249 The Weight of Betrayal
Mara
“We started spending more time together,” Lacy continued, her voice quieter now, but steady. “He seemed like a good man. Warm, attentive. He told me about our family-about the Moongrove bloodline.”
Her gaze dropped.
“He said the Nighthorns erased our name from the Alpha registry. That his father died without ever seeing it restored. And he made a promise-he swore he’d make the Moongrove name powerful again. That he’d rise, no matter what it took.”
She glanced toward Vander, then away, nervous.
“He said the Nighthorns and the Redlocks monopolized everything. That no matter how hard he worked, they always kept him beneath them. He hated Alpha Vander,” she admitted, “said he always took things that mattered most.”
Her next words came with hesitation.
“He said Vander took Natasha Redlock from him first… and let it go.”
She froze.
The moment the name Natasha left her lips, Alpha Vander erupted.
His voice crashed into the room like thunder, raw with emotion.
I immediately linked to him. Not now. Let her finish. We can’t lose this.
He pulled back-barely. But enough.
I turned to Lacy. “Continue.”
She nodded, wiping her face with trembling fingers.
“He said he forgave what happened with Natasha. But then she died. And after that, Alpha Vander took my mother too.
And me. That was too much. He said losing a girlfriend wasn’t the same as losing a wife and child. That he could never forgive that.”
Lacy paused, visibly unravelling. Her voice cracked again.
“He told me he tried to fight for her. That’s why he started blackmailing her. He thought if he pushed hard enough, she’d
stop pretending-come back to him. But she didn’t. He said she was too greedy. Too in love with the life she had here.”
She wiped fresh tears as they fell, but this time her expression seemed hollow. Maybe she finally understood just how
much of her father’s bitterness she’d been fed like poison.
“I believed him,” Lacy said, her voice small. “We spent so much time together. I hated my mother-for robbing me of a father. And I hated Alpha Vander too. My father painted him like a parasite-always stealing what wasn’t his.”
Her face crumpled slightly, guilt pressing in.
“One day, my father asked for a favor. He promised I’d never have to do anything dirty-just help him keep his word to his father, and bring my mother back to him. I said yes. Looking back now, I feel like a fool. How could I be so gullible at twenty-four? But I was desperate. My daddy issues ran deep, and he knew exactly how to exploit them.”
She paused to wipe her eyes, her hands trembling.
“He told me to get close to Alpha Lucian. To work my way into the company-into a top-level position. He wanted access. Account passwords. Names in IT and Finance. I told him it wouldn’t be hard. I started pressuring my mom to get me a
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<249 The Weight of Betrayal
spot.”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
“She warned me to stay away from Alpha Lucian. Said he was married. I promised her I would. But my father kept pushing. He said I didn’t have to do anything with Lucian, just get close enough to bug his phone and laptop.”
She looked away, ashamed.
“When I told him it wouldn’t work-that Lucian couldn’t stand me-he told me to try another way. And I did. I slept with a couple of guys in IT and Accounts. They didn’t suspect anything. I planted bugs on their devices, helped his men gain remote access. He told me he’d only take a little money. Said the Nighthorns wouldn’t even notice.”
Her voice broke again. “He promised we’d be a family. Said once Vander and my mother split, it would be the perfect time to get her back. And when they did separate… he was thrilled. Told me to get her out of that house.”
Her jaw clenched. “But around that time, Mom brought in someone-an old friend who used to know my father. She paid him to find and kill him. She said once he was gone, we could finally have peace. She even promised to split the money from the sales of her properties: one share for Darian to start his firm, one for me to start fresh, and one for her to disappear from Mooncrest.”
Lacy exhaled hard, full of shame. “I pretended to be happy. But I couldn’t let her do it. I told my father. He had the man taken out before he could act. I felt awful about it-but my father convinced me it was necessary. He said the man
could’ve led the Nighthorns straight to him.”
She dropped her gaze, her voice growing softer.
“Two days later, my father called. He said William would deliver something-a sleeping drug-for my mom. Just enough to knock her out. I was supposed to take her to him, meet him at Grey Avenue, and we’d leave together.”
She inhaled shakily. “I knew everyone would be out. Mara and Lucian at the office, Beta Celeb at HQ. Vander out with his friends. Tiffany wouldn’t notice anything. All I had to do was load her into the car and tell Jason she overdosed. He
would’ve believed it. She’d been acting unstable.”
Her hands covered her face.
“William dropped off the drug. That morning, I brought her a glass of juice. She showed me the checks-already signed
and sealed in an envelope-and told me to call Darian. I handed her the juice.”
Her voice cracked completely now.
“I believed every word my father told me. But then it happened. She had a seizure-foam at her mouth. She collapsed. I
screamed for help. I had no idea it was poison. I swear I didn’t know.”
She sank to the floor, sobbing openly now. Shoulders shaking. Tears streaking her cheeks.
And for the first time since this started, she didn’t look like a spy or a traitor.
She looked like a daughter who’d been shattered by the lies she chose to believe.
“He lied to me,” Lacy said bitterly. “Used me. I was just a diversion.”
Her voice hardened, laced with betrayal.
“I thought he only needed that first chunk of money-to get on his feet, like he said. But then I found out the truth. He cleaned out the accounts that day. Every last credit. That’s when I realized I’d been played.”
She looked down, lips pressed tight, fury simmering just beneath the surface.
“I was at the hospital, stewing. I called him over and over-nothing. He ghosted me. And I knew. I was no longer useful to
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him. So I snapped. I left him a message: I’d go to a sketch artist. I’d confess everything. He finally called me back.”
Her voice shook. “He said he was on a mission, couldn’t talk. I was hysterical. He apologized, claimed William had double-crossed him. And I… I still believed him.”
She laughed, a bitter sound.
“He told me to come to Rockville. Said we’d fix everything. I agreed. But I couldn’t let it go. I needed answers. I stormed into William’s room, ready to rip the truth out of him.”
Her eyes flashed, jaw clenched.
“He said he didn’t know what was in the powder. That it came from my father’s delivery man. But I saw it. In his eyes. He k
new.”
Her next words came low and dark.
“I hated him for it. So I seduced him. Then shoved what was left of that powder down his throat.”
She didn’t flinch as she said it.
And for a moment, silence stretched across the room.
She may have been manipulated, twisted by longing and lies-but beneath it all was fire. That much was clear.
The blood of an Alpha, no doubt.
Of course she’d be strong. That much was expected. The seduction? Ingenious. A ruthless but effective way to get
William to drop his guard.
“So, you wrote the suicide note?” I asked, watching her closely.
She shook her head fast, panicked. “I didn’t. I swear. William wrote it. He slipped it into the envelope when he went back to clean up. He was following my father’s orders. I had already told my father about my mom’s plans, so of course he had the details right.”
It tracked. The pieces were finally locking into place-but the picture they formed was darker than we could’ve imagined.
We were stunned. Every one of us.
But there was no time to breathe. No time to sit with it.
We still needed to know what happened in Rockville.
And more than that-we needed to know why Alaric referred to Natasha as his girlfriend. That detail… it had teeth.
As for Lacy?
Jail was the best outcome for her now.
She’d done everything with full awareness. No coercion. No compulsion. Just misguided loyalty and the twisted need for
a father’s love.
She was an adult who made adult decisions. And those decisions shattered lives.
What a waste.
What a shame.
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