Chapter 274


    Chapter 274 Intrigue & Devastation


    E


    When Logan’s brother questioned me about my mother, I felt a sudden heat rising in my cheeks. The


    audacity of the question, the way he said it, filled with a disdain I couldn’t understand, ignited my


    temper.


    “Teach this one a lesson,” Ema hissed. “Oh, how I’d love to gnash my teeth on his skull…”


    “Enough,” I said. “Not now.”


    “Interesting, considering E isn’t even the biological daughter of the Golden Wolf Moana, isn’t that


    right?” Logan’s brother taunted. “She’s the bastard child of her father and… Who is your mother, E?”


    I gritted my teeth, struggling to keep my anger at bay. My biological mother’s identity was none of his


    business, and the way he had thrown the question at me was downright offensive.


    As far as anyone was concerned, Moana was my real mother. It didn’t matter whether she was my


    biological mother or not. Before I could answer, Marina, dressed in her oh-so-extravagant red dress,


    chimed in, her voice dripping with condescension.


    “Oh, E, it must have been so difficult growing up with such a confusing family. I remember reading


    that Moana actually started off as your nanny, didn’t she? And weren’t there rumors that your little sister


    was conceived during a one-night stand?”


    I clenched my fists under the table, every word from Marina like a stab in my chest. My family was


    being dissected and judged by people who knew nothing about us. And to think I was trying to remain


    civil.


    I took a deep breath, working to control my anger.


    “My family is just fine, thank you,” I responded, my voice steady but icy. “I’m very happy with the way


    things are, and people should really stop gossiping about things they know nothing about.”


    “Oh, we’re just curious, Logan’s brother, Harry, chimed in once more. “Forgive me for being concerned


    about my baby brother’s future. We wouldn’t want… bad genes tarnishing our family line.”


    “Oh, please, Harry,” Logan said with a wryugh. “Don’t get me started. How many prostitutes have


    you knocked up? Six? Seven? Probably more, at this point.”


    My eyes widened. I looked to Marina, whose cool face betrayed no emotion. Her eyes met mine, and


    shed with something that I couldn’t quite read.


    The two brothers continued to bicker. Meanwhile, Logan’s father, Leonard, was sitting at the head of


    the table, watching the entire spectacle unfold. I looked over at him, hoping that he would step in and


    stop this nonsense.


    But to my surprise, he said nothing, his face wearing a look of amusement. Was this how he watched


    his sons argue, never intervening, always enjoying the show?


    I couldn’t help but wonder if his silence was his way of adding fuel to the fire. Marina was about to


    continue her tirade when her father stepped in.


    “That’s enough, Marina,” he said, his voice firm but not unkind. He paused for a moment, then looked


    over at me from across the table. “You know, I once met Edrick and Moana at a ball, and I know how


    much they value E. They were both very lovely, too. Let’s not tarnish this evening with idle gossip.”


    Marina huffed, clearly unhappy with the interruption butpliant. The room seemed to breathe again


    as the tension eased slightly.


    Under the table, I felt Logan squeeze my hand, an unexpected but reassuring gesture that warmed me


    for a moment before I gently pulled my hand away. Dinner continued, and despite the undercurrent of


    hostility, I managed to regain myposure.


    After dinner, there was more drinking and mingling, and the atmosphere lightened somewhat. People


    moved around, engaging in various conversations, and at one point, I found myself alone.


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    Sinking down onto one of the stools at the small bar with a sigh, I ordered a drink and let my eyes


    wander across the room.


    It was strange to watch the fake smiles, the forcedughter, the way people mingled and preened. It all


    felt so familiar, yet so foreign. This facade wasn’t all that different from the boringworking events my


    family had dragged me to when I was growing up.


    Boring conversations, idle chit-chat, and lots of backhandedpliments. It all had a wearying


    sameness to it. I took a sip of my drink, the bitterness a perfect match for my mood.


    “Isn’t it ironic how they all have to take part in most of the same things as my dad and his business


    partners?” I asked my wolf, my lips not moving and my face not betraying a hint of my conversation as


    my eyes wandered the room.


    “I was just thinking the same thing,” Ema replied. “Flip sides of the same coin.”


    “I couldn’t have put it better myself.”


    Ema was right: despite the simrities between powerful business people and the Mafia, the worlds


    were so different. There was an undercurrent of danger here, a tension that was absent from the staid


    world of businessworking.


    I looked around, seeing people wrapped in their own world, their own agendas. The nces, the


    whispers, the subtle negotiations – it was all a game, a dance of power and ambition.


    This whole dinner party was supposed to be an ‘engagement party’ for Marina and Harry, but their


    union was entirely political. I could tell from the way that they didn’t touch, didn’t even look at each


    other. That was why Marina didn’t seem to care when she heard that Harry had multiple children with


    prostitutes.


    For all I knew, maybe she had her own real boyfriend or partner in private. And I felt strangely detached


    from it, an outsider looking in.


    My thoughts were interrupted when I saw Marina’s father walking over. His approach was unhurried,


    his face wearing a benign smile, but his eyes were sharp, taking in everything around him.


    There was something about him that demanded respect, an air of authority that was hard to ignore. As


    he approached me, his expression turned thoughtful.


    “Miss Morgan,” he said, his voice gentle, “I just wanted to say that it’s a pleasure to see you here


    tonight. Thest time I saw you, you were no more than this big.”


    He held his hand up to the side of his hip, indicating my height. I was a child when hest saw me. I


    didn’t remember him in the slightest.


    I cleared my throat with a smile, then lowered my voice. There was a pressing question on my mind. “I


    have to ask you something, because you seem…”


    “Unlike the rest of them?” he asked, finishing my sentence for me. I nodded, and he sighed. “Yes. Well,


    you’re new here, but you’ll eventually understand how this whole world works. Not everyone willingly or


    purposefully joined the ‘dark side’. Sometimes, it just… happens.”


    “And Marina and Harry?” I murmured, nodding my head toward them. They were standing over by the


    firece. Harry was having an animated conversation with Leonard and Logan.


    Meanwhile, Marina stood nearby. Her posture gave an air of idleness and boredom, but her eyes…


    they were fixed on all three of them with so much focus. She was absorbing every word they spoke,


    and they weren’t even seemingly aware of it.


    Marina’s father chuckled slightly. “Some things are best left unexined,” he replied, his face clouding


    over with a mask of coldness. “They are prepared for their union. That’s all I’ll say tonight.”


    I nodded slowly, realizing that it wouldn’t be so easy to get information out of these people. I hated to


    admit it, but it was incredibly intriguing.


    Marina’s father, picking up his drink from the bar, shot me a warm smile and turned to join the others.


    But before he left, he stopped, and turned back to face me once more.


    “Be careful, E,” he said. “Your mother and father adore you. If anything were to happen to you, they


    would be utterly devastated.”