Juno’s POV
Her expression hardened. ‘That’s when I started to get suspicious. He was asking too many questions. So I pushed back a little, and he… She swallowed hard. “He threatened me. Said if I didn’t cooperate, he’d take care of me too.”
‘I know what my father is capable of,” she whispered. He would have killed Matthew and me without hesitation. So I agreed to keep providing information
She looked at me with pleading eyes. I was so alone. Matthew hated me. I couldn’t tell him. You were gone. All i could do was function as Forestvale’s primary Luna and feed my father false information.”
‘It became increasingly annoying, especially when I worried the information would be verified,” she added.
“So you decided to run,” I prompted.
She nodded. “Matthew didn’t love me, didn’t want me. My father would eventually discover I was lying. Matthew had the power to fight back, he had Maddox and Quinn. I had no one.”
A bitter laugh escaped her. “I doubted Matthew would protect me from my father. He blamed me for losing you.”
Her voice grew quieter. “The day I tried to leave, Matthew saw me carrying luggage from our room. I couldn’t tell him the real reason, so I made it seem like a relationship issue, hoping he’d just let me go.”
“But he begged me to stay,” she continued, a small, sad smile playing on her lips. “And I loved him too much to leave. I knew he needed help. He couldn’t be left alone. So I stayed, risking everything.”
“Every morning 1 woke up afraid my father would discover my lies,” she whispered. “When Matthew decided to come to the games, I took the opportunity to visit my father’s home and steal something that would protect me.”
“The USB drive,” I said, excitement building in my chest. “Where is it now?”
“In our hotel suite,” she replied. “In Matthew’s bag. I figured if anyone searched my things, they wouldn’t find it there.”
My heart raced. This could be exactly what we needed, hard evidence against Charles and his co–conspirators. If it contained funding information as Matthew had mentioned, we could expose everyone involved.
“My father followed me here to Clifflands,” Isabelle continued. “He was furious but couldn’t do anything. That’s why I was always in public or with Matthew.”
“I lied to my father, told him Matthew wouldn’t come to Clifflands. It ruined his plans. He wanted to attack you and frame Matthew, make Augustin go after him blindly.”
‘I found out by accident,” she explained. “So I lied to my father. He knew Matthew wouldn’t go down without a fight. He’d fight Augustin. And since Matthew and Kieran are friends, they’d end up in the war my father has been trying to create.”
Matthew coming here ruined everything, and my father was livid.” She let out a shaky breath. “The night Matthew grabbed me, I had learned from a society friend that my father had put a hit out on me. I couldn’t tell Matthew, but I stayed close to him hoping for a chance to escape.”
Her hand moved to her belly. “Being this close to delivery didn’t help either.”
My gaze dropped to her wrist, where I noticed a silver bracelet. The metal would be weakening her, preventing her from shifting or using her full strength.
“Who put this on you?” I asked, gesturing to the bracelet.
“Matthew,‘ she replied quietly. “I told him I wouldn’t run, but he didn’t believe me.”
Without hesitation, I pulled a hairpin from my hair and moved toward her. I took her wrist gently and began working on the lock.
Within moments, the bracelet clicked opén, and I removed it from her wrist.
Isabelle rubbed the reddened skin beneath, relief washing over her face. “Thank you.”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry for everything, Juno. For ruining what you had with New. I wish I’d never gone to that party
“We all wish that,” I said honestly. “But I believe the Moon Goddess had a plan. If not for all of this, I would
found where I truly belong.”
A small smile crossed her face. ‘I’m glad you found happiness. You deserve it.” She hesitated before adding, “I was I’m sorry for that too.”
jealous of
you
before. I wasn’t kind to you.
‘I wish I could take it all back,” she whispered. “But I want you to know I never wanted to come into your home.”
She explained how her father had discovered she and Matthew were fated, how he’d started plotting, how she should have fought harder. Then she broke down completely, sobs wracking her body.
Without thinking, I stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. I could feel her fear, her pain, her exhaustion. She’d been manipulated and used just as surely as any of us.
I hoped Matthew might try with her. She wasn’t the villain I’d once thought her to be, just another victim in Charles’s schemes.
As I held her, a chilling realization settled over me. If we didn’t end Charles once and for all, he would eventually kill Isabelle. Anyone who could order their own child’s assassination was cold–blooded.
After Isabelle calmed, I excused myself and stepped out into the hallway. I immediately linked with Delta Garth.
Go to Matthew’s hotel and retrieve their luggage, I instructed. Especially his bag. There’s something important inside.
Yes, Luna, came his immediate response.
I arranged for two maids to attend to Isabelle, ensuring she had food and comfort. She’d been through enough.
As I walked away, I couldn’t help but reflect on the irony. Had Isabelle not appeared that day at the party, I wouldn’t have ended up with Augustin. In a strange way, I owed my current happiness to her.
I smiled to myself, feeling optimistic despite everything. We were getting closer to untangling this web of deceit. Perhaps peace was
finally within reach.
Ch
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