Page 195 of Wisteria and Cloves

“I don’t see any claiming mark on her.” My mother snapped back.

“You rudely interrupted that by showing up unannounced.” I snarked, taking pleasure in her reddening face. I was bluffing but she didn’t need to know that.

"You... what?" My mother sputtered, her composure completely shattering at my implication.

Nicolaus stepped to my other side, a slight smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "As Lilianna said, your timing is... unfortunate."

I could feel heat rising to my cheeks at the bluff I was maintaining, but the shock and disgust on my mother's face was worth the momentary embarrassment. Behind her, Karen looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

"You're lying," my mother hissed, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes as they darted between the four alphas surrounding me. "You were afraid of alphas…"

"I was afraid of the alphas you chose for me," I corrected, my voice steadier than I'd ever imagined possible when confronting her. "Men three times my age who looked at me like I was property. Men who discussed my breeding potential while I sat silently beside you." I lifted my chin. "These men are nothing like that."

The cameraman shifted, capturing my mother's furious expression as she realized how this was playing out—not therescue of a vulnerable omega she'd planned, but the exposure of her own cruelty.

"You've always been sodramatic," she said, her voice dripping with condescension as she tried to regain control of the narrative. "Thesedelusionsof abuse—"

"Are documented," Miles cut in smoothly, stepping forward with his tablet. "Would you like to see the medical reports detailing Lilianna's malnutrition when she arrived?” My mother's face paled slightly at Miles' words. I'd never seen her so close to losing control.

"This is absurd," my mother sputtered, but her eyes darted nervously to the camera, still recording every moment. "You can't possibly believe—"

"We have the evidence," Nicolaus stated flatly. "And unlike you, we didn't have to falsify anything to get it."

The cameraman stepped closer, clearly riveted by the confrontation unfolding before him. This wasn't the story my mother had promised him—not the tale of a helpless omega rescued from predatory alphas, but something far more damning.

"I think we're done here," I said, surprised by the firmness of my voice.

"You can't just dismiss me," my mother snapped, her carefully manicured hands clenching into fists. "I am still your mother."

"Being a mother is more than biology," I replied, feeling a strange calm settle over me. "It's protection, support, love—none of which you ever gave me."

The cameraman circled slightly, capturing my mother's furious expression from a new angle. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he realized the story he'd been brought to film was transforming into something far more explosive.

"Mrs. Wycliffe," Miles said, his voice carrying that dangerous edge that made even my mother hesitate, "you have exactly thirty seconds to return to your vehicle before we contact the authorities for trespassing."

My mother's eyes narrowed to slits. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try us,"Julian replied, his phone already in his hand, the emergency number typed in and ready to go at any second.

The standoff stretched for several tense seconds. My mother's gaze darted between Julian's phone, the camera still rolling, and my face—searching for any crack in my newfound resolve. Finding none, her expression twisted into something ugly and desperate.

"This isn't over," she hissed, taking a step backward toward her car. "You think you've won, but you have no idea what you've just unleashed."

"Actually," I said, my voice carrying a strength I'd never known I possessed, "I think it is over. You have no power here anymore."

Karen had already retreated to the car, clutching her tablet like a lifeline. The cameraman hesitated, clearly torn between following my mother and continuing to film what was obviously becoming a much bigger story than he'd bargained for.

"You," I called to him, causing him to freeze. "I want a copy of everything you filmed.” The man gave a quick nod, giving Nicolaus his card before quickly leaving and leaving the five of us in total silence.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Lilianna

Itook a deep breath, my hands shaking as the reality of what I just did…what I just said. I turned to the guys who were watching my every move before Julian moved forward putting a hand on my cheek, and before I could warn him that my phone was still recording from my window upstairs, his mouth was on me.

His kiss was fierce, possessive—a claiming that made my knees weaken and my heart race. I melted against him, my body responding instinctively to his touch, the tension of confrontation transforming into a different kind of intensity.

"You were magnificent," Julian murmured against my lips when he finally pulled back, his eyes blazing with pride and something darker, hungrier. "Absolutely magnificent."

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