Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
A pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then: \u201cMiss Riley? Sir, we never made any deposits into her account.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Kael\u2019s voice cracked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
B\u00a0<\/p>\n
* Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLuna Zara said Miss Riley came from\u2026 a less privileged background. She was concerned money would lead her astray. Since Miss Riley lived on the estate with all her basic needs. covered, the allowance was canceled.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I felt him cracking beside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd\u2026 Luna Zara raised Miss Scarlett\u2019s allowance to a million a month. Said it was to compensate for Riley\u2019s return. Surely you were aware of that, sir?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crowd was growing around us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone had heard the voice coming from the speakerphone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stunned silence followed. Even the music in the distance felt like it had dulled to a whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ebonclaw Pack might not be the most powerful in the South, but they were certainly one of the most respected elite packs. In circles like these, it was unheard of for a daughter of the house to receive nothing-not a single cent in allowance each month. But here I was. The only daughter by blood. Not even a dime to my name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And suddenly, everything about me made sense to them. The worn-out high school uniform. The lack of even a halfway decent dress for a formal event. The hollow\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They started whispering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo wonder she looks like that\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t she the real daughter? And Scarlett\u2019s the adopted one?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t get a penny? Not even once?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWow\u2026 the Vale family\u2019s really something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They weren\u2019t wrong. It was laughable. Born into privilege, yet stripped of everything. Scarlett-\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:59 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
their darling-was pampered with a monthly allowance of a hundred thousand. While I, their actual daughter, was left with nothing but an old school uniform and the sting of forgotten birthdays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood there silently, watching the truth finally sink in for them. For Kael. For my so-called\u00a0<\/p>\n
parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael, his face turning crimson with shame and disbelief, tried one last time to salvage the family\u2019s dignity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if finance didn\u2019t send you money, surely Mom and Dad gave you some personally, right?\u201d he snapped, clinging to denial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled, not kindly. My gaze slid to Alpha Alaric and Luna Zara-my \u201cparents.\u201d \u201cIf they did, you can ask them directly. After all, you never believed a word I said. But surely, you\u2019ll believe them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric looked like he\u2019d been punched. His shoulders stiffened, avoiding my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought\u2026 I assumed you two were giving her money,\u201d he muttered, voice barely audible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luna Zara looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Tears welled in her eyes- crocodile tears, if you asked me. \u201cSweetheart, if you were struggling, you should\u2019ve said something. I would have helped you right away,\u201d she said, voice trembling. \u201cIt\u2019s my fault for not noticing sooner, but please know-I\u2019ve always loved you just the same as Scarlett.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at her, my expression void of emotion, only a faint smile lingering at the corners of my mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman who had ordered the finance department to cut me off. Who increased Scarlett\u2019s allowance out of pity-for her, not for me. The same woman now pretending she hadn\u2019t noticed my threadbare clothes, my shrinking presence, my desperation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t blind. She simply didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This whole display of remorse was for the audience. Nothing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And fortunately, I\u2019d already shed my illusions. I had no expectations left, which meant they had\u00a0<\/p>\n
no power over me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught Kael\u2019s flicker of guilt-and just as quickly, the frustration overtook it. \u201cWhat, you couldn\u2019t just say something?\u201d he barked. \u201cWe\u2019re not mind-readers, Riley! If you needed money, all you had to do was ask. You think we\u2019d just let you go without?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did ask,\u201d I said quietly, my voice like ice. \u201cYou just didn\u2019t care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He opened his mouth to argue-but I saw it, that flicker of doubt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:59 Thu, Dec 25 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
A memory was returning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw it in his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An afternoon, years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We were all in the living room. I approached, fingers twisting the hem of my too-small school blouse, cheeks burning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad\u2026 Mom\u2026\u201d I had murmured. \u201cCan I\u2026 have five thousand? For school\u2026 tuition\u2026?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael had slammed his newspaper down. \u201cMoney, money, money-that\u2019s all you ever talk about!\u201d he\u2019d snapped. \u201cIs that what you came back to this house for? To leech off us? If the Vales weren\u2019t rich, would you have stayed away?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remember my hands trembling. My voice had broken when I whispered, \u201cI just need it for school\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He scoffed. \u201cYou want money? Scarlett just got top ten in her class. What did you get?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 I was first\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c1\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst from the bottom, I bet,\u201d he barked, rolling his eyes. \u201cUnbelievable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had felt so humiliated I ran from the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later, I overheard them chuckling as Scarlett tugged Kael\u2019s arm. \u201cBrother, I did so well this month! Can I have a reward?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had immediately brightened. \u201cWhat does my baby sister want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a purse-ten thousand. Can I have it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course! If Scarlett wants it, even a hundred thousand is worth it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I-I was forgotten.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Snapped back to the present, I saw Kael\u2019s face contort with a storm of emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that what you\u2019re remembering now, Kael?\u201d I asked softly. Coldly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He flinched at the use of his full name. Not \u201cbrother.\u201d Not anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That word had died the moment they let me rot in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He clenched his fists, scowling. \u201cWell, it\u2019s not like you deserved a reward! You were failing all\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:00 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
your classes! Coming in last-how dare you even ask for money!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tilted\u00a0<\/p>\n
my\u00a0<\/p>\n
head, my\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
voice sharp as glass. \u201cI was first in my year. All three years of high school.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His expression cracked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled coldly. \u201cBut of course you didn\u2019t know that, did you? You don\u2019t even know what school\u00a0<\/p>\n
I went to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face turned pale. \u201cYou weren\u2019t at Halston Academy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halston Academy-the most prestigious private school in Mooncrest City. Scarlett\u2019s school. The school he just assumed I went to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned abruptly to Alaric and Luna Zara, his voice hoarse. \u201cDid you transfer her into Halston when she came back?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neither answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s face went ashen, his lips moving uselessly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luna Zara just stood there, eyes wild, lips trembling, mascara streaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their silence said everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And in that silence, Kael\u2019s carefully constructed world began to crumble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked at me, barely able to breathe. \u201cRiley\u2026 then where did you go to school all these years?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
730\u00a0<\/p>\n
W\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 317 Chapter 317\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 A pause.\u00a0 :\u00a0 Then: \u201cMiss Riley? Sir, we never made […]<\/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-20590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20590","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=20590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20590\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}