My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 239

Chapter 239

“He left me here because he knew I’d–betrayed him. Knew I’d chosen helping you over helping the Preservation Front. “Her voice cracked. “Grace, my father died thinking I was a traitor to everything he believed in. And he was right. I was. I am.”

The admission hung in the air.

“Courtney-” I started.

father was

“Don’t.” She cut me off. “Don’t tell me I made the right choice. Don’t tell me my wrong and I was right. I know all that intellectually. But Grace-” Tears now, finally. “He was still my father. He raised me. Loved me in his twisted way. And I gave you intelligence that helped kill him.”

“You gave us intelligence that saved lives,” Uncle Cas said firmly. “Courtney, your father made his choices. Led an assault. Tried to kidnap Grace. Died fighting against integration. Those were his choices. Not yours.”

“But if I hadn’t given you his plans–if I’d stayed loyal–he might still be alive-”

“And Grace might be kidnapped. Or dead. Multiple pack members might be dead. The assault might have succeeded.” Uncle Cas leaned forward. “Courtney, you chose to stop terrorism. That your father was the terrorist doesn’t change the morality of that choice.”

She was crying harder now. “I don’t know how to–how to live with this. Knowing I helped kill my own father. Knowing there are still extremists out there planning to hurt Grace. Knowing I gave them her information in the first place and started all of this-”

“You didn’t start this,” I said quietly. “Courtney, the Preservation Front existed long before you gave them my schedule. They would have found another way to target me. Another source of information. You’re not–you’re not responsible for extremism existing.”

“But I helped them-”

“And then you helped us. Helped stop them.” I paused. “Courtney, I’m not saying I forgive you for the knife attack or giving them my schedule. I’m not saying we’re friends or that everything is okay between us. But I am saying–you made better choices eventually. That counts for something.”

She looked at me with red, swollen eyes. “Does it? Does it count when there are still two Preservation Front leaders out there planning goddess knows what? When my father’s death just–just removes one obstacle but leaves the real extremists in place?”

“It counts because you’re telling us now,” Uncle Cas said. “Marcus Dane. Elena Frost. Their roles. The backup plans. Courtney, that intelligence is valuable. Might save lives. Might help us stop them before they escalate.”

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“You think you can stop them?” Her voice was small. Hopeless. “Uncle–Lord Castellan, Marcus and Elena have been doing this for decades. They’re smart. Careful. Paranoid about security. My father was the visible one, the political one. They’re–they’re the true believers. The ones who think integration is genuinely evil and needs to be stopped by any means necessary.”

“Then we’ll stop them by any means necessary,” Uncle Cas said. “Courtney, I’ve been hunting extremists for eleven centuries. Marcus Dane and Elena Frost are not the first true believers I’ve encountered. They won’t be the last. But they will be stopped.“2

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they threatened my niece. Because they represent everything I’ve spent decades fighting against. Because-” He paused. “Because I’m very good at stopping threats to my family. Even when those threats are smart and careful and paranoid.”

Courtney was quiet for a long moment. Then: “I’ll tell you everything I know. Every

conversation I overheard. Every mention of Marcus or Elena. Every detail my father let slip about their operations.”

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