Chapter 196: How Much

Lincy’s words hit harder this time.

The air in the hall shifted. What had been gossip turned into shock.

The Morrigans and the Hudsons were old packs. Powerful. Respected. For years, Camilla had walked among them like a perfect Luna-in-training graceful, polished, untouchable.

Mothers used her as an example when teaching their daughters how to behave. How to marry well. How to secure a strong bond.

And now?

That perfect image cracked right in front of everyone.

Once, she had stepped on my pain to make herself look kind. When Julian abandoned me before the bond ceremony, she had comforted others publicly while watching me drown.

Tonight, the tide had turned.

The whispers grew louder.

“There’s no way Ms. Morrigan would do this.”

“If she can betray her mate, what else is she capable of?”

“Yenick went too easy on her.”

“This is better than any pack drama.”

Every word felt like claws scraping across stone.

Julian stood stiff a few steps away, his face pale. I could almost smell his fear. He was terrified the spotlight would swing toward him next.

Years ago, he left me alone under the judgment of the entire pack. Now he stood in the same heat.

Perhaps he finally understood.

Camilla, on the other hand, was no longer composed. The calm mask she wore earlier had slipped. There was panic in her eyes.

For the first time, she wasn’t the one controlling the narrative.

She understood something now Lincy had not come to cause noise.

She had come prepared.

Just like Camilla used to prepare her traps for me.

The Hudson elders turned toward Lincy, no longer dismissing her.

“Do you have proof?” someone demanded. “We’ve seen the medical reports.”

Lincy let out a small, sharp laugh.

“If she wanted to fool you, of course she’d forge new reports. But look at this this is from her first pregnancy test.”

The large screen flickered again.

A document appeared.

The crowd leaned in.

The date was clear.

Earlier than it should have been.

Earlier than the time Camilla claimed she had slept with Yenick.

A ripple of realization passed through the room.

She hadn’t even properly sealed the public bond with Yenick at that time.

So how could the child be his?

Fiona’s face drained of color. A woman known for her sharp instincts had been fooled in her own territory.

Lincy stepped forward and threw a copy of the ultrasound report at Camilla’s chest.

“Look at it,” she snapped. “What does it say?”

Camilla’s fingers trembled as she glanced down. Just for a second.

Then her spine straightened.

She lifted her chin.

Even now, she refused to fall.

“Fiona,” she said calmly, though her voice was slightly tight, “Lincy claims my report is fake. But how do we know hers isn’t fabricated? Anyone can alter dates.”

I almost smiled.

I had always known Camilla’s strength wasn’t beauty.

It was her tongue.

She could twist truth like silk.

Lincy stared at her in disbelief. “How can you still deny it? The dates are right there!”

“Ms. Ashbourne,” Camilla replied smoothly, “you came prepared today. Clearly determined to destroy me. But the child in my belly is Yenick’s. What exactly are you trying to achieve with a forged document?”

Her voice cracked just enough to sound wounded.

Some of the guests hesitated again.

Doubt.

That was Camilla’s weapon.

Lincy’s chest rose and fell quickly. She wasn’t built for word battles. She relied on instinct, not strategy.

Lincy suddenly seemed to remember something.

Her eyes flashed.

“Fine,” she said sharply. “If you claim this report is fake, then answer this do you recognize this person?”

The room grew still again.

Another piece of the trap was about to fall into place.

And this time

Camilla would not be able to talk her way out.

When the figure stepped out of the crowd, Camilla’s face drained of all color.

For a second, she looked like she might collapse.

“Ms. Morrigan.”

The woman’s voice was steady.

It was Dr. Monroe.

The Hale pack’s private physician.

The same doctor who had once signed Camilla’s falsified pregnancy report.

I remembered that time clearly. Camilla had still been protected by Julian then. Her influence inside the Hale territory had been strong. She had pressured Dr. Monroe threatened her position, her income, her place in the pack’s inner circle.

No one dared cross her.

Back then, even Julian treated Camilla’s words like law.

Who would risk offending the woman he favored?

But power borrowed from someone else never lasts.

Now, the entire hall watched.

“Who is she?” someone whispered.

Lincy stepped forward, almost glowing with excitement. “Dr. Monroe, would you like to explain, or should I?”

Lewis had already spoken to Dr. Monroe beforehand. I could see it in the way she stood nervous, but resigned.

Under dozens of sharp stares, she finally spoke.

“I’m a physician at Lakeland Hospital. I’ve been overseeing Ms. Morrigan’s pregnancy.”

Yenick’s jaw tightened. “Then answer clearly. How long has she been pregnant?”

Dr. Monroe swallowed. “Three months.”

A heavy silence fell.

Camilla closed her eyes for half a second.

That was it.

She knew.

The moment Dr. Monroe appeared, her fate had already been sealed.

Yenick stepped forward, fury rising off him in waves. Even from where I stood, I could feel the shift in the air the sharp, territorial anger of a male whose claim had been challenged.

“Then why,” he growled, grabbing Dr. Monroe by the collar, “did you tell me something different before?”

“Mr. Hale, please!” Dr. Monroe cried. “I didn’t want to lie. Ms. Morrigan threatened me. She said she would make sure I lost my job. I couldn’t afford that. I had no choice…”

Yenick shoved her away like she was nothing. She stumbled and fled the hall, her career ruined in a single night.

No hospital would trust a doctor who falsified records.

Yenick turned slowly toward Camilla.

The room felt smaller.

“Do you have anything to say?” he asked.

For the first time since I’d known her, Camilla had no script ready.

She backed away step by step.

“I… I…”

The sound echoed sharply.

Smack.

His hand struck her across the face so hard she fell to the ground.

“You wretched woman!” he shouted. “How dare you lie to me?”

Gasps filled the hall, but no one stepped forward.

Lincy’s voice rang out from behind me. “Hit her harder! That shameless woman deserves it!”

I glanced at Lincy and felt nothing but cold amusement.

What a fool.

She thought this meant victory.

She thought Yenick’s violence proved he cared.

But I had watched men like him long enough.

If he could strike Camilla today for deceiving him, what made Lincy think she would be safe tomorrow?

When dominance turns violent, it doesn’t suddenly become gentle for the next woman.

That kind of man does not change.

Lincy stepped forward and kicked Camilla.

“Where’s your pride now?” she spat. “You tried to ruin me? This is what you get!”

Camilla curled on the floor, her hair loose, blood on her lip.

Lincy’s eyes were wild.

“I almost went to prison because of you!” she screamed. “You vile woman!”

Then she raised her leg again this time aiming straight at Camilla’s abdomen.

“Go to hell with your unborn bastard!”

The moment her foot moved, I felt it.

From Lewis.

Because no matter how much Camilla had schemed…

No matter how much she deserved her downfall…

There were still lines in a pack that could not be crossed.

And harming a child

Even one born from betrayal

Was one of them.

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