Chapter 130 The Tables Have Turned
Chapter 130 The Tables Have Turned
ARDEN
The inauguration was over before I realized how much my checks hurt from smiling.
Everywhere I turned, people were shaking Cade’s hand, offering congratulations, telling him how they’d always believed he would win. I stood beside him, a little dazzled and still overwhelmed.
I was mid–step toward him when someone new broke through the crowd.
Tall, broad–shouldered, with a strong aura that could silence a room.
And handsome.
Like… dangerously handsome. The kind of handsome that makes you blink twice and wonder if you’d just imagined him. Daddy handsome. Not my type, of course. Cade was still the most handsome in my eyes.
Cade noticed him too. He glanced at me, one eyebrow raised.
The man smiled warmly at me before his gaze shifted to Cade. “Congratulations, Praetor,” he said in a smooth, deep voice that carried just enough authority to demand attention without trying. Then his eyes came back to me. “I’m Abel Trevane.”
My brow went up at the name. So, this was Abel Trevane? The distant Trevane that replaced Jaxon’s family all at once? I could already tell he was much better than Jaxon.
“Please tell me if you need any support,” he said. “I’m for young leaders.”
I glanced at Cade and smiled before answering. “Thank you, sir Alpha, sir.”
That earned me a rich chuckle. “Oh, please. Abel is fine.”
“Alright, Abel,” I said, returning his smile and offering my hand.
His grip was warm and firm.
Beside me, Cade shifted, just enough for me to notice.
When Abel moved on to greet someone else, I turned to Cade with a teasing smirk. “You okay there?”
His brows knit together slightly. “I’m fine.”
“Oh? Because you had that look,” I said lightly, “like maybe you were about to growl at him for breathing
near me.”
“I didn’t growl,” he said flatly.
“You wanted to growl,” I pressed, enjoying myself far too much.
He gave me a look that made me chuckle. “I’m not jealous,”
“Right,” I said, nodding with exaggerated seriousness. “Totally not jealous. Just standing there like a
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Chapter 130 The Tables Have Turned
thundercloud for fun.“:
His jaw ticked. “I wasn’t-”
I grinned and leaned closer. “Cade. You’re adorable when you’re pretending not to be territorial!”
He muttered something under his breath that I didn’t catch, but I was sure it was not an agreement.
I was about to tease him again when I caught a shift in the air around us. I followed the pull of it across the
room.
My stomach turned cold.
They were here.
The faces I had once known better than my own. The faces I had trained myself not to imagine. My… family.
Except they weren’t my family. Not anymore.
Lorelei stood at the front, her expression bright, her posture as flawless as ever. Dominic was beside her, his easy smile almost exactly as I remembered.
Cade’s smile faded instantly.
I couldn’t move for a moment. My pulse thundered in my ears as Lorelei stepped forward.
“Who did you come here for?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“You,” Lorelei said without hesitation.
“Of course it’s you,” Dominic added, his tone dripping with pride. “We’re so proud.”
They chuckled softly, like this was some normal family reunion, like they could pretend the years of silence and absence hadn’t existed.
Lorelei stepped in, arms opening for a hug. Dominic moved in sync with her.
I stepped back.
“What do you want?” My voice was steady, colder than I thought it would be.
Dominic’s smile didn’t falter. “We want to talk.”
From the corner of my eye, Cade shifted closer and whispered so only I could hear, “You don’t have to if
don’t want to.”
you
I pursed my lips. A hundred answers ran through my mind, but in the end, I only muttered, “I’ll quick.”
His eyes softened. He leaned in and pressed a brief kiss to my cheek.
“You can use my office,” he said.
I nodded once, forcing my shoulders back and my expression neutral. “Follow me,” I said to Lorelei and,
Dominic.
And they did.
The tables had turned, and for the first time in my life, they followed my word.
I kept a poker face all throughout.
“What do you want?” I snapped as soon as we were seated.
Dominic flinched, and for a second, I thought he’d pretend not to hear me. But then Lorelei leaned forward, clutching her hands together like she thought her trembling would somehow make me soften.
“Arden…” she began, but before she could spin whatever half–baked story she had ready, Dorninic cut in.
“We’re here to ask that you release your brothers.”
I stared at them, the words hitting my ears but not my heart. Brothers. The term felt as empty as the people saying it.
“They are your brothers,” Lorelei echoed, her voice cracking on the word. “Please. Lucian and Kieran….. they made mistakes, but-”
“Mistakes?“I scoffed. “Lucian was arrested for his involvement with Mr. Winters. Kieran was arrested for that, too, plus school bullying. These aren’t accidents. These aren’t ‘oops, my hand slipped into corruption”
moments.”
“They’ll serve their time in the detention center for years,” Dominic said quickly. “But we thought you might be able to—”
“Help?” I cut in, “Oh, that’s rich.”
Inside, I laughed–cold and humorless. These two hadn’t listened to me before. They hadn’t believed me, hadn’t even considered me their daughter most of the time. And now, now that the sons they actually cared about were caught in their own mess, suddenly I was useful?
“You want that?” I asked.
“Yes, daughter,” Dominic said, leaning against the table and reaching out to hold my hand. It was cold, just as I remembered.
I froze, the word striking something in me, though not in the way he probably hoped. My jaw clenched. tight.
“I’m not your daughter,” I spat.
Their eyes widened. Dominic’s mouth opened, but no sound came. Lorelei looked at me like torn the sky apart.
“Tell me,” I said, taking a slow step toward them. “Where the hell did you take me from?”
Silence.
just
Dominic and Lorelei glanced at each other, something tense passing between them. For a moment. I
wondered if they would bolt, if they’d run back to whatever comfortable little lie they’d been living with for years.
Finally, Dominic cleared his throat. “If we tell you…” His voice faltered, but he forced it through gritted teeth. “…then will you free your brothers?”
Raising my chin high, I looked him dead in the eyes. “Speak,” I merely said.
