Lethal Temptation (by Michelle Ray) novel Chapter 252

252 No Redemption-1

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252 No Redemption-1

Lucian

I sat there, numb.

Lacy’s words kept echoing in my head, each one hitting harder than the last. I couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe the stupidity, the depth of her betrayal, or the sheer cruelty that tied it all together.

Was she telling the truth?

I wanted to scream. To tear something apart. For years, I’d believed my mother’s death was fate-or at worst, politics. But no. Her killer had been circling us all along. Feeding off our lives like a parasite.

Alaric. Chase. That bastard.

I felt my pulse pounding, my hands trembling. Sweat was breaking across my brow. I could barely think. Barely breathe.

I loved Darian, and he only existed because of that night-because of what happened between Martha and my father. But that didn’t erase what Alaric had done. He’d murdered my mother because she rejected him. Because she chose love over control. And then he tormented her until the end.

He didn’t just kill her. He made sure she suffered.

A quick death? No. That would be mercy. And mercy isn’t for men like him.

I was still boiling when I saw Mara double over and vomit.

I shot out of my seat and ran to her.

“Are you alright?” I asked, kneeling beside her, panic overriding my rage.

She shook her head, weak but focused. “No, Lucian. I need you and your father to calm down. The

pressure is too much.”

And then it clicked. The energy in the room, the storm of emotions-it was crushing her. It was crushing ou

r child.

I turned to my father, silently begging him to pull back.

But instead, he stormed out of the office like a man possessed.

Darian was pale, speechless. Martha-shaking, broken. Crying for the daughter who betrayed her.

And Lacy?

I couldn’t even look at her. Not now.

She’d committed treason. Aligned herself with the enemy. Lied. Stolen. Sabotaged.

The punishment should be death. If this had been any other traitor, they’d already be dead. But I knew

252 No Redemption 1

Claire

Mara wouldn’t allow it. This wasn’t a public crime-it was in-house. Family business. And Mara would have

to judge it accordingly.

But still, the facts didn’t change.

Killing Lacy wouldn’t bring justice. It would just deepen Martha’s pain.

What a waste. What a goddamn shame.

I turned and looked at Lacy.

She sat on the floor, eyes swollen, her spirit cracked wide open. But I didn’t care. Not now.

I forced myself to calm down-just enough to speak. Then I walked back to my desk, sat down, and stared

at her like she was a stain I wanted erased.

“It’s a shame, Lacy,” I said coldly. “You betrayed the only parent who ever truly loved you. And you did it hand-in-hand with the same man she fought her whole life to protect you from.”

I leaned forward, voice low and sharp.

“That deadbeat-that monster-used your mother, sold her, broke her, and she still gave everything she had to make sure you never had to live that life. She sold herself to send money home. She swallowed her pride so you could grow up safe. She could’ve aborted you. Given you away. Let him destroy you. But she

didn’t.”

I stood, the pressure building in my chest.

“Because of her, you didn’t grow up like the rest of Goldenpeak. You never had to beg or bleed to survive. You had good food, warm clothes, and decent education. All because she endured things you’ll never

understand.”

I paused, eyes locked on her.

“So what did you do with all that privilege? You lied to her. Drugged her. You planned to drag her back to the very hell she escaped-into the arms of the man who r***d and trafficked her. You knew what he was. You knew what he did. But you did it anyway.”

I shook my head.

“This wasn’t about some fantasy of a happy family. You didn’t want your parents back together. You

wanted revenge. You resented her-for calling you her niece. For not staying with your father. For daring to give a better life to Darian, to me, to anyone but you.”

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252 No Redemption-2

252 No Redemption-2

I stepped closer, each word like a blow.

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“You knew your father tried to use her to kill my father and me-for money. And you still trusted him. You still helped him. That makes you no better than him. You’d have handed her over willingly. Let him break

her again-just to prove a point.”

My voice dropped, deadly calm.

“And what? You thought he’d love you for it? That he’d pat your head and say ‘good girl’ because you betrayed the only family that cared about you? You thought you were different?”

I sneered.

“You weren’t special. You were next.”

I turned away, disgusted.

“You didn’t just help him steal from Steel Corp. You sold military secrets, too-I know you did. You left us vulnerable, stripped us of leverage, and for what? Some pathetic need for validation?”

I looked back once more, final and cold.

“You’re not a victim, Lacy. Not anymore. You’re a traitor. And you’re a wicked person.”

She didn’t say a word.

She didn’t need to.

Everything she was had already been laid bare.

“Your mother will argue that what happened to you in Rockville was punishment enough,” I said, voice cold and controlled, “but the rest of us feel differently.”

I looked down at Lacy, still crumpled on the floor, her sobs quiet now but present-like she knew what was

coming.

“The truth is, you would’ve gone to any length for your father. And the worst part? You didn’t just fall for

him. You choseto lie. To hide.”

My words sharpened.

“You met him in secret. All while watching your mother wither under his blackmail. You watched her beg

for

money, watched her pride fall apart-and you still kept going.”

I stepped closer, unforgiving.

“Martha would’ve sold herself again if it came to that-you know that-and you let it happen. You watched her sell her possessions, sell her dignity, lose favor with my father-just to pay your father off.”

I didn’t hold back.

13

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