Chapter 10: The Girl Who Was Never Their Daughter

For several seconds, I couldn't speak.

Someone was trying to erase my existence.

Again.

Emmett took the document from the investigator and read it carefully.

His expression grew colder with every line.

“This record was issued by Riverbend?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Victor leaned forward.

“Impossible. Riverbend’s original birth registry was sealed by the Royal Council years ago.”

The investigator nodded.

“That is why the council considers this suspicious. The document appeared in their archives only this morning.”

I stared at the paper.

The photograph attached to it showed a smiling little girl with dark hair.

Chloe.

My supposed replacement.

According to the document, she was listed as the biological daughter of Robert and Diana Jennings.

There was no mention of me.

No twin.

No missing child.

Nothing.

I felt strangely calm.

Perhaps because I had already learned not to expect justice from the people who had hurt me.

“Can I see it?” I asked.

The investigator handed it over.

I examined every detail.

The paper looked authentic.

The signatures were convincing.

Even the official Riverbend seal appeared genuine.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

The date.

I pointed at it.

“This says the record was created twenty-one years ago.”

The investigator nodded.

“Correct.”

“Then why does the ink look fresh?”

Everyone went silent.

I traced the edge of the document with my finger.

“The paper may be old, but this signature isn't.”

Emmett immediately took the document back.

He studied it for several seconds before looking at the investigator.

“Send this to the royal forensic division.”

“Already done.”

The investigator hesitated.

“There's something else.”

“What?” Emmett asked.

“The person who submitted the record wasn't Robert Jennings.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Then who was it?”

The investigator looked at me.

“A member of the Riverbend elder council.”

Victor's face turned grim.

“Which elder?”

“Elder Marcus.”

The name meant nothing to me.

But Emmett reacted immediately.

“Marcus Hale?”

The investigator nodded.

“Yes.”

Emmett's jaw tightened.

“He was one of the elders who opposed my succession.”

I looked at him.

“Then this isn't about me alone.”

“No.”

Emmett's voice was cold.

“They're trying to weaken Ironwood.”

Victor slowly stood.

“And you're the easiest target.”

I frowned.

“How?”

Victor looked at me.

“Because if the Royal Council declares your identity invalid, your marriage to Emmett can be challenged.”

I understood immediately.

Without me, Emmett's fated-mate bond could be disputed.

And if the marriage alliance collapsed, the people opposing him would gain an opening.

I clenched my fists.

“So they're using me to attack him.”

Emmett stepped closer.

“They're trying.”

His voice was calm.

“They won't succeed.”

I looked up at him.

“You sound very sure.”

“I am.”

For some reason, his certainty eased something inside me.

Then the investigator's communication device suddenly rang.

He answered it and listened in silence.

His expression changed.

“Alpha…”

Emmett turned.

“What happened?”

“The royal physicians completed the preliminary blood analysis.”

He paused.

“They confirmed Laurel's biological connection to the Jennings family.”

My breath caught.

The investigator continued.

“But they also discovered something unusual.”

Emmett's eyes narrowed.

“What?”

“Laurel's blood carries a rare royal marker.”

The room fell silent.

Victor's face went pale.

“That's impossible.”

The investigator looked toward him.

“That's what the physicians said too.”

I stared at my hands.

“What does a royal marker mean?”

Victor didn't answer.

Emmett did.

“It means your bloodline may be connected to the founding royal family.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

The royal family of Aldwyn had ruled for generations.

Their bloodline was considered sacred among the packs.

If what Emmett said was true, I wasn't simply the forgotten daughter of the Jennings family.

I might have been connected to something far more powerful.

The investigator looked uncomfortable.

“There's one more result.”

I raised my eyes.

“What?”

“The physicians found traces of an old suppressant in your blood.”

My mind went blank.

“A suppressant?”

“Something designed to keep your wolf dormant.”

Emmett's expression turned murderous.

Victor gripped his cane tightly.

I suddenly remembered all those years when everyone told me I was weak.

The failed shifts.

The silence of my wolf.

The shame.

The humiliation.

It hadn't been because I was weak.

Someone had made me weak.

I looked at Emmett.

“Can they tell who gave it to me?”

The investigator shook his head.

“Not yet.”

Emmett reached for my hand.

“We'll find out.”

I looked down at our joined hands.

For the first time, anger began replacing the numbness I had carried for years.

Someone had stolen my childhood.

Someone had stolen my family.

Someone had stolen my strength.

But they had made one mistake.

They had failed to keep me away from my fated mate.

And now that Emmett knew the truth, I wouldn't be facing them alone.