Claimed By The Mafia Rogue King (Snow and Cupid) novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Snowflakes

The beep of my cellphone ripped me from sleep like a gunshot.

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I jolted upright, heart hammering so hard it hurt, eyes flying open to the same dress still hanging on the stand.

Father’s quiet apology stitched into silk. A soft, exhausted sigh slipped past my lips. I reached for the phone with trembling fingers, squinting at the screen through the haze of half–sleep.

Ares Bani.

‘Can we talk, Snow? Please?‘

The words landed like ice water down my spine. One second of reading them was enough; the meaning behind them was another beast entirely.

My grip loosened. The phone slipped from my hand, clattering softly onto the sheets. I turned over, curling into myself, trying to chase sleep again, anything to drown the sudden roar in my chest.

Last night I’d come straight to bed after the gates slammed shut behind me. None of my brothers had come to check on me.

I was grateful for that small mercy. I didn’t want them to see me like this. Shattered, hollow, barely holding the pieces together.

Sleep was just beginning to drag me under again when the phone buzzed once more.

I groaned low in my throat, reaching blindly. The name on the screen made my breath catch.

Tilly V.

Can I call, Miss Snow?

Before I could even process the question, her name flashed across the screen. Incoming call.

I answered instantly.

“Miss Snow, good morning…” Her voice cracked, breathless, frantic. “I just received the official statement. They’re prosecuting my sister in court. You know she isn’t the murderer. She won’t survive one day in jail. Please, you have to help me. I’m begging you.”

Words failed me. My throat closed tight. I knew she was telling the truth. The housekeeper hadn’t killed Mr. Lins. Every instinct screamed it but the evidence had been twisted so expertly it looked airtight.

I bit my lower lip hard enough to taste copper, listening to her ragged breathing on the other end until something finally clicked.

You remember the package you were delivered?” I asked quietly. “The one with the chopped finger?”

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09:57 Sat, Feb 14

Chapter 226

A long pause. Then, small and frightened.

“Yes. The one I showed you and the gentlemen who came by?”

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“The very one.” My voice steadied, though my pulse roared. “I need you to bring it to H.O.W.L. Can you do that for me?”

“Expect me soon.”

“Good. And please, be careful. Alright?”

“You too.”

I ended the call and threw the covers off, legs already moving before my mind caught up. I grabbed the thin jacket from the rack, heart racing as I hurried down the hall to Roc’s bedroom.

I knocked softly.

Silence. Then footsteps. The door opened.

Roc stood there in loose pajama pants, hair mussed from sleep, eyes narrowing the instant he saw my face. I dipped my head in quick greeting, but my gaze slid past him to the bed.

Seraphine was still asleep, bare shoulders rising and falling gently beneath the sheet. My stomach twisted.

Could I even ask this of her?

“You alright?” Roc’s voice snapped me back. Low. Concerned.

I nodded too quickly.

“I… I just need to talk to Sera. But she’s still asleep.”

At the sound of her name, Seraphine stirred. She turned slowly, blinking up at me through the dim light. Roc glanced back at her in silent question. She studied my face for one heartbeat, then nodded.

He stepped aside, opening the door wider, then slipped past me without another word, disappearing toward the kitchen.

The moment we were alone, I rushed to the edge of the bed and sat. Seraphine pushed herself up, pulling the duvet to cover her chest, eyes sharp now, curious and alert.

“Sera,” I whispered, voice cracking on the first syllable. “I need your help.”

“Anything. Name it.”

I swallowed hard. “It’s… about the ongoing case with Feroz.”

Her brows drew together.

“It was closed overnight. Why are you still on it?”

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09:57 Sat, Feb 14

Chapter 226

“Because the housekeeper isn’t the real killer, Sera. You have to see that.”

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“All evidence points to her. She confessed. Even we can’t twist the truth when it’s staring us in the face.” She yawned softly, already swinging her legs toward the floor, ready to head to the bathroom.

I moved faster. blocking her path, breath shaky.

“There’s evidence I need you to run a forensic autopsy on.”

She slowed, eyes narrowing.

“What evidence?”

“A chopped finger.”

Her eyes flew wide. I pressed on before she could speak.

“The housekeeper was threatened into a false confession. A package was delivered with a note, and inside was a severed finger. If we run DNA, we might find something. Anything.”

Silence stretched between us. Long, heavy, electric.

She stared at me. I stared back.

She was the head of her department. The case was officially closed. She alone had the authority to run tests quietly, without raising flags. But I knew what I was asking.

“The case is closed, Snow,” she said finally, voice low. “Your brothers want you off it so you can heal. And I’m not going to break H.O.W.L. rules. My father’s legacy is on the line/If Roc ever found out I went behind his back on something like this… you know how insane he gets when it comes to protecting you or me.”

I did know, Roc’s love was fierce, possessive, terrifying when crossed.

I nodded once, throat burning.

“Then I’ll tell Tilly V her sister will be prosecuted, even though she’s innocent. Thanks anyway.”

I turned toward the door, every step leaden, praying the guilt would work.

My fingers closed around the knob.

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