way I could still have an heir and Medea would not have to face the shame of having a dead baby," Raphael explained.
"So the switch was planned in advance. It was not a spontaneous decision after the births," I said.
"No it was all planned. Eclipse convinced me it was the best solution for everyone. She said you would never have to know and that the baby would be better off being raised as Medea's son," Raphael said.
"And you agreed to this plan?" I asked.
"Yes. I agreed. Eclipse arranged for Medea's labor to be induced early so both of you would deliver on the same night. That way the switch would be easier to execute and less suspicious," Raphael admitted.
My stomach churned with rage, but I kept my expression neutral. Every muscle in my body screamed, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.
He had admitted to planning the entire thing, to deliberately inducing Medea’s labor to make the baby switch work. Every carefully laid detail, every manipulation, every hidden scheme—all confessed, all exposed.
The crowd on the screens reacted instantly. Gasps, murmurs, some covering mouths in horror. But I could barely focus on them. My eyes were locked on Raphael, searching his face for any sign of remorse beyond the words he had just spoken.
I felt a cold, dangerous calm settle over me. Rage was there, yes—burning, suffocating—but it was sharpened, honed, ready. This wasn’t the time for hysteria. This was the moment to make a choice: what I would do with the truth now that it was finally mine.
And I would act… Not out of revenge but out of justice.
"What happened after we both delivered? Walk me through it," I said.
"You delivered first. A healthy baby boy. The doctors cleaned him up and were about to give him to you when Eclipse took him. She said she needed to run some tests. Then Medea delivered her baby and it was stillborn just like the doctors predicted. Eclipse brought me your baby and told me to give him to Medea. She said we were saving everyone from pain by making the switch," Raphael continued.
"And you just went along with it. You let Eclipse take my baby and give him to Medea without questioning it," I said.
"I was young and stupid and I wanted to fix the problem. I did not think about how wrong it was. I just wanted to have an heir and keep Medea from being heartbroken," Raphael said.
"Then why did you exile me? Why accuse me of trying to harm the baby?" I asked.
"Because you started asking questions. You said you knew the baby was yours and you were going to demand a DNA test. Eclipse panicked and came up with a plan to frame you. She said if we exiled you then you could not cause problems. And I went along with it because I was afraid the truth would come out," Raphael admitted.
"So you exiled an innocent woman to cover up your crimes," I said coldly.
“Yes. And I have regretted it every day since. But I want to make it right now. I want us to be together and raise Asher as our son. I want to give you the life you should have had,” Raphael said desperately.
The words spilled out fast, raw and unguarded, but they couldn’t erase the years of manipulation, lies, and stolen moments. My chest ached—not from hope, not from love, not yet—but from the memory of every way he had failed me, every plan that had hurt me and my son.
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to remain steady. “You can’t undo what you’ve done,” I said softly, carefully, so the crowd wouldn’t hear the tremor in my hands. “You can’t give me the life I lost, the years stolen from Asher, or the trust you shattered.”
His shoulders slumped, the hope draining from his posture as he realized my words were measured, not forgiving. “Then… what am I supposed to do?” he whispered, broken.
“You start by facing the consequences of your choices,” I said, voice gaining strength. “Everything else—the love, the family—it can only come after that. Maybe, if it ever comes at all.”
And in that moment, I knew: forgiveness would not be given lightly. It had to be earned and he had a long path ahead.
"Did you ever suspect I was innocent? Did you ever question whether the evidence against me was real?" I asked.
This was the question I most wanted answered. Had he known deep down that I was innocent and chosen to ignore it?
Raphael looked down at his hands, twisting them in his lap. The faint tremor betrayed the weight of what he carried. I didn’t need him to speak. I already knew.
“Yes,” he said finally, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I… I suspected. But I convinced myself it was for the pack, for you… for everyone. I thought I was protecting you, protecting Asher. But I was wrong. I was selfish. And I failed.”
A chill ran through me, sharper than any winter wind. The truth I had feared was confirmed. He had known. And still, he had let it happen. My innocence, my life, my son’s childhood—all traded for his perceived duty.
I drew in a slow breath, forcing my face into calm neutrality while my chest ached with betrayal so deep it felt physical. Every heartbeat throbbed with the knowledge that the man I had once trusted most had chosen convenience over justice, suspicion over truth.
The crowd outside watched us unfold on screens, oblivious to the raw, shattering moment between us. And yet, in that silence, I felt the line between past and future harden. There would be consequences. There would be reckoning.
Because knowing the truth changed everything.
"Yes. I suspected you were innocent. There were too many inconsistencies in the evidence. Too many things that did not add up. But I chose not to investigate further because if I found proof of your innocence then I would have to admit what I did. I would have to face the consequences of stealing your son and exiling you," Raphael confessed.
"So you knew. You knew I was probably innocent but you let me be exiled anyway. You let me suffer for five years because it was easier than admitting you were wrong," I said.
"Yes. And I am sorry. I am so sorry Celestia. I know I cannot undo what I did but I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Please give me that chance," Raphael begged.
He did not know that every word he just said was being broadcast to the entire pack. He did not know that hundreds of people just heard him admit to planning the baby switch, inducing Medea's labor, framing me, and knowingly exiling an innocent woman.
Everything was over for him.