His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 129

**Betrayal Births by Joseph King**

Claire’s POV

“Don’t run,” he warned, his voice steady and calm. “It won’t help you.”

Yet, Naomi, driven by desperation, ignored his words. With a swift motion, she flung the spoon aside, her heart racing as she dashed toward the back door. But before she could escape, a guard seized her, his grip unyielding. She screamed, a raw sound filled with panic, twisting in his hold as she pleaded for her freedom. Her hair clung to her face, wild and disheveled, and her eyes were wide, reflecting the terror coursing through her veins.

“Let me talk,” Elijah intervened at last, his voice cutting through the chaos. The guards hesitated, loosening their grip just enough to keep her from fleeing but not enough for her to feel free.

Naomi turned her gaze to him, trembling like a leaf in the wind. “Elijah, please… please, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I swear I didn’t. I-I just wanted—”

“What did you want?” Elijah’s question hung in the air, his tone soft yet laced with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine. It was a softness that felt more menacing than any shout. “Tell me the truth, Naomi. I don’t want excuses. I want the truth.”

As if the weight of his words had crushed her, she sank to her knees, the sound of her body hitting the floor echoing in the heavy silence.

The sight twisted something deep within me. I didn’t want her to kneel; I craved an end to this turmoil. But the truth loomed over us, thick and suffocating, a palpable presence in the room.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I didn’t want them to touch you. The attack wasn’t meant for you. It was meant for—” her voice faltered, cracking under the weight of her admission. She shook her head violently, as if trying to erase the words that threatened to burn her tongue. “Claire. It was supposed to be Claire.”

The revelation hit me like a punch to the gut. My breath caught, and a chilling wave of disbelief washed over me. My hands grew cold as the implications settled in.

“Me?” I whispered, the word barely escaping my lips. “You wanted them to kill me?”

Naomi’s sobs grew more frantic. She reached out toward me, but instinctively, I stepped back, my body betraying my mind.

“I wasn’t thinking straight,” she cried, her voice breaking. “I was angry. I was heartbroken. You… you ruined everything, Claire. You took everything from me. Elijah never looked at me the way he looks at you. I-I was so tired of being invisible. I was exhausted from him always choosing you. I didn’t mean for him to get hurt. I didn’t know they would attack early. I didn’t know they would target the wrong person.”

Elijah’s expression remained impassive, a stone facade that betrayed nothing.

“You hired rogues,” he stated quietly, each word dripping with disappointment. “You opened our gates to danger. You nearly got me killed. And you almost pushed me into moon sickness so deep I may never have returned.”

Naomi shook her head vigorously, desperation etched across her features. “I know. I know, Elijah, but I thought they would only scare her. Just scare her away from you. I didn’t think they would—”

“They stabbed me,” Elijah interjected, his voice low and steady. “They left me bleeding in the dark.”

At that, Naomi crumbled completely. She crawled toward him, her hands trembling as she reached for his boots, as if they were her only lifeline.

“Elijah, please. I never meant for that to happen. I would never hurt you. Please believe me. I didn’t think you would be there. I swear I didn’t.”

He looked down at her, his gaze as cold as ice, devoid of warmth.

“You confessed,” he said softly, a finality in his tone that sent a shudder through me. “That’s all I needed.”

With that, he stepped aside, nodding at the guards.

“Take her.”

Naomi’s scream pierced the air—not a sharp, cutting scream, but a low, broken wail that echoed her plea for a past she had already shattered. The guards lifted her from the floor, dragging her toward the door as she continued to call Elijah’s name, begging him to look at her, pleading with me to help her, promising that she never wanted anyone to die.

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