Chapter 322\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room was barely a room at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cramped. Damp. Mold clung to the walls like parasites. A single folding cot occupied the far corner, surrounded by a scatter of worn clothes and lifeless daily necessities. The sour scent of mildew hung in the air, thick and suffocating. Cobwebs draped the ceiling like a burial veil.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael stood at the doorway, fists clenched at his sides.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His heart pounded with a fury he didn\u2019t quite understand-not yet. Not fully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia,\u201d he growled, his voice tight and low, \u201cwhat the hell is this? Who let her live in a place like this? She\u2019s my sister!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia flinched, clearly startled by his sudden outburst. \u201cYoung Master\u2026 it was you who told us to arrange her\u00a0<\/p>\n
stay here. Don\u2019t you remember?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s mouth opened, a retort forming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The memory crashed down on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eight years ago, when Riley had first been brought home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had told her to choose a room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She picked the one beside his own. He\u2019d refused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my future study,\u201d he\u2019d said curtly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She picked the one next to Scarlett\u2019s. Again, he refused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019ll be Scarlett\u2019s art room. Pick another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She offered to stay in the attic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 322\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u17e4\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo way,\u201d he had said. \u201cYou\u2019re still a daughter of this house. People would laugh if they knew you were staying in an attic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then Mia had spoken. \u201cThere\u2019s only the storage room left\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Clean it out. She can stay there temporarily.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He never checked again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In his mind, it was just another guest room-well-lit, comfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now, seeing the truth with his own eyes, the lie shattered like glass.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three years she lived here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three years in a mold-ridden cage while servants enjoyed their own full rooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael couldn\u2019t breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t think.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guilt hit him in waves, cold and merciless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia wrung her hands, voice trembling. \u201cThe storage room is too damp. Maybe\u2026 maybe we should let Miss Riley sleep in my quarters tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word came like a whipcrack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael tightened his hold on Riley\u2019s unconscious form, jaw taut with tension and shame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Theo to come. Tell him to meet me in my room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t wait for a response. He turned, carried Riley through the villa like a man possessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind him, Mia\u2019s eyes misted with relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At last, she thought, the young master sees her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, the bedroom door slammed open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo stepped in-his voice preceding him, dry with sarcasm. \u201cKael, for the love of the Goddess, how obsessed are you with your sister? Scarlett\u2019s sick and you drag her all the way to your-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words stopped cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 322\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because it wasn\u2019t Scarlett on the bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face pale as death, her frame limp and crumpled, curled against the pillows like a wilted flower.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s smile vanished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His brows drew together, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t heal convicts,\u201d he said, slinging his satchel over his shoulder. \u201cYou know my principles.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s my sister,\u201d Kael said tightly. \u201cDon\u2019t call her that again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s lips curled into a smirk-mocking and sharp. \u201cIs that so? Because as far as I recall, your \u2018sister\u2019 nearly killed the Blackmaw Pack\u2019s heiress and got a five-year sentence for it. I don\u2019t care what she is to you. I don\u2019t heal poison with legs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s eyes narrowed, his voice low and steady. \u201cCheck her. At least her right leg.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two men stared at each other-one cold with pride, the other burning with shame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, Theo looked away first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sighed, long and reluctant. \u201cFine. I\u2019ll examine. But I\u2019m not promising miracles.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knelt beside the bed, dropped his satchel, and lifted the blanket with clinical disinterest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly,\u201d he muttered as he began unrolling the bandage, \u201cI don\u2019t know what spell she cast on you to make you act like a damn knight-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stopped speaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His hands froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because what lay beneath the blanket was not a leg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was devastation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s right leg was deformed-bone twisted at an unnatural angle, skin stretched tightly over the sharp ridges. Faint bruises stained the pallid flesh, scars overlapping like broken glass. One gash hadn\u2019t even closed. A raised, jagged seam ran across her calf like a monstrous centipede.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo stared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He reached out, almost hesitantly, his fingers brushing the skin with the lightness of reverence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 322\u00a0<\/p>\n
M\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2026\u201d he said hoarsely. \u201cHer leg\u2026 has it always been like this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s breath hitched. \u201cNo. She was fine. The entire time she lived here. That leg was never injured.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was all Theo needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t speak, just resumed his examination with a grim face and shaking hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Minutes passed. The silence was oppressive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Theo stood and said in a raw voice, \u201cWe need to talk. Outside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael followed him to the study.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo didn\u2019t sit. He stood by the window, arms crossed tight, as though afraid he\u2019d shatter from within.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know how strong werewolves\u2019 bone is?\u201d he asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael blinked. \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tibia and fibula-shin bones-are some of the densest bones in the body. To break them like that? It takes high-energy trauma. Car crashes. Falling from multiple stories. Or\u2026 being beaten with something very heavy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo looked him dead in the eye. \u201cThere\u2019s no sign of surgical treatment. No healing intervention. That leg was broken and left to rot-then healed on its own, in the wrong position. You want to know what that feels like? It\u2019s like someone hammering nails into your bones every time you move.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The world tilted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo continued. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not all. Her body shows clear signs of chronic malnutrition. Muscle wasting. Repeated lash trauma. Most of these wounds are layered-old and new. Someone wasn\u2019t just punishing her. They were making a point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael couldn\u2019t feel his hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His fists clenched. Then released. Then clenched again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was in prison,\u201d he whispered. \u201cShe was just a girl\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe still is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 322\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
M\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael staggered back a step.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we do?\u201d he croaked. \u201cCan her leg\u2026 can it be saved?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo shook his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late. That damage is permanent. Three years ago-maybe. But now?\u201d He exhaled shakily. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can do but stop it from getting worse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael stared into nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t even hear Theo leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time he sank into the chair, he was trembling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He fumbled for a cigarette, but his fingers shook so hard he couldn\u2019t light it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lighter fell to the floor with a hollow clatter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Kael crushed the cigarette between his fingers and buried his head in his hands, breathing like a man suffocating under guilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stayed like that for a long, long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, slowly, he sat up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Face pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jaw clenched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eyes like ice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He grabbed his phone, dialed a number with mechanical precision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLuca,\u201d he said, voice flat and emotionless, \u201cI want a full report on Riley\u2019s time in prison. I don\u2019t care how long it takes or what it costs. I want everything-every name, every day, every injury.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then added, cold as death:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave nothing out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 322 Chapter 322\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 The room was barely a room at all.\u00a0 Finished\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-20595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20595","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=20595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}