Chapter 34

Kingston

The knock was hard, impatient, and unmistakably aggressive.

Cora and I exchanged a glance.

Before I could react, the door flew open.

“Seriously?” Daisy stormed inside like she owned the place, fury written across her face. “This is where you’ve been all day? Playing pretend with your other family, is that what this is?”

Cora took a step back, her face paling in confusion and alarm.

My pulse surged, rage flaring instantly. “Daisy, what are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” she exclaimed shrilly. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

“Daisy, leave. Now.”

She turned to me, wild-eyed. “No! Not until you explain why our son had to be picked up by a babysitter while his father was off playing house with this woman and her kid.”

“This isn’t your home,” I growled, stepping between her and Cora. “And this isn’t your concern.”

“Daisy, what’s going on?” Cora asked from behind me. She sounded so quiet and timid, it made something twist in my chest.

But Daisy ignored her entirely. “It is when you're still financially responsible for Billy and me! Or did you forget? You still owe child support payments, and you promised to pull your weight!”

“Child support?” Cora asked, eyes wide. I could see her putting the pieces together.

Daisy tilted her head and bared her teeth in a mock-smile. She knew what she was doing now. “Besides, Billy wanted to see his father.”

Cora turned, blinking. “His what?”

Time stopped.

Daisy didn’t hesitate. “Oh, come on. You think you were the only one playing house with Kingston?”

Cora went still beside me.

I realized it then that Daisy had always been waiting for the right moment to drag it into the light and use it like a blade. I hadn’t known that even Cora’s own sister had been keeping this information from her.

I couldn’t imagine how she felt just then, watching her two worlds collide so catastrophically.

Daisy’s aim had been perfect.

Cora looked at me, eyes wide, betrayal swimming in them. “You knew? She’s my sister, and you didn’t think to tell me? Neither of you did?”

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t lie. Not to her.

Daisy cackled. “Oh, he knew. He just didn’t tell you, because why ruin the little fantasy you were building here?”

Cora stepped back like she’d struck her. I took a step toward her, but she shook her head.

The silence between us was heavier than Daisy’s gloating laughter.

And as Cora looked away from me, shoulders trembling, I realized this wasn’t just about Daisy’s cruelty; it was about my cowardice.

And I’d just broken the one thing I was trying to protect.

I felt the shift happen without even meaning to—my wolf rising. It wasn’t a full-on transformation, but the growl that left my chest was nothing human.

Daisy recoiled, eyes wide. She probably never expected that I was capable of such anger against the mother of my child.

“I said leave,” I snarled. “Now.”

She backed up slowly, her cruelty crumbling beneath the weight of my command. No one could deny the Alpha King.

But just before she slipped out the door, she tossed her head and said, “Maybe next time, handle your real family before pretending to be someone else’s perfect dad. You still owe me, Kingston. Don’t forget that.”

Then she was gone.

The door slammed shut behind her, leaving a tense silence in her wake.

Cora was standing completely still, arms crossed over her chest. “I didn’t know she…”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you. Part of me assumed she would since she’s your sister.”

I sighed, still seething. “She wasn’t supposed to be here. I thought after I broke off the engagement, she would back down, but… it seems I was wrong.”

Cora was still blinking, stunned. Finally, she turned to me.

“You alright?” she asked, her voice gentle but hesitant.

Despite everything—this massive betrayal—she was checking in on me. Because that’s who she was.

I gave a small nod. “More annoyed than anything. Daisy loves control. She adores playing the ‘wronged mother’ when it benefits her. Don’t believe a word she says about that money, by the way. I’ve paid her plenty for Billy, and I have no intentions of cutting her off.”

Cora didn’t answer right away. She just stared at the door, thoughtful and silent.

“I’ll leave you to your evening. I’m so sorry, Cora,” I said eventually.

I handed her the candies I had bought her. They felt so stupid now. “I was just hoping to drop these off. I didn’t mean to bring chaos.”

“It’s ok,” she said, sounding small as she took the candies from me. “It’s… well, it’s just a shock.”

“I can imagine,” I said. “I really would’ve expected her to say something to you by now.”

“Well, I guess being honest isn’t really Daisy’s style.”

She stepped toward me. “I have a lot to think about, but thank you… for protecting us.”

That brought my gaze back to her. Her eyes were tired, but still so strong. I didn’t say what I was thinking—that I wanted to protect her. That it wasn’t about obligation anymore. It hadn’t been for a long time.

Instead, I just nodded. “Goodnight, Cora.”

The drive back to my manor was silent, and despite the late hour, my thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning. Daisy had always been manipulative, but something tonight had rattled me. Her confidence, her persistence… and that smug look in her eye.

When I walked through the front doors of the manor, my butler looked up from the hall.

“Everything alright, sir?”

“Not really,” I muttered. “I need the paternity papers.”

He blinked. “The ones for Billy?”

“Yes. The original files. I want to review them.”

He didn’t ask questions, only nodded. “Right away, sir.”

Minutes later, I was in my office, the heavy envelope spread out in front of me under the desk lamp’s golden light. The papers were familiar, stamped, and official-looking. I held the first paper up to get a closer look.

The test confirmed that Billy was biologically mine. I’d seen these pages before. I’d accepted them. But now… I looked with new eyes.

The date Daisy was documented as receiving the sperm was weeks before my first donation. Either she had lied on this document, or she had lied to me.

I flipped through the rest more frantically.

And then I saw it—something small, but clear.

Near the bottom of one of the forms, a critical line of text—identification data from the lab—was smudged. Not just a little blurred, but rubbed, like someone had tried to smear it. It stood out now like a red flag waving in the wind.

My chest tightened.

Why hadn’t I noticed this before?

I pulled it closer to my face and looked again. There were inconsistencies in the font spacing. Slight, but they were there. The signature line was scanned, not penned.

My heartbeat stuttered.

Forged.

Or at the very least, the document had been tampered with.

I sat back slowly in the chair, a heavy breath escaping me.

Had I believed her lies all this time? There had been a time when I had even considered building my life on these lies. Setting aside obligations to prioritize her and the boy I thought might be my son.

I didn’t want to believe it, but the doubt now was undeniable.

I leaned forward again, studying the details, every part of me focused, heart pounding with a growing sense of betrayal.

If Daisy faked these papers…

What else was she capable of?