Chapter 320\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let my eyes sweep across their faces-one by one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric, Zara. Scarlett. Kael.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each of them flinched beneath my stare, unable to meet my gaze. Even Kael, all fire and fury a second ago, broke eye contact first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew what they were doing. What they were hoping for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That I\u2019d fall silent again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That I\u2019d back down. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d I said coolly, my voice cutting through the silence like a blade. \u201cSince none of you will say it, I will.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0<\/p>\n
gown Kael picked up was perfectly intact. The dashcam can prove I never touched it, never even looked at it during the ride. But somehow, by the time Scarlett slipped it on, it was torn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned toward the guests, toward the room filled with powerful families and polished reputations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo tell me,\u201d I asked, louder now, \u201cwho really damaged the dress?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice dropped to a quiet, dangerous hush.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd more importantly-why is everyone so afraid of checking the damn footage?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one moved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because they knew. If the truth came out, they couldn\u2019t pin this on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Couldn\u2019t let me be the scapegoat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess that\u2019s the problem, right?\u201d I laughed bitterly. \u201cIf the dashcam proves I\u2019m innocent, then\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:00 Thu, Dec 25 M..\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 320\u00a0<\/p>\n
who\u2019s left to carry the blame?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked straight at Alaric and Zara.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo carry the blame\u2026 to take the fall\u2026 to take the punishment meant for someone else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That last sentence hit like a grenade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara\u2019s tears came quickly, but they didn\u2019t move me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley\u2026 it\u2019s not like that. You\u2019re my daughter too. I\u2019ve always-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cut her off with a single look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A sharp, dead-cold stare.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And this time, she had no defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care what you call me anymore,\u201d I said. \u201cIt means nothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned and walked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And when I reached the hallway corner, fate twisted the knife once more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maddox.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaning against the wall like he\u2019d been waiting for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t slow down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t look at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But just as I passed, his voice drifted past my shoulder-low and familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you, Riley.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t soothe me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It gutted me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because belief meant nothing now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not when it came too late.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in the storeroom, I stood in the doorway for a long time,\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:00 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 320\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Z01)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I stepped inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sat on the fold-up cot, the same one I\u2019d slept on for three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt hollow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not angry. Not even hurt anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just\u2026 emptied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at the wall, the faded uniforms, the ceiling with water stains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This had been my world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But not anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gathered my things-a plastic bag, worn shoes, a faded T-shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was leaving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, just as I reached for the door-\u00a0<\/p>\n
It opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And standing there was the only person in this house who\u2019d ever treated me like I mattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was older now, maybe sixty, her greying hair pulled back tight, her Omega scent faint but distinct-a soft blend of rosemary and iron.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Riley\u2026\u201d Her voice trembled. \u201cYou\u2019re really back?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My lips parted. \u201cMia?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one else called me that anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not Miss Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just that girl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Mia always remembered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:00 Thu, Dec 25 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 320\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a house that treated me like an unwanted stain, she was the only one who saw me as hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered those summer nights-when the storeroom boiled like an oven and she snuck in an old fan she\u2019d bought herself. I remembered her tucking an electric blanket under my thin mattress during winter, whispering, \u201cDon\u2019t tell anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked away tears I didn\u2019t have the strength to shed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia looked at the plastic bag in my hand. \u201cYou\u2019re leaving?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t try to stop me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She just stepped forward and took my arm. \u201cSit. Let me clean that wound first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fine,\u201d I muttered. \u201cJust a scratch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her jaw tensed. \u201cRiley\u2026 you\u2019ve said that since you were sixteen. But it\u2019s never been just a scratch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She led me back to the cot, her movements gentle but practiced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia, like most Omegas in elite households, had learned to be invisible. Soft-spoken. Careful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But with me, her hands were steady. Her voice carried steel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She cleaned the cut with warm water and antiseptic from the old metal cabinet, wrapped it tightly, then looked me in the eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t eaten since yesterday. Let me make you a bowl of noodles, then you can go wherever you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head. \u201cI don\u2019t want to eat anything from this house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t argue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll need money.\u201d She pulled a thick envelope from her apron pocket and pressed it into my hand. \u201cTake it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:00 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 320\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t fight me. I\u2019ve been saving it for years. I was going to use it when I left this house\u2026 but now I know you need it more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to refuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because she was right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And because her hand, calloused and shaking, was still wrapped around mine like I was her child.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked me in the eyes again, hers glassy with tears. \u201cI\u2019m an Omega. I can\u2019t stop them from hurting you. But I can help you walk away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice cracked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were never meant to belong to this place, Riley. You\u2019re meant to tear the whole damn thing down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I whispered, \u201cThank you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And meant it more than anything I\u2019d ever said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
730\u00a0<\/p>\n
(li)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 320 Chapter 320\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 I let my eyes sweep across their faces-one by one.\u00a0 […]<\/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-20593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593","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=20593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}