Page 103 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
“Where’s Adrian?” Ivy demanded as she glared at Evelyn with hatred. She struggled against her bindings even more than before. Seeing her mom after seven years seemed to give her a burst of energy. “If you have hurt him in any way, I swear to the Moon Goddess that I will rip out your throat!” she snarled.
A loud growl ripped out of my mouth, and I nodded my head, backing up her threat.
Evelyn came to a stop next to Silas, who gave her a look full of pure adoration, like a dog gazing up at its owner. Ivy’s mother stood tall and proud. She crossed her arms and scowled down at us, enjoying the sight of us being tied up and weakened by drugs. Evelyn didn’t immediately speak as she enjoyed seeing her plan of seven years finally come together.
Ivy had been right in saying that her mother always had a flair for the dramatics. Evelyn looked excited to be on the stage with us as her unwilling audience. She crossed her arms superiorly, and her face held a manic kind of glee.
“Your brat is fine,” Evelyn said, waving her hand airily as if our son’s safety was of little consequence. “If you follow our demands, we will allow your son to live.” Then she turned to Silas. “Nice work, sweetheart.”
Evelyn cupped his face in her hands. She brought him in for a passionate kiss. Immediately, I looked away as my stomach rolled in disgust. Ivy’s upper lip curled as she gazed at the stage like it was a horrible car accident that she couldn’t look away from.
Their kiss went on for far too long, making my head spin with nausea. Finally, they pulled away.
“So, after you discovered that Asher’s dad didn’t leave you anything in his will, you found another man to take care of you,” Ivy said icily and nodded at Silas.
Evelyn smirked and snaked her arm around Silas’ waist, who was grinning smugly.
“You’ve got it all wrong, little girl,” Evelyn said. “I met and fell in love with Silas way before I married Russell.”
My eyes widened with shock. A wave of realization washed over me as I remembered overhearing Evelyn talking to someone on the phone when she was married to my father and calling the person “S”.
S stands for Silas!
Ivy froze with her mouth open, but no sound would come out. After a beat of silence, a look of understanding crossed Ivy’s face.
“You never loved Asher’s dad!” Ivy said, glaring at her mother. “You planned on deceiving him from the very start of your relationship! ”
Evelyn let out an evil cackle and gripped Silas’ shoulder like he washer property. Her long, red nails seemed to dig into his skin, but Silas didn’t even flinch.
“Of course I didn’t love Russell,” she said. “When I met Russell, I was already madly in love with Silas—“
Ivy interrupted her with a loud scoff. “Bullshit! You’re incapable of love, you monster!”
“Be quiet, girl! Interrupt me again, and I’ll kill your boy right in front of you,” Evelyn hissed at her daughter.
My hands clenched into tight fists, and I could hear Ivy’s heart slamming in her chest. But neither of us said another word. We wouldn’t risk Adrian’s life like that.
“That’s better,” Evelyn said briskly. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes. When I met the love of life,” her hands tightened onto Silas’ shoulder, “we hatched a plan to steal from the richest man in our kingdom.” Her icy eyes zeroed in on me. “Your father.”
Fury and grief shot down my spine, but I managed to keep my mouth shut.
“I seduced Russell—which was almost laughably easy—and once we were married and I was in his will, I started poisoning him,” Evelyn said as a sadistic smile crossed her face.
I sharply inhaled as my mind raced. Evelyn poisoned my dad? Was that why he died?
“During our year-long marriage, I poisoned his morning coffee with a potion a witch made for me,” Evelyn explained with an excited glint in her eyes like she was enjoying this. “It slowly weakened his immune system until his body began to shut down. During this time, I’d been working on Russell leaving everything to me. And the night that he finally signed those papers, I gave him enough poison to kill him.”
My heart skipped a beat. That had been the night of Ivy’s mating ceremony. The night that my dad died. Evelyn had killed my father. She was the only reason he was dead.
Fury tore through my body, and I struggled more than ever against the rope tying my hands behind my back. My ears were ringing from the intense rage that was making my heart race.
“I'm going to kill you! I snarled at Evelyn. “You're going to pay for murdering my father,you evil hag!”
Ivy’s mother’s gaze swung to me. “Silence!” she commanded. “You're the one who ruined everything! I thought I had your father wrapped around my finger, but you somehow convinced him to take me out of the will. You will pay for that mistake. And you,” Evelyn said, turning her head slightly to scowl at her daughter. “You could have married Asher after the mating ceremony! He would have taken you back after rejecting you, I know he would have.”
I glared up at her with hatred. My body was shaking with rage. I still couldn't believe that she had killed my dad.
“If you had just married Asher, that would have given you the same money and status my marriage to Russell did,” Evelyn continued. “It was your job to take care of me, just as I would have taken care of you if I could have successfully gotten Russell’s money. That’s what family does.”
