To ruin an Omega novel Chapter 372

Chapter 372: One Hour

ALDRIC

The head elder’s voice cut through the murmuring crowd.

"Alpha Aldric Donlon. You have heard the charges brought against you. How do you answer them?"

I stood with my hands loose at my sides. The healing Madeline had performed still sat warm in my chest. My nails had returned to their normal color. The tremor was gone. I felt steady again. Strong enough to do what needed to be done.

"Not guilty," I said. My voice carried clearly through the hall. "To every single charge."

Elder Callum nodded once.

"Then you will be given the opportunity to defend yourself against the testimony brought forward." He gestured toward the gallery. "We will begin with the witnesses who have come forward."

I watched him shuffle through the papers in front of him. He was moving slower than necessary. Drawing it out. Making a show of the process. I knew what he was doing. He was buying time. Trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing before he committed too hard in any direction.

Smart man.

But not smart enough.

"The court calls Madeline Blossom to the stand."

The name landed in the room like a stone dropped into still water. Ripples moved outward. Heads turned. People shifted in their seats.

I looked toward the gallery.

Madeline stood. She smoothed the front of her dress with hands that did not shake. Then she walked toward the center of the hall where a single chair had been placed for witnesses.

She sat down and folded her hands in her lap.

Elder Callum looked at her.

"Miss Blossom. You have come forward with testimony against the accused. Please state your relationship to Alpha Aldric Donlon."

"I have none," she said. Her voice was calm. "I know him only through his nephew, Alpha Cian Donlon, whom I was once engaged to marry."

Callum nodded.

"And what testimony do you bring before this circle?"

Madeline reached into the small bag she had brought with her and pulled out her phone. She held it up so the elders could see it clearly.

"I have proof," she said. "Voice messages sent to me by Alpha Aldric Donlon. Messages that show a pattern of threats and coercion."

The room went quiet.

Elder Callum leaned forward slightly.

"The court will hear them."

Madeline tapped the screen. Then she held the phone out toward the circle.

My voice filled the hall.

"Pick it up right now. Or I swear to you. I will ruin you. I will ruin everything attached to you. You know I mean that."

The recording ended.

I kept my face still. I did not move. I did not react. I simply stood there and let the room absorb what they had just heard.

Madeline tapped the screen again.

Another recording played.

"You think this is a game? Make moves without my express permission. You know exactly what happens. So pick up the fucking phone. Pick it up now. Or I will make you regret every single breath you take from this moment forward."

The second recording ended.

The murmuring in the room grew louder. I could feel the shift happening. The weight of opinion moving in a direction I did not like.

Madeline played a third.

"Madeline. I am calling your father next. And when I do, I am going to tell him exactly how his daughter has decided to become a liability. You know what that means. You know what I will do to him. So whatever little fantasy you are living in right now, whatever you think this is, end it. Call me back. You have minutes. Not hours. Minutes."

The hall erupted into noise.

People were no longer trying to keep their voices down. The whispers had become open discussion. I heard fragments of it from every direction.

"He threatened her father."

"That does not sound like someone innocent."

"Why would he send those if he had nothing to hide?"

Elder Callum raised his hand and the noise subsided slowly.

He looked at Madeline.

"Miss Blossom. Can you explain the context of these messages?"

"These were threats," she said simply. "And there were worse ones that I could not record. I was afraid for my safety."

She paused and looked directly at the elders.

"For anyone who might be confused, these messages were sent because Alpha Aldric wanted to use me to put a wedge between Alpha Cian and his bride, Luna Fia. He wanted me to exploit the history Cian and I shared. He wanted me to convince Cian somehow to let go of the Alpha seat."

She stopped again. Then she added quietly.

"And not because he was particularly interested in playing fairy godfather. But simply because he wanted the Alpha seat for himself."

I felt something cold settle in my chest.

She had framed it well. Too well.

The room was watching her now with full attention. She had their sympathy. She had their belief. She looked like a victim standing in front of them. Small and brave and telling the truth despite the cost.

I almost admired it.

I let the silence sit for a moment longer than was comfortable. Then I laughed.

It was not loud. It was not mocking. It was just enough to shift the energy in the room back toward me.

Every head turned.

I looked at Madeline.

"Forgive me," I said. My voice was calm and reasonable. "But if I am this big bad you are painting me as, what could I possibly have to lord over your head? Or even your father’s head? What power could I hold over you that would make you obey threats like that?"

I paused and let the question hang in the air.

"Tell the court."

Madeline went very still.

I watched her face. Watched the shift that happened behind her eyes. She knew exactly what I was doing. She knew the trap I had just laid in front of her.

If she told the truth about her father, about the fleshcraft, about the experiments he had conducted for years, then she would destroy him. She would bring her own family down in the process of bringing me down.

And she could not do that.

I could see it written all over her face.

The elders were watching her now. Waiting for an answer.

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