Chapter 442\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
70%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford\u2019s expression darkened instantly, his brows furrowing in displeasure. \u201cWhat nonsense are you spewing now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lady Seraphina Duskgrave snapped like a beast corner, screaming in his face, \u201cNonsense? I saw the pictures your mother sent you! It was that bitch Riley! You even said that as long as she was satisfied, you had no objections!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I don\u2019t know? Your family just wants to replace me because I can\u2019t give you an heir! You\u2019re all so desperate to find someone young and fertile-like I\u2019m the one to blame!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it my fault I can\u2019t-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
BANG!\u00a0<\/p>\n
A thunderous slap of a cane on wood silenced her. The sound echoed through the ballroom like a whip crack. Matriarch Duskgrave stood at the head of the long table, her face pale with fury, her aged hand trembling around her cane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough!\u201d she thundered. \u201cI sent those pictures to Ford so he\u2019d recognize his future daughter-in-law!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words crashed into the ballroom like a bolt of lighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lady Seraphina\u2019s smug expression froze mid-sentence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gasps erupted across the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The socialites who had helped Seraphina strip Riley and beat her now stood petrified, color draining from their faces. The realization hit like a guillotine: they hadn\u2019t assaulted some lowborn rogue\u2026 they had laid their hands on the mate of the Stormridge Alpha Prince\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dead silence fell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because everyone in Northhaven knew what Lucien Duskgrave was capable of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And they especially knew what happened to anyone who dared hurt what was his.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phrase Lucien had uttered earlier-\u201cThink carefully about whether your body parts are worth more than the pain she endured\u201d-now became crystal clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those women, who had moments ago gleefully laughed and clawed at Riley, now trembled like autumn leaves in a blizzard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some fell to their knees in panic, crawling toward Matriarch Duskgrave in a desperate bid for mercy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMatriarch, we didn\u2019t know\u2026 please, it was all a misunderstanding\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cForgive us, please!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matriarch Duskgrave didn\u2019t even glance their way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou dared lay a hand on the girl I\u2019ve already acknowledged? Hurt her until her bones were nearly broken- and now want to leave?\u201d she sneered. \u201cDo you think this is a tavern brawl you can slink away from?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:56 Wed, Jan 14 D G D\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 442\u00a0<\/p>\n
70%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their husbands-powerful Beta heirs, merchants, councilmen-had already rushed forward upon hearing the full truth. Rage twisted their faces as they stared at their wives in disbelief and fury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou laid hands on her?\u201d one of the men growled, slapping his mate across the face. \u201cYou stupid fool, do you know what you\u2019ve done?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an instant, chaos exploded. The men lashed out at the women who had shamed their names and dragged their families into doom. Screams echoed through the ballroom-not of Riley this time, but of the very women who had laughed while kicking her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the real terror still lingered in the air-thick and suffocating-as they all waited for Lucien Duskgrave to\u00a0<\/p>\n
return.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hadn\u2019t spoken of punishment yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that silence\u2026 was worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lady Seraphina sat frozen on the floor, her nails digging into her arms, eyes wild with fear. Images of Lucien\u2019s ruthlessness over the years played through her mind like a nightmare reel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She remembered the stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of how he\u2019d handled rogues who crossed him. Of how, at only five years old, he\u2019d pushed her down the marble staircase after she\u2019d caused his mother\u2019s death. How he\u2019d ordered doctors to take her womb-how he\u2019d ensured she\u2019d never bear a child again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was no longer the boy she could lie to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had become a monster draped in civility, and that monster was coming back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford watched Seraphina trembling, her body like a wind-struck leaf. A sliver of pity stirred in him. No matter how wrong she\u2019d been, she was still his wife. And Riley\u2026 was just a girl. A younger generation. Surely this didn\u2019t need to become a blood feud.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sighed heavily, stepped up to Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s side, and attempted a softer tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMother, today\u2019s your eightieth birthday. Let\u2019s not escalate this. Lucien has always been impulsive. Maybe we should all just\u2026 calm down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s response was anything but calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned with fire in her ancient eyes and slammed her cane hard against Ford\u2019s thigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
THUD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He staggered slightly, stunned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still have the gall to speak up for her?\u201d she hissed. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for you bringing that trash into this family, do you think Riley would have suffered like this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy granddaughter-in-law-whom I handpicked-was humiliated, stripped, nearly killed at my own birthday banquet, and you ask me to stay calm?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford clenched his jaw, the sting of humiliation sharper han her cane. He glanced around at the crowd and then, in an effort to preserve some dignity, marched to the grand doors of the ballroom and tried to force\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
56 vved,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 442\u00a0<\/p>\n
them open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t budge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f66. 70%\u25aa\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuke,\u201d he called out sternly, voice laced with authority Open this door. Now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien\u2019s assistant remained calmly near the control panel, still smiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Chairman doesn\u2019t want Alpha Lucien furious, I suggest he remains right where he is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford\u2019s tone sharpened. \u201cI can have you dismissed in five seconds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Duke nodded. \u201cI believe you. But for now\u2026 I serve someone else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford\u2019s face turned an angry shade of red, fists clenched, but there was nothing more he could do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The others watched in horror as even the Chairman was being openly denied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fear spread like wildfire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lady Seraphina crumpled to the floor, her designer dress ruined, her mind broken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The other socialites, now black and blue from their husbands\u2019 fury, whimpered and prayed Lucien might take pity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But none dared speak again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air inside the grand ballroom had turned to ice, thick with dread. And everyone understood the same terrifying truth:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien Duskgrave wasn\u2019t done yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Send Gifts\u00a0<\/p>\n
992\u00a0<\/p>\n
B\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wed,\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pack\u2019s Daughter\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 442 Chapter 442\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 70%\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 Ford\u2019s expression darkened instantly, his brows furrowing […]<\/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-20717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20717","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=20717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}