Chapter 314\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The prison gates groaned open like the jaws of some ancient beast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Light hit\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
my face for the first time in five years. It should have felt warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\/A\u3002 (01),\u00a0<\/p>\n
finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The clothes I wore when I entered-now sagged off my body, hanging loose over skin stretched too tightly across brittle bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I limped forward, one foot dragging behind the other. Not because I wanted pity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because that\u2019s all my body had left to give.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A black Bentley idled at the curb. The window slid down with a soft mechanical whir.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze dragged over my legs, a sneer curling his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill pretending to be weak after five years in a cell?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice was sharp, cold-like glass dipped in poison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened. The sting behind my eyes caught me off guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My brother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The one I once tried so desperately to please.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said nothing. Just kept limping past him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael stiffened behind the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In his memory, I was the eager puppy, always rushing to serve him, always begging to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He remembered me waiting outside his office with homemade soup during winter storms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He remembered me massaging his shoulders when he came home late, pressing slippers to his feet with trembling fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He remembered the girl who adored him like a god.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:59 Thu, Dec 25 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 314\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that girl died somewhere between the prison bars and the courtroom bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet in,\u201d he snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I didn\u2019t move, he huffed and softened his tone-just a touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom and Dad arranged a welcome dinner for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom and Dad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words felt foreign now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three years in that house taught me a bitter truth: I was never their daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not really.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was the inconvenient reminder of a life they tried to forget.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Scarlett? She was their sun, moon, and stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said nothing. Just kept walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael cursed, slammed the door, and came after me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His hand clamped down on my wrist and yanked hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you done playing this little drama?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stumbled, hitting the ground hard. Pain shot through my leg like a knife. I tasted blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael towered over me, face twisted in disgust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill acting fragile? Five years wasn\u2019t enough to knock the lies out of you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He yanked me to my feet like I was garbage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lured Tessa into that forest. You know what happened to her. And you still dare to act like a victim?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up at him from the ground, swallowing the scream in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were convicted because of evidence. Because the scent at the scene was yours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Scarlett\u2019s?\u201d I whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:59 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 314\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because he knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew the earring he\u2019d found in the mud wasn\u2019t mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew the message came from Scarlett\u2019s device.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, he stood in court and said nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He yanked me to my feet, sneering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fristed\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t think your time\u2019s up. Tessa\u2019s still unconscious. Until she wakes, your guilt remains. And you still owe Scarlett an apology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apology?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer. Just pulled my arm free, stepped away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The distance stung him more than my words could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome home,\u201d he said again, trying to make it sound like an offer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like it meant something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart clenched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even after all these years, I knew it immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maddox.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped into view-shoes polished, suit immaculate, face carved from the same cold stone as always. But it was the voice that gutted me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations on your release,\u201d he said, like this was some kind of graduation ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If someone else had said it, I might\u2019ve forced a smile. Might\u2019ve said thank you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But not him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the boy who once swore to protect me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the man who stood in court and helped condemn me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the one who begged me-begged me-to take the fall so Scarlett wouldn\u2019t have to suffer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:59 Thu, Dec 25 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 314\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wouldn\u2019t survive prison,\u201d he\u2019d said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2026 you\u2019re strong, Riley. You\u2019re used to pain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nearly vomited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This man-this mate-had stood in the courtroom and watched them drag me away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d looked me in the eye as the sentence was read and said nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d rejected me through the bond the moment the cell door closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I still remembered that pain. The mindlink tearing like muscle off bone. His voice saying,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI reject you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wanted to pretend we were still something?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He reached out. \u201cRiley, I came to take you ho-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going home with Kael,\u201d I said, cutting him off without looking at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just loud enough for him to hear the contempt in every syllable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael blinked in surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maddox\u2019s hand froze mid-air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked away-limping, trembling, barely holding myself together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t look back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not because I wanted to go home with either of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t want to go anywhere with anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the truth was, I was still on a leash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One month. That\u2019s how long my observation period lasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One wrong move, one excuse, and the Vale family could have me thrown right back into that werewolf prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:59 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 314\u00a0<\/p>\n
And this time. I wouldn\u2019t come back out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I walked. Not for Kael.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not for Maddox.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not even for myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked because the system was still watching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And for now, I had to play the part.\u00a0<\/p>\n
730\u00a0<\/p>\n
160\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 314 Chapter 314\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 The prison gates groaned open like the jaws of some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}