Lethal Temptation (by Michelle Ray) novel Chapter 245

245 When Friendship Breaks-1

Lucian

“She shifted?” I exploded, turning to my father. “How could you let her?”

He raised both hands in a slow, steady gesture, trying to calm me.

“I told her to hide in the bunker,” he said. “The butlers and security were already moving. But she refused.”

I stared at him, stunned.

“She said she was Luna. Said it was her duty. And before you judge her, let me be clear, we needed her. Badly. The attack came from both inside and outside. Alaric had embedded moles among our staff. The only reason we’re standing here now is because she helped me organize the defense. She fought hard, Lucian. She carried weight I couldn’t have on my own.”

He let out a breath, voice low and bitter. “They came for Martha, Tiffany, and Emma. In the dead of night. And Alaric had the audacity to leave Mara a note.”

I stood frozen, jaw clenched so tightly I thought I might crack a tooth.

“And where the hell was Delta Denis?” I asked, voice like steel.

My father didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to.

The silence told me everything.

Denis never came back from the base. He went home. He went home.

I felt heat rise in my throat, choking me. My hands curled into fists, and I had to fight the primal urge to

roar.

That bastard.

He thought because we were friends, he could get away with this? That I’d give him a pass for abandoning his post during a coordinated attack on my home?

I pulled out my phone, fury pounding through my skull as I dialed his number. I didn’t care what time it was. He was going to answer. Or I’d find him.

But my father grabbed my wrist.

“Not now,” he said quietly. “Handle it when you can think straight. Your wife is alive. The fever is mild. She’ll

recover. That’s what matters.”

My chest rose and fell fast. Too fast.

I tried to breathe, but all I could see was Mara, screaming in pain through her shift, her body trying to hold itself together. And Denis? He was probably curled up with his wife, playing house, thinking I’d understand.

<245 When Friendship Breaks-1

Understand?

Never.

That wasn’t friendship. That was betrayal.

Let’s see how much Keisha loves him when he’s out of the ranks and scrambling to support her with a

civilian job. Let’s see how warm her love stays when the title’s gone.

No excuse would ever be enough. Nothing he said could undo what he’d done.

He hadn’t just disobeyed me, he’d endangered everything.

And if Mara had been like other Lunas, untrained, unprepared, fragile?

She would’ve died.

I stared down at her sleeping form. My pulse thundered behind my eyes.

It would take everything in me not to tear Denis apart the next time I saw him.

And even that might not be enough.

I looked at my brother, unable to put off dealing with Denis later, and gave my order.

Clar

“Strip Delta Denis Stormborn of his rank.” My voice cut through the room like a blade. “As of this moment, he is dismissed from the military for dereliction of duty. I also want him investigated. I want to be certain he hasn’t been feeding Chase intel all this time.”

Darian nodded, eyes dark with understanding.

Then, unexpectedly, my father chuckled.

I turned to him, frowning. “What’s so damn funny?”

He met my eyes squarely, the amusement gone now, replaced with something colder. He wanted my full

attention.

“Chase is Alaric, Lucian. Martha recognised him from the photo Mara gave her. There’s no doubt.”

The room fell silent.

My chest tightened. I’d suspected. We all had. But suspicion and confirmation were two different beasts.

My thoughts reeled. And then another realisation hit me like a punch to the gut.

“Then why would he kidnap his own daughter? Why tie her down and let them do that to her in Rockville?”

Gasps rippled through the room. My father’s hands started to shake. Martha buried her face in her palms

and sobbed.

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244

245 When Friendship Breaks-2

Cla

245 When Friendship Breaks-2

“Silly, silly girl,” she whispered. “My poor baby. He must’ve lied to her. Tricked her.”

My father’s expression darkened, his breathing quick and ragged.

“I hope she’s dead,” he snarled. “I hope she’s among the corpses they showed on television. That treachero

us bitchdeserved it.”

I flinched.

He was furious. But this wasn’t righteous anger. This was personal.

And it wasn’t the first time. He’d never liked Lacy. Hadn’t wanted her near Martha when she was in a coma.

Hadn’t trusted her for a second.

And maybe that was why she’d run.

“You hate her because she’s Alaric’s daughter,” I said, coldly. “But that doesn’t justify this level of venom.”

His eyes twitched. His jaw clenched.

“She poisoned her mother,” he snapped. “That girl was working with Alaric. She did it. She helped him

weaken us from the inside.”

Silence.

Martha cried harder, curling in on herself. Tiffany looked away, guilt in her eyes. She knew.

I turned, stunned. Trying to piece it all together. But before I could say a word, Darian stood up abruptly, pulled away from Tiffany, and walked out of the room.

He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to.

I knew where he was going.

I followed.

His rage pulsed ahead of me like heat on a battlefield. I could feel it, tangible, raw, about to explode.

We moved fast down the hall, our footsteps echoing through the mansion.

Lacy had been sheltered. Given chances. Protected.

But if what we’d just heard was true, if she knew what she was doing, then she wasn’t a victim.

She was a threat.

And she was about to find out what it meant to betray the wrong family.

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