Mira’s POV
The Enforcer noticed Chloe’s hesitation and tapped the table.
“Why the silence? Do you have any basis for what you just said?”
Chloe’s eyes darted around nervously.
I pressed harder.
“If she doesn’t explain herself today, I won’t agree to mediation. I’d rather take the record than back down.”
Just then, Marcus’s stern voice cut through from the doorway.
“Mira, have you lost your mind? You’re too young to have a record with the Pack.”
He strode in.
The Enforcer immediately stood, his expression turning respectful.
Marcus’s gaze landing on me, his face tight with anger.
The Enforcer spoke carefully, “Alpha, the young ones had a disagreement. We’ve more or less sorted it out.”
Vivienne appeared at the door and positioned herself beside Marcus, her lip trembling in a pitiful pout.
“Sister, I’m the one who told Dad you were taken by the Enforcers. I asked him to come help you. You’re not angry, are you?”
I laughed coldly.
“If I had to guess, you’re the one who called the Enforcers in the first place. Vivienne, for someone who plays both sides so well, why don’t you put up a monument to yourself?”
Marcus snapped.
“What nonsense are you talking? Your sister called the Enforcers because she was afraid you’d actually hurt Chloe and things would get out of hand.”
A wave of exhaustion washed over me.
My eyes stung as I looked at him.
“Am I even your biological daughter? If I am, why won’t you believe a single word I say?”
Marcus was caught off guard by the raw hurt in my expression.
But ultimately, he still thought I was just being unreasonable.
This daughter might be a disappointment, but he still had a father’s duty to fulfill.
He ignored my question entirely and asked the Enforcer where to settle the penalty.
The Enforcer was about to lead him away when I spoke up sharply.
“I don’t need you to pay my way out of this. Since you’re here, let’s settle this once and for all, right in front of you. Chloe said my mother cheated, that she was a slut. Who told her that?”
Marcus’s face went dark.
He turned to Chloe with a grim, heavy stare.
“How do you know about this?” It was a twenty-year-old scandal,he’d spent a fortune on PR to bury it.
No Alpha would want the world knowing his Luna had betrayed him.
Chloe trembled, sneaking a glance at Vivienne.
Vivienne was just as terrified, terrified that Chloe would drag her into it.
If that happened, the innocent image she’d maintained for years in front of her father would collapse entirely.
Marcus’s voice was like a blade. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Chloe, I asked you a question. Who told you? If you don’t tell the truth, your father won’t need to keep his job at Mooncrest Jewelry Group.”
Chloe panicked.
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”
But before she could say a word, Vivienne walked over, linked arms with her, and said to Marcus with practiced sweetness, “Dad, you’re scaring Chloe. She asked me about this before. It seems Uncle Anderson mentioned it to her. She came to me to confirm, but I didn’t dare tell her about our family’s private matters. Isn’t that right, Chloe?”
Chloe didn’t want to drag her father into this, but she could feel the threatening pressure in Vivienne’s grip on her arm.
Besides, Vivienne was Marcus’s favored daughter, the one he was grooming as his heir.
Going against Vivienne, and her father would suffer just the same.
So Chloe went along with Vivienne’s story.
She lowered her head and said, “It’s true. I heard my dad mention it once before, and I remembered it. Alpha, my dad only said it that one time. I’ll never bring it up again. Please forgive me, and please don’t punish my father.”
Vivienne let out a quiet breath of relief.
Then she turned to Marcus.
“Dad, these are old stories. There’s no need to make a federal case out of it. If Mom found out, she might think you’re still pining for your ex.”
A few sentences and Marcus was thoroughly discombobulated.
He’d been furious that people were gossiping about Luna’s betrayal behind his back, but Vivienne’s deflection was enough to make him drop it.
He let Chloe go without further pursuit.
And since Chloe claimed she’d heard it from her father, it technically didn’t constitute slander.
The matter was resolved through mediation.
Marcus came back after paying the fine and turned his frustration on me.
“If your mother hadn’t disgraced herself, no one would have had anything to talk about. You can only blame her for her own lack of decency. It’s humiliating.”