A Broken Alpha Heiress' Revenge (Riley) novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Karl’s POV

Outside the hospital room.

+8 Pearls

Theo and I ran into each other head–on. He didn’t bother hiding his annoyance. “I’d advise you not to go in there. She’s pissed off, and if you walk in now, all you’ll get is yelled at.

I didn’t answer. My eyes locked on the hospital bed through the narrow glass window. Riley’s frame was so small, so bruised, it was like staring at the aftermath of a war. My wolf growled low in my chest, a restless thrum of fury.

“How’s she doing?” I asked, my voice hoarse from everything I hadn’t said.

Theo scoffed, “She had enough energy to argue with me, so I’d say she’s fine.”

Then he paused and looked at me more seriously: “Why did your dad beat her like that, anyway? That was.. excessive.”

1 clenched my jaw but didn’t speak. I couldn’t.

Seeing my silence, Theo kept poking “What, was it because she hurt Scarlett or something-?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I cut him off sharply, the words like a whipcrack. My brow furrowed deep, my entire body tense.

“It wasn’t?” he pressed.

“It wasn’t,” I repeated coldly.

“Alright, alright.” He raised his hands and backed off. “I’ve got stuff to do anyway. You should go home and get some rest.” I didn’t respond. I just kept staring at Riley through the window like I could somehow reach her across the glass.

It was a long time before I finally turned and walked away, my steps as heavy as my heart.

The moment I stepped into the kitchen of the Vale estate, I caught the scent first. Not just the lingering aroma of herbs and. wolfberries in a tonic, but something sharper–burni pride, fear, and old blood.

Mia stood stiffly near the counter, her eyes wet, hands clenching a cloth that had long since stopped wiping anything. Across from her stood Scarlett, holding a porcelain bowl of tonic. The steam curled upward like smoke from a wildfire.

I knew what it was. I’d smelled it yesterday in Riley’s hospital room. The same tonic Mia made to help her recover,

Scarlett always said she hated it–bird spit, she called it. Said it made her gag

But now? She was guarding it like a prize.

“That’s for Riley, Mia said. Her voice was calm, but I could hear the quake in her chest.

Scarlett snorted. “You forget your place, Mia. You’re a servant. This isn’t your decision.

My jaw clenched.

Mia stayed quiet, but Isaw the fury in her. She didn’t say it, but I could feel it in her scent. She was reliving everything Riley had suffered the orphanage, the prison, the injuries, the missing finger. The fact that she had to beg for her own recovery.

And here Scarlett was, holding that bowl like it was a trophy. Like Mia hadn’t spent hours preparing it before dawn.

gripped the railing at the top of the stairs.

CRASH

I reached her, snatched the bowl from her hands, and hurled it at the floor.

Scarlett screamed.

“You were smiling.” I said coldly, staring into her widened eyes. “What was so funny?”

T–I wasn’t!” she stammered, grabbing onto Zara’s arm.

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