Aria’s POV

“No! Of course not!” Sophia exclaimed, waving her hands frantically. “Aria, how could you think that of me?”

I simply smiled and said nothing.

My wolf was calm now, watching everything unfold.

A voice suddenly cut in.

“Exactly. If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.”

I turned and finally spotted the speaker. It was Jackson. He stood tucked into a corner, a hat pulled low over his head, looking deliberately inconspicuous.

“Ms. Sophia Darvin,” he continued, “you say Alpha Richard intended to harm Ms. Aria Darvin. If that’s true, wouldn’t calling the enforcers have been the better option? The enforcers testimony carries far more weight.”

My brows lifted slightly. Amusement flickered through me, followed by warmth. I hadn’t expected him to step forward like this.

I’d come to Asterfell to investigate the Willis family and uncover the truth from years ago. I’d thought of Jackson only as a witness. Yet here he was, placing himself directly in the line of fire.

The crowd buzzed again, voices overlapping in confusion. Those who had just defended the Darvin family now fell silent, exchanging uncertain glances.

Sensing the shift, Sophia stiffened. She knew she was losing control.

She clenched her teeth and forced an expression of reluctant resolve.

“Aria, do you really want to force me to say everything?”

Her voice was low and strained, her eyes filled with apparent inner conflict. The act was good, good enough to confuse people again.

Someone immediately encouraged her.

“If you have something to say, speak up! We’re all here to witness!”

Sophia looked around, nodded gratefully, then turned back to me. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“Aria,” she said softly, “even though you are divorced now, I’m sure you still care about your reputation.”

Her lips paled as she bit them, her posture straightening as if she were a fragile but resilient flower braving the storm.

“Alpha Richard holds enormous power in Asterfell. If the enforcers had arrived first, I couldn’t guarantee this wouldn’t have been covered up. I used the media to gather public support, so the truth wouldn’t be buried.”

A ripple ran through the crowd.

Her words unsettled them. And more shocking still was her boldness in speaking of such a sensitive topic so openly.

I narrowed my eyes, studying her with genuine confusion for the first time.

From everything I knew, Sophia and Richard were at least business allies. For her to drag his position into the open like this... it was practically a declaration of war.

How dare she?

Richard might not yet rival Nathan, but he was still second-in-command in Asterfell. Did she really think she could step on him and walk away unscathed?

My wolf growled faintly inside me, sensing something hidden beneath the surface. A thick fog of unease settled in my mind. Something was being concealed, something important, but I couldn’t yet see through it.

“Is Asterfell really a place where power overrides the law?” A female voice asked.

The bluntness of the question sent a shockwave through the crowd. Everyone turned at once to the speaker, startled by the courage it took to say such words aloud.

I followed their gaze, my heart skipping as I caught sight of a tall figure clad in bright red.

I froze.

Rowland stood not far away.

The noise of the crowd faded into a dull hum as my gaze locked onto him. His lips moved, barely perceptible to human eyes, but I caught it instantly.

Long time no see.

My heart skipped, then stumbled.

How did he get here?

The day he left replayed itself in my mind: the way he’d turned back one last time, sadness and reluctance written so clearly on his face that even my wolf had felt it. I had truly believed that was goodbye. That our paths would never cross again.

Yet here he was, standing in the middle of this storm as if he belonged here.

“Ma’am, you can’t just say things like that.”

A voice snapped me back to reality. Someone in the crowd had instinctively jumped in to defend Asterfell, their tone edged with unease.

I finally tore my eyes away from Rowland and looked past him.

Behind him stood three people.

An elderly couple with white hair but straight backs and piercing eyes.

Beside them stood a middle-aged woman in an unmistakably expensive dress. Pearls gleamed in her hair, her posture elegant and composed. She looked gentle at first glance, but the tension in her expression told me she was someone who made decisions and expected them to be obeyed.

Confusion tightened my chest.

What kind of people was Rowland connected to?

“What’s wrong with what I said?” the elderly woman asked coolly. “When something happens, instead of calling the enforcers, you call reporters first. What’s the logic? Are reporters more useful than cops here in Asterfell?”

She narrowed her eyes slightly, her smile carrying a sharp, mysterious edge.

A collective chill swept through the crowd.

Who was she? And how could she speak so fearlessly? I wondered.

“Ma’am, that’s not what I meant. Please don’t misunderstand me.”

Sophia’s voice wavered, just a fraction. I caught it instantly. Sophia looked calm on the surface, but anxiety seeped from her pores.

Only then did the woman turn to her.

She scanned Sophia from head to toe slowly before letting out a cold snort. “Do you take me for some doddering old fool who can’t understand plain speech?”

The elderly man beside her stroked his chin. His gaze sharpened, like an eagle circling far above its target.

“Miss,” he said evenly, “based on your own words, my wife’s interpretation seems perfectly reasonable. Yet your reaction is... excessive. Could it be that what you said earlier wasn’t entirely true?”