Bound To The Broken Alpha (Amy and Daniel) novel Chapter 514

Chapter 514 Informational Role

CLARA

73

Finished

The holding chamber had been cleared of everyone except the tribunal members, the record keepers, and two guards stationed at the far end of the hall.

I had already been questioned once. This was not the beginning. This was the continuation, and everyone in the room knew it.

The seal of the Northern Council hung behind the raised platform. It was not ceremonial anymore. It meant decisions would be binding.

I stood when ordered to. My wrists were free, but that was a courtesy, not mercy.

“State your name for the record,” the presiding adjudicator said.

“Clara,” I replied. “Clara Valen.”

“You have already given testimony regarding your association with Elias and indirect contact with the Southern Alpha,” he continued. “Today’s session concerns intent and coordination. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

A scribe dipped his pen. I noticed his hand was steady. Mine was too.

The adjudicator gestured to the side. “Counsel for the North may proceed.”

The woman who stepped forward did not raise her voice. She did not need to.

“Clara, in your previous testimony, you claimed your actions were reactionary. That you acted out of fear and survival. Today, we will examine that claim.”

She placed a slate on the table and slid it forward. “Do you recognize this?”

I looked down. It was a copy of a coded exchange. Not the original, but close enough. I had seen it before. I had written parts of it.

“Yes,” I said.

“This message predates Amy’s kidnapping by six weeks,” she said. “At that time, Daniel was occupied with the troubles of the north, and the Northern leadership was unstable. You were not under immediate threat. Explain why you initiated contact with Elias then.”

I paused. Not long enough to look evasive. Just long enough to choose accuracy over comfort.

1/5

Apr

Chapter 514 Informational Role

:

73

Finished

“I anticipated a shift in power,” I said. “I prepared for it.”

“Prepared how?” she asked.

“By ensuring I was not isolated when it happened.”

A murmur spread through the observers. The adjudicator struck the table once.

“You anticipated Daniel’s fall?” the counsel pressed.

“I anticipated chaos,” I said. “Daniel’s condition made him vulnerable. Amy’s position was unprotected. I acted accordingly.”

“By coordinating with Elias.”

“Yes.”

“And Elias was acting under the influence of the Southern Alpha.”

“I knew he was aligned with him.”

“So you knowingly entered a collaboration with an external power hostile to the North.”

regard

gotiation,” I replied. “There is a difference.”

did not argue semantics. She moved on.

Amy. In earlier testimony, you denied orchestrating her kidnapping. Yet

ns recovered from Elias place you as the primary source of information.

movements. How do you reconcile that?”

I met her gaze. “I did not order the kidnapping.”

“You provided access.”

“I provided information,” I corrected. “What others did with it was beyond my control.”

“That is not how coordination works,” the counsel said calmly. “You gave schedules. You removed guards. You delayed alerts. That is active participation.”

I felt the room tighten, but I did not break my posture.

“I believed Amy would be removed temporarily,” I said. “Not harmed. Not detained long–term.”

“You believed,” the counsel repeated. “On what basis?”

2/5

11:09 Wed, Apr 22

Chapter 514 Informational Role

“On Elias’s assurances.”

Finished

The adjudicator leaned forward. “You trusted a man actively working with the Southern Alpha.”

“I trusted leverage,” I said. “Elias needed me.”

“Did

“Yes.”

you need him?” the adjudicator asked.

“For what purpose?”

I exhaled slowly. “To survive what was coming.”

The counsel turned to another page. “Let’s talk about Mark.”

The name landed harder than the others.

intai

h Mark during this period,” she said. “Despite knowing he was operations.”

e he had been selling information to the Southern Alpha.”

wer immediately.

the question,” the adjudicator said.

I said.

So you knowingly protected an internal leak.”

utilized him,” I replied. “Just as others have utilized worse.”

Did you protect him to maintain access to Daniel?” the counsel asked.

No.”

“To undermine Daniel?”

“No.”

“To claim Amy’s position if Daniel fell?”

The room went still.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify