Chapter 225

NATALIE’S POV The words I had just overheard echoed in my mind. They stabbed into me like poisoned daggers. I was not their child. I was not their daughter. I was nothing but an unwanted orphan they had dragged into their home. The memories of all those years—my tears, the endless punishments, the cold meals, the beatings, the humiliation—suddenly made sense. They had never loved me. I wasn’t their blood. I had just been their scapegoat, a replacement when their precious Violet couldn’t be used. My chest burned with fury. My hands trembled, not with fear, but with anger so hot that it blurred my thoughts. Before I even realized what I was doing, my feet carried me forward, and I stood in front of them. Angus and Avery both froze. Their eyes widened in shock. “You…” Avery gasped. Her face went pale at the sight of me. I didn’t let her finish. My palm collided with Angus’s cheek in a satisfying crack His head jerked to the side. For once, the mighty Alpha looked stunned. “How dare you!”