Chapter : 855
“Who is it?”
“Esme Blackwell,” he said, shocking me.
My eyes grew wide, and my mouth felt dry.
“Esme Blackwell is here to see me?” I asked, even more confused now. “Alone?”
“Yes, but I won’t let her be alone with you,” Gavin said, his eyes never leaving mine. “Whatever she needs to say to you can be said in front of me.”
I nodded without hesitation, my heart racing in my chest.
“Okay,” I say without thought. “But I’d like to speak with her.”
He nodded, like he already knew I would say that, and it made me smile knowing that he wasn’t going to argue with me about this. He went over to the door and pulled it open. He stepped out into the hallway, and I could hear low murmured voices. And then suddenly, Esme Blackwell was stepping into the room, and Gavin was there beside her, keeping his eyes on her like he was afraid she would try something right in front of him.
“You’re here…” I whispered, disbelief riddling my voice.
Esme nodded.
“I am.”
She was speaking… my heart was practically in my throat.
“Y…you’re talking,” I stammered.
She nodded again.
“I am,” she said again. “There is much we need to discuss, but first… are we safe to speak freely here?”
She was directing her question at Gavin. He nodded without hesitation.
“Yes, it’s safe here. Say what you need to say.”
Esme turned to look at me again, her eyes shining with adoration and something I hadn’t seen from her before… was it love? Why would she be looking at me like she loved me?
“I haven’t seen you since you were only a baby,” she breathed, stepping closer. “I have missed you so much…”
“Y… you knew that I was switched?” I asked, needing her to admit it out loud… to confirm what I already knew.
“Yes,” she said. “I watched her
switch you
tried to stop her, to tell her that there was another way, but she cursed me into silence, and I could speak a word after that I couldn’t move either. I was rooted. to the ground, my body no longer acting as my own. That was the last time I had ever seen her…or seen you.”
“How are you moving now?” I asked. “How are you speaking if she cursed you?”
“Because she returned and undid the magic that held me hostage,” she explained. “She is after redemption… speaking with your parents as we speak.”
My frown deepened.
“M…my parents?”
“Your real parents… my son Zachary and his wife, Selene. They are your true parents, Judy. It was always meant to be you… never Lila. She is the true daughter of Megan Churchill and Ryder Thomas, a rogue who was killed at the hands of Arthur Churchill.”
“So, it’s all true then…” I whispered, my mind whirling with this information.
“Yes… Everything is true. Cora told
me how you went to see her, and she told you the entire story and that she plans to speak with Zachary and Selene as well. She’s done running from the past…. She misses her family and wishes to redeem herself. “Your magic had been restored to you… And now you must be warned that you are not safe
the Churchill’s can detect you now. All Alphas everywhere felt the shift… the
moment your magic was restored…
they could feel it.”
“The shift?” Gavin asked. “I didn’t feel any shift.”
“Because you were too preoccupied with the fact that your mate was hurt,” Esme explained. “Which is understood… but if her well-being wasn’t in question, you would have felt it just as well as the others.”
“Shift or not, I’m not going to let anything happen to Judy or our baby,” Gavin said, protectively, and made my heart warm.
“I know she is safe…” Esme said, giving Gavin a pointed look. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t come for her.”
“Then let them,” Gavin said, a snarl to his words. “I’ll put a stop to them just as I’ve always done. The Churchills won’t get near my mate or anyone in my family.”
“And you aren’t going to be alone,” another voice said from the doorway.
I turned to see Zachary and Selene entering, and behind them stood none other than Cora.