Chapter 7: The Heir Who Was Never Hers

Kane stared at the message for several seconds.

I watched the change in his expression and knew that something had finally shaken the certainty he had carried for so long.

“What did the council find?” I asked.

He looked at me.

“They found inconsistencies in Vera’s records.”

I gave a quiet laugh.

“Inconsistencies?”

“You mean the woman you were willing to destroy me for might have lied to you?”

Kane’s jaw tightened.

“I need to see the original records.”

“Of course you do.”

He stood and headed toward the door.

Then he stopped.

For once, he looked uncertain about leaving me behind.

“Evelyn, stay here. I’ll come back.”

I stared at him.

“Why?”

He didn’t answer.

I knew the truth.

He was afraid that if he left, I would disappear before he returned.

That was exactly what I intended to do.

“Go,” I said. “Vera is waiting for you.”

Kane hesitated before finally walking out.

The moment the door closed, I reached for my phone.

My flight was still scheduled for tonight.

I had less than six hours left in Greenridge.

I opened the message from the airline and stared at the departure time.

For the first time in years, leaving didn’t feel like running away.

It felt like choosing myself.

A knock came at the door.

Before I could answer, the healer entered.

She looked nervous.

“Ms. Hart, there’s something else.”

I sat up.

“What is it?”

She placed a sealed envelope on the table.

“This was recovered from the old Wren family archives.”

My heart began to pound.

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because your name is written on it.”

I stared at the envelope.

The handwriting was old and faded, but I recognized the name immediately.

Evelyn Hart.

My fingers trembled as I opened it.

Inside was a single document.

It was a birth registry.

My eyes moved down the page until they stopped at the names of my parents.

My breath caught.

The father listed there was Elder Elias Wren.

And the mother was not the woman who had raised me.

It was a name I had never heard before.

I read the document twice, unable to process what I was seeing.

I wasn’t an orphan with no connection to Greenridge.

I was Elder Elias Wren’s daughter.

The same man Kane claimed he had spent years honoring.

The same man whose daughter Vera had supposedly been.

The same bloodline Vera had stolen from me.

A bitter smile touched my lips.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

The pendant my mother had protected.

The strange reactions whenever I entered the old Wren estate.

The council members who had always looked at me with unexplained familiarity.

Even Vera’s obsession with taking everything that belonged to me.

She hadn’t just wanted my Luna position.

She had wanted my identity.

A loud crash sounded somewhere down the hallway.

The healer flinched.

“Alpha Kane returned.”

I folded the birth registry and slipped it beneath my clothes.

A moment later, the door flew open.

Kane stood there, breathing heavily.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Evelyn.”

“Vera’s pregnancy record was forged.”

I looked at him calmly.

“I know.”

He froze.

“You know?”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the birth registry.

I placed it on the bed between us.

“Because I’m the daughter of the man you sacrificed everything to protect.”

Kane stared at the document.

His face went completely white.