Chapter 166
Juno’s POV
Augustin’s expression froze, his eyes widening slightly.
“They weren’t friends,” I explained quickly. “They had bad blood Helena’s house was heavily protected with silver. Your mother and Evanth were the only ones who knew she was visiting that morning.”
I continued my reasoning. “Since Kieran tried to kidnap me from the manor, it would be easy to blame him. But if Kieran planned the attack, why kill only the elder council members and just hurt your mother? Why not finish the job?”
“But why would she…” Augustin started, then fell silent, processing my words.
“What if Helena was blackmailing your mother? What if your mother decided to silence her permanently?”
“What could Helena have threatened my mother with?” Augustin asked after a moment.
“Maybe Helena threatened to accuse you of something, and your mother would do anything to protect you. You know how much she loves you and Evanth.”
Augustin thought for a moment. “There was a letter where Helena claimed my mother murdered my father and his officers. My mother wrote back warning Helena to stop spreading lies.” He shook his head. “That can’t be it. Everyone knows Fang
killed them. My mother wouldn’t kill someone over baseless accusations.”
“Maybe not that specifically,” I agreed. “But what if there was something else?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think it was about your father’s death at all. I think it was about your and your brother’s
positions.”
“What do you mean?” Augustin asked, sitting up fully now, his attention completely focused on me.
“In the letter, your mother said Helena helped her because it would benefit Sebastian. The two people who helped your mother overthrow your father’s decree – Sebastian’s father and Helena – are both dead now.”
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“That’s just a coincidence,” Augustin said.
“Is it?” I challenged gently. “What if your mother wanted Evanth to get the family’s seat on the elder council, and Helena
opposed it? Your mother seems desperate for Evanth to have power.”
“She does favor him,” Augustin admitted reluctantly. “But murder?”
“Think about it, Augustin. Helena was at your mother’s apartment. The guards were conveniently changing shifts. Only your mother and Evanth knew she was coming. And your mother was only injured, not killed like the others.”
“I hope she didn’t do this,” Augustin said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “If you’re right… God, I don’t know what to do with that information.”
“Please don’t tell anyone about this,” he requested, taking my hands in his. “After you become my Luna Qu
my mother won’t be Luna Queen anymore. She’ll lose her immunity. I don’t want to give our enemies weapons to hurt my family.”
“That’s exactly why I kept quiet downstairs,” I assured him, squeezing his hands. “I would never publicly accuse your
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Chapter 166
mother without solid evidence. But maybe we should Investigat your mother privately, just the two of us, to avoid any
damage.
I suggested we look into the allegations, and if we found enough evidence, Augustin could confront his mother privately,
We need to be absolutely certain before we do anything,” I emphasized. “This is just a theory right now.”
I stroked the back of his hand, trying to comfort him. “Your mother suffered so much Injustice, Augustin. Your father tried to replace her with his fated mate. He forced her to be the midwife for his fated mate. He cheated on her, including with her best friend. He killed most of her family members. He banned her from representing the family in the elder council, nearly erasing the family from existence. He tried to divorce her and replace her. He tried to take the family seat from her and give it to his bastard.“,
“A woman can only endure so much,” I said softly. “Your mother seems like a woman who learned to cope with abuse through denial. But I think at some point she must have snapped and fought back.”
Tears welled in Augustin’s eyes, and though he tried to blink them away, they fell anyway, “I never thought of it like that,” he admitted. “I knew my father wasn’t perfect, but I never realized how much he hurt her.”
I nestled into his arms, helping him relax. “She never told us any of this,” he said. “She only ever said good things about
our father. She told us he loved her.”
“She probably didn’t want to ruin your memories of your father I explained. “That’s what good mothers do. They protect
their children from painful truths.”
“He was fun with us,” Augustin acknowledged. “He spent a lot of time with us. I knew he had a harem, but it was tradition, and my mother seemed okay with it.”
“She probably wasn’t okay with it,” I said gently. “She just hid her pain from you.”
“If I had known what she suffered, I or Evanth would have challenged him,” Augustin said firmly. “We wouldn’t have let
him treat her that way.”
“Does Evanth know? He’s older than you, right? He might have seen more.”
“I don’t think so. My mother hid it well. Evanth worshipped our father. He thought he was perfect. He used to follow him
everywhere, trying to be just like him.”
“Evanth loved him so much that he went to war to avenge him, Augustin continued. “He would have done anything for
our father. He was devastated when he died.”
“Your mother protected your innocence,” I said. “But I think at some point, she broke. No one could endure all that without
breaking.”
“I’ll investigate this thoroughly,” Augustin promised. “But we need to keep it between us. If word got out that we suspect the Luna Queen of murder…”
“I agree,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Your mother has been through enough. And if she did do something to Helena… well, Helena had it coming. She was a terrible friend. The way she treated your mother alone would be enough reason.”
“Tomorrow we’ll check the documents,” Augustin said, “then decide what to do next. We need to be carefu I thorough.”
He kissed me gently, and we curled up together in bed, both of us lost in thought about the dark possibility I’d suggested.
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“Thank you,” he whispered after a long silence,
‘For what?‘ I asked.
For caring enough to tell me the truth, even when it’s difficult. For helping me see things I was blind to.” He pulled me “closer. For being the partner I need.”
I kissed him softly. “Always.”
Chapter Comments
TR
wait when did Sebastian die?
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