Chapter 250

Eileen's POV

Her hand touched the windowsill.

I saw it happen in slow motion. Emilia's fingers curled around the wooden frame. Her body shifted forward.

Then Silas moved.

I'd never seen him move that fast. One second he was across the room. The next, his hand locked around Emilia's wrist.

He yanked her backward. Hard.

"Let me go!" Emilia's scream tore through the warehouse. "Just let me die!"

Her nails raked across his forearm. Blood welled up in thin red lines.

I lunged forward. Grabbed her other arm.

"Aunt Emilia, stop—"

"I deserve to die!" She was thrashing like a wild animal. "I killed her! I killed Serena!"

My fingers dug into her sleeve. God, she was strong. Stronger than she looked.

Moby scrambled up onto the windowsill. His tiny body planted itself right in front of the opening. Like he could actually stop a grown woman from jumping.

But something about it made my throat tight.

Even my familiar knew she couldn't be allowed to escape this way.

Footsteps echoed behind us. Heavy. Deliberate.

Marcus walked toward us. His face was white as bone. But his hands were shaking with rage.

"You want to die?" His voice cut through Emilia's screams. "You want to escape responsibility even in death?"

He raised his hand.

The slap echoed through the warehouse like a gunshot.

Emilia's head snapped to the side. She stopped struggling. Just stood there, one hand pressed to her reddening cheek.

"How could you?" Marcus's voice broke. "My little girl... How could you do this to her?"

Tears streamed down Emilia's face. But she didn't make a sound anymore.

I felt Silas's grip loosen slightly. Emilia sagged against him, all the fight gone out of her.

I stood there watching her cry. This woman who'd let my mother burn. Who'd stolen her life's work and hidden it for twenty years.

Part of me wanted to hit her myself.

But another part, a smaller, quieter part, just felt sad.

She looked so broken.

Silas guided Emilia to a chair. Pushed her down into it.

"Luna Goode." His voice was flat. Empty. "Suicide solves nothing."

Emilia sat with her head bowed. Her shoulders shook, but she didn't try to run again.

I heard Gavin's voice from somewhere behind me. "Alpha. Do you need guards?"

Silas didn't answer right away. He was staring at Emilia like she was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out.

I looked at Marcus. At the journal clutched in his trembling hands. At Emilia's defeated posture.

The truth was out.

But somehow, I knew this was just the beginning.

Marcus pulled out his phone. His fingers were shaking so badly it took him three tries to unlock it.

"Theodore." His voice was hoarse. "I need you at the manor. Main hall. One hour."

I heard Theodore's shocked voice through the speaker. "Father? What's happened?"

"Bring Margaret. And Oliver." Marcus closed his eyes. "Emilia has done something unforgivable."

He hung up before Theodore could ask more questions.

Silas nodded to Gavin. "Two guards. Escort Luna Goode back to the manor."

"I'll go with them," I said.

Silas looked at me. Something flickered in his gray-blue eyes. Concern, maybe.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. I had to see this through.

The drive back felt endless. I sat in the back of the car with Emilia between me and one of the guards. She didn't speak. Didn't look at anyone. Just stared at her hands.

I kept thinking about my mother. About the fire. About Emilia standing there watching the lab burn, too scared to call for help.

My hands clenched into fists in my lap.

When we pulled up to the manor, lights were already blazing in the main hall. Theodore's car was parked out front. Margaret's too.

The guards helped Emilia out. She moved like a sleepwalker.

Inside, the main hall felt different at night. Colder. The chandelier cast long shadows across the floor.

Theodore and Margaret stood near the fireplace. Confusion written all over their faces.

Then Margaret saw Emilia.

Two guards flanked her. Her wrists weren't bound, but they might as well have been. She looked like a prisoner.

"What is this?" Margaret's hand flew to her mouth. "What's going on?"

I stood near the doorway. Didn't know how to start. Where would I even begin?

The door opened behind me.

Oliver rushed in. His green eyes swept the room, landing on me. Then Emilia. Then Marcus, who'd arrived just before us.

"Grandfather?" His voice was tight. "Eileen? Someone tell me what the hell is happening."

Marcus walked to the head of the room. Moved like he'd aged ten years in the past hour.

He sat down heavily. His hands gripped the armrests.

"I've called you here because a scandal buried for twenty years is about to come to light."

Theodore frowned. "Father, what are you talking about?"

"Emilia." Marcus's voice cracked. "She was directly involved in Serena's death."

Silence.

The kind that makes your ears ring.

Margaret's face went white. "No. That's not possible."

"It's true." The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. "She admitted it. In the warehouse. Just now."

All eyes turned to Emilia.

Silas nodded to the guards. They stepped back, but stayed close. Ready to grab her if she tried anything.

Oliver strode forward. His face was twisted with anger.

"Emilia." His voice shook. "Is this true? Did you hurt Aunt Serena?"

Emilia raised her head. Tears streaked her face, but her voice was steady.

"Yes."

Theodore made a choking sound. Stumbled backward until his shoulders hit the wall.

Margaret sank into a chair. "How? Why?"

"I wanted the formula." Emilia's voice was hollow. "The Council promised us a permanent seat. I thought I was saving the family."

"By killing my sister?" Theodore's voice rose. "By letting her burn?"

"I didn't mean for her to die." Emilia's voice broke. "I just wanted to talk to her. To make her understand. But she wouldn't listen. She was going to publish it for free. Give it away to everyone."

"So you blocked her magic," I said. My voice sounded strange. Distant. "In a lab full of volatile reagents."

Emilia nodded. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

"The fire spread so fast. I tried to help, but the powder blocked my magic too. And she told me to leave. She said she could handle it."

"Liar." Oliver's hands clenched into fists. "If that were true, you would have called for help."

"I was scared." Emilia's voice dropped to a whisper. "If anyone knew I was there, they'd know it was my fault."

"So you let her die." Marcus's voice was dead. "You took the formula and you let my daughter burn."

I took a step forward. One question left.

"Aunt Emilia." My voice was steady now. Cold. "When you said the Council promised you a seat, who contacted you?"

Emilia was silent for a long moment.

Then she raised her head. Looked straight at Silas.

"Malcolm Keaton."

The room exploded.

Theodore swore. Margaret gasped. Oliver's face went white.

But I only had eyes for Silas.

His expression didn't change. But something shifted in his eyes. Something dark and dangerous.

Malcolm Keaton. His own uncle.

The Council wasn't just after him from the outside. They'd planted the seeds of destruction right in his own family.

And now everyone in this room knew it.