Page 155 of Crowned In Venom

My jaw tightens.

"What do you mean?"

A beat of silence.

Then—

"His name."

My fingers tighten around the hilt of my blade.

"What name?"

"The one in the ledger. Erix Tathorin."

A sharp, violent pull in my core.

A name I had barely glanced at. A name I had ignored.

It means nothing to Anya.

But to me?—

It is everything.

"That’s my father’s name," I murmur, my voice hoarse.

The Ghost inclines its head, as if already knowing my reaction, already waiting for this moment.

"Of course it is."

Something cold spreads through me.

A truth I was never meant to know.

A truth that the Matriarch had kept from me all these years.

"You were his subordinate." My voice is sharper now, accusing.

The Ghost does not deny it.

"Before the Matriarch took control of me, yes. I was his most loyal soldier. His blade in the dark."

The room tilts.

A sickness churns in my gut.

"So this is why you've helped me?" My voice is raw. "Why you've been working with me?"

"Because you are your father's son," the Ghost murmurs.

I sway slightly.

A lifetime of doubt, of wondering why I was different, of questioning why the Matriarch treated me not as a son, but as an obsession.

And now the puzzle pieces begin to fit.

But before I can speak?—

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