Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 151

Hades

Jules stared at the genetic report, her eyes scanning the bolded lines again and again as if the words might rearrange themselves into something else.

SUBJECT: Ellen Valmont

PATERNITY MATCH: Darius Valmont – 99.9%

Her grip on the folder tightened.

The color drained slightly from her face, but she kept her expression carefully neutral. Almost.

I watched her in silence, leaning back in my chair, the smoke from my cigar curling slowly between us.

But I felt no satisfaction.

No amusement.

Just a quiet, unexpected sense of pity.

"Something wrong, Jules?" I asked, softer than usual. The edge in my voice was gone, replaced with something calmer.

Her jaw clenched.

"No, Your Majesty," she replied, but the hesitation in her tone was telling.

I let the silence stretch.

She stared down at the report, mind spinning, trying to make sense of it. I could see the calculation in her eyes, the desperate search for an answer that wasn’t there.

But there was nothing.

Blood doesn’t lie.

Her entire investigation was unraveling.

She closed the folder slowly, almost carefully, as if it might bite her.

"There... has to be an explanation," Jules murmured, mostly to herself. "A manipulation... a forged result. Or—"

"Or?" I prompted quietly, leaning forward just slightly.

Her eyes flicked up to meet mine.

And for the first time, she looked uncertain.

"Or maybe..." she started, but the words trailed off.

I didn’t press.

I watched her struggle, the weight of it pressing down on her.

And against all reason, I found myself feeling... pity.

Slowly, deliberately, I rose from my chair.

Her posture straightened instinctively, bracing for whatever I might say or do.

But I did nothing of the sort.

Instead, I moved around the desk, closing the space between us.

She didn’t move.

I rested a steady hand on her shoulder.

It startled her, I could tell.

Not from fear—Jules wasn’t afraid of me—but because it was so uncharacteristic.

"You’ve worked hard," I said quietly. "Harder than most would dare."

Her throat bobbed, but she said nothing.

"It’s not easy," I continued, my voice low, "when everything you’ve built starts to crack." _{ƒгeewёbnovel.com}

I gave her shoulder a slight, almost reassuring squeeze.

Her eyes flicked up to mine again, and I saw it—the smallest flicker of something.

Hope.

Her gaze softened. Yearning.

I slowly withdrew my hand, but the pity lingered. Probably because all things were coming together. I could secure the weapon, fulfill Ambassador Montegue’s condition, and finally see Danielle.

"There is no other living person who is Darius Valmont’s offspring. There is only Ellen, so that test is perfectly accurate."

Her gaze flickered, her brows knitting. "Eve Valmont..."

"Is dead," I completed for her.

The screen went black.

I let the silence settle thickly between us.

Jules didn’t flinch.

Her face remained still, carefully composed.

I leaned back, studying her closely.

"You watched that without blinking," I said quietly.

She inhaled softly, steadying herself. "It’s… unsettling. That’s all."

I tilted my head. "Unsettling? You knew what you would see. You must have read the reports. You’ve heard things. Why does it disturb you now?"

Her lips parted, then pressed together tightly.

I waited.

Finally, she spoke, her voice lower than before. "Because something feels wrong. It was almost too... easy."

I raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

"I don’t know." Her grip on the folder tightened. "Maybe nothing."

But I wasn’t convinced.

Neither was she.

I set the tablet down slowly. "Jules, your instinct has served you well. And you are right—there is more."

Her brows raised in surprise, her breath catching. "There’s more?" she asked.

But I was already making my way to my desk drawer—the bottom one. The one that couldn’t be opened without me, even with a key.

I pressed my thumb to the fingerprint scanner, and a small compartment opened. I retrieved the flash drive hidden there.

I rose. "Yes, there is more. The video of the execution was cut off," I told her as I picked up my tablet again.

Her brows creased as she stared at me, her mind doing flips, trying to comprehend what I was saying. "How would you know that Silverpine cut out part of what happened during the execution?"

"Because I was there when it happened."