My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 119

Chapter 119

“That’s not much of a choice, pointed out.

“It’s more choice than she gave any of you when she told hunters about Grace’s birth. “His voice hardened. “Jeremy, Emma, I understand you want justice. Want punishment. But right now, you need tactical advantage ifrere. Let’s use Dr. Chen to destroy the hunters. After that, you can exile her, execute her, whatever you feel is appropriate.”

Emma stood, moving to Grace’s bassinet. She looked down at our daughter, her expression a mix of love and fierce protectiveness.

“I want to be there when you confront her,” she said. “Want to see her face when she realizes we know everything”

“Emma, you gave birth yesterday. You should be resting-

“I should be protecting my daughter.” She turned to face us both. “Dr. Chen targeted Grace. Specifically. She knew where I was, knew when I was vulnerable, and she told hunters to come kill us. I’m not resting while that threat is still active.”

“The threat isn’t active anymore,” Lord Castellan said gently. “We have her family. We control the situation now.”

“Do we? Or are we just creating another layer of deception that could blow up in our faces?” Emma’s voice was sharp. “What if the hunters figure out their spy has been turned? What if Dr. Chen warns them somehow?”

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“She won’t. Not if it means losing her family again.” He moved closer to Emma. “But you’re right to be cautious. Trust is difficult after betrayal. So here’s what we’ll do: You, Jeremy, and I will confront Dr. Chen together. You’ll look her in the eye and decide if you believe her cooperation is genuine. If you don’t trust her, we move to plan B.”

“What’s plan B?” I asked.

“Execution and aggressive hunter targeting. No subtlety, no intelligence gathering, just overwhelming force.” He smiled coldly. “Messier. Higher casualties. But effective.”

Emma looked at me, then at Grace, then back to Lord Castellan/“I want her to see what she almost destroyed. Want her to look at Grace and understand exactly what she put at risk.”

“Emma-” I started.

“No, Jeremy. She needs to see. Needs to understand that she wasn’t just betraying abstract pack members. She was betraying newborn baby. Our daughter.” Emma’s voice broke. “Maybe that will make her cooperation more genuine. Maybe it’ll haunt her enough that she won’t betray us again.”

“Or it’ll traumatize her into being useless,” I countered.

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“Then we execute her and move to plan B.” Emma’s expression was steel. “But I need her to see. Need her to face what she did.”

Lord Castellan studied Emma for a long moment. “You’ve become quite ruthless, Emma Trent. Motherhood suits you.”

“Motherhood has clarified my priorities.” She picked up Grace, who was starting to stir. “My daughter’s safety comes before mercy. Before forgiveness. Before everything.”

“Good.” He moved toward the door. “That’s the kind of strength you’ll need for what’s coming. The hunters won’t stop. Even we turn Dr. Chen, even if we feed them false intelligence, they’ll keep coming. This war is just beginning ”

“Then we end it.” I stood, moving to Emma’s side. “Whatever it takes. We end the hunter threat completely.”

“Ambitious. I like it.” Lord Castellan paused at the door. “Jeremy, Emma–before you come down too hard on Dr. Chen, remember: she made an impossible choice under duress. Yes, she betrayed you. But she did it trying to save her family. That doesn’t excuse it, but it explains it.”

“Are you defending her?” Emma asked sharply.

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“No. I’m reminding you that we’re all capable of terrible things wheti protecting what we love.” His eyes moved to Grace. “You proved that yesterday when you agreed to a life–debt to save Jeremy. Dr. Chen proved it when she betrayed the pack to save her daughter. The difference is in who we hurt and how we try to make amends.”

After he left, Emma and I stood in silence, Grace nestled between us.

“He’s right, you know,” Emma finally said. “About making terrible choices for family. I did that yesterday. Bound us both to a vampire lord because I couldn’t watch you die.”

“I’d have done the same. Would do worse to protect you and Grace.”

“I know. That’s what scares me.” She looked up at me. “Jeremy, how far would we go? What lines would we cross to protect her?

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“Any. All of them.” I touched Grace’s soft hair. “Emma, I’d burn down the world to keep her safe.”

“So would I.” She leaned against me. “Which means we need to make sure we never have to. Need to end these threats before they force us to become monsters.”

“We’re not monsters.”

“Not yet. But Lord Castellan’s right–we’re all capable of terrible things for love.” She kissed Grace’s forehead. “Let’s make sure we never find out how far we’d actually go.”

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