Seraphine’s heart hammered against her ribs so hard she half-expected the people standing closest to hear it thudding.

She prayed Voren would keep his mouth shut a little longer, that he wouldn’t spill everything right there in front of the whole banquet.

He only shrugged, looking like none of this touched him in the slightest. "I’m only worried about your temper," he told Ravyn, his calm eyes locking onto him. "The last time you showed up at the hospital while she was treating your injured warriors, you remember what you did to her?"

Those words hit like a brick. Ravyn’s shoulders locked up. He never expected Voren to publicly bring out the matter, especially when Voren had walked out on him before he could tell him about his plans to have Seraphine back.

Until now, Ravyn could not guess Voren’s reasons for that action, planning to speak to him again after the banquet but now, Voren had humiliated him with that innocent reminder.

Shame flashed across his face as he dropped his gaze. After a long stretch of silence he forced out a bitter smile. "It won’t happen again," he answered, voice rough. "I just can’t stand her lies."

"Then why don’t you call your own doctor?" Seraphine offered, keeping her tone even.

Daisy’s heart nearly stopped cold.

Before anyone else could jump in, Seraphine turned square to Ravyn. "A DNA test will settle everything."

Color drained right out of Daisy’s face. "Sera... please." She rushed to Ravyn’s side and clutched his arm, tears already pouring down her cheeks. "Please stop this. Why are you trying to ruin my life? I’ve never done a single thing to you."

Her crying looked so real that several guests traded uneasy looks. If they didn’t know better, they would have sworn she was the one being attacked.

Seraphine didn’t give her a second glance. She turned slowly toward the crowd instead. "Everyone," her voice carried clear through the hall, "did I do something wrong here? I’ve got this strong feeling Bryan isn’t Ravyn’s son."

The whole room went dead quiet.

"I raised that little boy like he was my own," she went on, eyes shining with real pain even while her back stayed straight. "If Bryan truly isn’t his, then I want him in exchange for my daughter, the daughter Ravyn killed before I ever got the chance to hold her."

The confession cracked through the banquet hall like a whip. Gasps shot up from every corner. Whispers started flying.

"What?"

"Did she just say Ravyn killed their daughter?"

"I thought they lost the baby the natural way."

"Nobody ever said a word about that..."

The murmurs swelled until Daisy’s desperate cry cut through them. "Sera!" She stumbled forward, whole body shaking. Fear clamped down on her chest so tight she could barely breathe. If Seraphine kept talking, Ravyn might actually go along with the DNA test.

"What did I ever do to you?" Daisy sobbed, voice breaking. "Why are you treating me like this?" Fresh tears kept rolling without any sign of stopping. That helpless look of hers softened a lot of the guests. Some even started eyeing Seraphine with doubt.

Behind the tears, though, Daisy reached out through the mind link. ’Mom, Sera’s stirring up real trouble.’

Inside the safe house Noelle shot to her feet the second the message hit. Her face went dark. She didn’t waste a second heading for the door.

Kylie and Madison fell in right behind her. At least Nessa, Desmond, and a handful of strong Alphas and Lunas were still watching the pups, so there was no need to worry about them.

Back at the banquet Seraphine folded her arms and let out a cold little scoff. "Daisy," she said, lips curling into a mocking smile, "you’ve piled up so many sins I don’t even know where to start."

She tapped a finger against her chin like she was really thinking it over. "Hmm... right. Sin number one." She looked Daisy dead in the eye. "You still haven’t given back my golden fish."

Daisy’s heart skipped. Her hands went ice-cold. She needed her mother here before Alpha Voren got curious enough to start asking questions about that fish.

Nobody in this room knew Noelle was actually Daisy’s real mother. To everyone else Noelle was Seraphine’s mom. If Noelle made it in time she could still twist the whole thing around.

Seraphine’s smile stayed cold. "Number two." She lifted another finger. "You still haven’t admitted you paid someone to drug me at the last Full Moon Festival."

The crowd exploded all over again.

"What?"

"Drugged her?"

"That’s impossible..."

"Daisy wouldn’t do something like that... would she?"

Disbelieving faces swung toward Daisy. Her breathing turned ragged. She opened her mouth to defend herself when her heart warmed at the sound of the voice she wasn’t even expecting.

"Enough, Sera!" Ravyn’s icy voice thundered across the hall. His face had gone dangerously dark, every muscle in his jaw locked tight. "Where the hell are all these lies coming from?"

"Lies?" Seraphine blinked, almost amused. Then she laughed, the sound full of disbelief and mockery. "I’ve got proof." She lifted her chin. "R—"

Before another word left her mouth a furious roar tore through the entrance. "Sera!"

Every head whipped around. Noelle stormed in, face burning with rage. "What do you think you’re doing?" she barked. "How many times have I told you to stay away from Daisy?"

Seraphine drew in a slow breath. Not a flicker of surprise showed on her face. Of course the cockroach had finally crawled out. She’d been waiting for this. A sarcastic smile spread across her lips. "Mom."

The word dripped with mockery. "You came." She took a few slow steps forward. "Last time I checked, you never even bothered to see how I was doing after the divorce. But today you raced over just to warn me off Daisy." She tilted her head. "So, tell me, are you even my mother?"

Noelle’s face twisted with pure fury. "How dare you!" She raised her hand without thinking and swung for Seraphine’s face.

Before the palm could land someone grabbed Noelle’s wrist from behind. Her eyes went wide. She barely had time to react.

Smack!

The slap cracked through the hall. The force spun Noelle sideways and sent her crashing to the floor.