Chapter 19

The snow fell in a furious rush. Camden stood beneath the portico with the amniocentesis report clutched in his hand. The words "No Genetic Match" struck his vision like shards of ice. Then, his assistant arrived with more evidence, salvaged from the castle's forgotten mailbox—a lab report for a scented powder designed to induce aggression. Camden stared at it for a long time, his chest arching sharply, as if his heart were being torn apart by pain. It turned out the so-called atonement in the form of an animal show had been nothing but a carefully orchestrated attempt on Alice's life! And instead of listening to her refusals and protests, he had forcibly carried her down to endure the punishment. As a result, the woman he loved was knocked to the ground by the beasts, her ribs crushed underfoot, leaving her on the brink of death. All the while, he remained just a short distance away, protecting only Elena. But this was far from the only wrong he had done to Alice. For the sake