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Chapter 38 - A Gilded Cage and a Shadow's Ultimatum

VANESSA

I barely slept that night after our moonlit run. By morning, I was exhausted but too restless to stay in bed. I dressed quickly in jeans and a simple blouse, my mind still churning with Bianca's words from the night before.

The smell of fresh coffee guided me downstairs to the kitchen, where I expected to find only the household staff preparing breakfast. Instead, I walked into what felt like an ambush.

My parents sat at the large kitchen island alongside my brother Leo and his mate Olivia. They all turned to me with bright smiles that immediately set off warning bells in my head.

"There she is!" My mother rose from her seat, arms extended. "Just the woman we need to speak with."

"Good morning?" I said, the words coming out as a question.

Leo at least had the decency to look slightly uncomfortable. He pushed a mug of coffee toward me. "You'll want this first."

"That bad, huh?" I accepted the coffee and took a deliberate sip, bracing myself.

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