CHAPTER 621: LISA’S DOWNFALL

The throne room doors shut behind her with a heavy boom, but Lisa didn’t flinch.

If anything, she smiled.

A small, sharp, victorious smile, the kind that lived only in the corners of her mouth, the kind she never let anyone else notice. Not

even Anna.

Especially not Anna.

The corridor ahead was nearly empty, sunlight spilling through tall windows, dust floating like soft glitter in the beams. It looked peaceful. Quiet. Safe.

And that alone made her want to laugh.

Everyone else had left the throne room shattered crying, panicking, whispering, trembling.

But Lisa? She walked out with her head high, her back straight, and not a single drop of worry in her blood.

Because unlike them, she knew the truth.

She was untouchable.

The last surviving thread of Aurora’s network. The only one clever enough to erase her tracks. The only one who had always stayed five steps ahead.

And now that Anna and Uther had fallen like the foolish pawns they were, there was no one left who could expose her.

Lisa lifted a hand and fixed her hair, smoothing a strand behind her ear.

Poor Anna. Poor, stupid Anna.

She had always thought she was the mastermind, the center of the web, the one spinning all the strings.

And Lisa had let her believe it, feeding her ego, whispering ideas in her ear... ideas Anna believed were her own.

But Anna had never realized she was merely the weapon.

And Lisa had been the one aiming her.

Now Anna was dead. Uther disgraced, dead too. Aurora in chains. Lily had taken her own life.

The moment she had discovered Lily was leaving, she had used dark magic she had bought from a black market to poison Lily .

Dark magic so potent enough to make her be unable to expose her if something happened.

And it had worked.

She was ten times ahead of everyone.

Every pawn removed from the board.

Except her.

Lisa inhaled deeply through her nose, breathing in victory.

She had done it. She truly had.

~~~~~~~~~~~

She walked briskly down the corridor, her boots clicking softly.

A pair of servants stepped aside with nervous bows.

Lisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Such fragile little things these people were.

Another corner, another hallway, and she would reach the guest wing.

She needed to retrieve the satchel under her bed, the one only she knew about, the one packed with a forged pass, money, and a single sealed letter written in Aurora’s handwriting.

Insurance.

Lisa’s lips curled again. She could already imagine the delicious chaos she would unleash once she slipped away.

She stepped forward and collided with someone turning the corner.

Hard.

Lisa’s shoulder slammed into theirs, and she let out a hiss. Her immediate instinct was to snap!

But then she saw who it was.

Fiona.

Of all people.

The irritating, self-righteous little puppet who thought she could play spy.

The girl who used to sleep two beds away. The girl Lisa had always suspected, always watched, always found unbearably predictable.

Lisa’s annoyance spiked. "Watch where—"

But Fiona’s eyes were already narrowed. And Lisa realized in a single breath that Fiona was not simply walking.

She was storming. Her face streaked with emotion, her jaw trembling as if she had just fought a war inside herself.

Ah.

Erik.

Perfect.

Lisa shifted to move past her.

But Fiona’s hand shot out faster than she expected.

She grabbed Lisa’s arm and jerked her back.

Hard.

Lisa stumbled, her composure cracking for the first time.

"Let go," Lisa snapped, yanking her arm. "I’m the pack’s star witness and I’m sure Alpha Xaden wouldn’t appreciate you laying your filthy hands on me—"

"I know what you did."

Fiona’s voice was low, steady, and cold, far colder than Lisa expected.

Lisa blinked.

Then she smiled.

A slow, wicked smile.

"Oh? Which part?" she mocked. "The part where Jasmine got what she deserved? Or the part where Rudy realized too late that curiosity gets people killed?"

Fiona didn’t flinch.

Lisa stepped closer, lowering her voice.

"I know you like to pretend you were so clever, living with us, watching us, thinking you understood anything. But you never did." Lisa leaned in, savoring the shrinking space. "You never even knew that I was Aurora’s right hand. That I built every lie Anna ever believed. That every plan, every whisper, every disaster that touched Jasmine came from me."

Her smile widened.

"I’m untouchable."

Fiona’s jaw tightened. "Not anymore."

Lisa laughed. "You don’t have proof—"

"I don’t need proof," Fiona said quietly.

"Because he heard you."

Lisa frowned.

"Heard what?"

Fiona didn’t answer.

But a voice behind her did.

"I heard everything."

Lisa’s blood froze.

Every limb. Every breath. Every thought.

She turned.

Slowly.

Turning took too long. Her body felt heavy, cold, thick with dread she hadn’t tasted in years. She already knew who stood there.

But knowing didn’t stop the fear that punched through her ribs when she finally saw him.

Xaden.

Standing just a few steps away.

Not furious.

Not shouting.

Not storming forward.

Just standing there.

Still.

Silent.

Eyes dark.

Expression unreadable.

And that, for the first time in Lisa’s life, terrified her more than any Alpha roar.

"Alpha—" Lisa swallowed, forcing a smile, forcing breath back into her lungs. "This is just a misunderstanding. Fiona misheard—"

"I heard you," Xaden said again.

Calm.

Too calm.

He took one step forward.

"Enough to have you executed ten times over."

Lisa felt her heartbeat slam into her throat.

Think.

Think.

Think.

"Alpha, with all due respect," she said, forcing her voice to soften, forcing her eyes to water practiced tricks. "I am your witness. Without me, you have no case against Uther. No confirmation against the network. I helped bring justice—"

"You helped nothing," Xaden said coldly.

Another step.

His eyes burned, not with rage, but something far worse.

Disgust.

"You lied under oath," he said. "You

You manipulated testimony. You committed conspiracy with the traitors you pretended to expose."

Lisa’s breath quickened.

"Alpha, I-"

"You hurt the mother of my child ."

Lisa stiffened.