<b>Chapter </b><b>183</b>: The Mother’s Ashes


    Chapter 183: The Mother’s Ashes


    (Frederick’s POV)


    Harsh fluorescent lights poured down from above in the prison visiting room. The metal table between Connor Rivers and me felt like a battlefield,


    My head throbbed from the bandages wrapped around my skull. My arms ached where the silverced restraints had burned my skin during the failed assassination attempt.


    But seeing Connor’s ice–blue eyes filled with cold fury made every injury worth it.


    “Well, well, the mighty Rivers Alphaes to visit me in this cage,” I sneered, rattling my silver handcuffs deliberately. “How… touching.”


    Connor’s jaw tightened. His perfectly pressed suit looked out of ce in this grimy interrogation room.


    “You look terrible, Frederick,” he said with mock concern. “Prison life doesn’t suit you.”


    Iughed bitterly. The sound echoed off the concrete walls like a death rattle.


    “Better than being a coward hiding behind pack politics,” I shot back.


    My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin. Even in these silver restraints, my Alpha blood burned with defiance<b>. </b>


    1 had calcted this downfall carefully. The moment I learned from a traitor in Connor’s security team that my end was near, <b>I </b>set my final n in motion.


    Harrison ckthorne, my powerful patron in ckmoor Territory, was about to be ousted from office. Victoria Ashford’s reform movement was gaining unstoppable momentum.


    The tides were turning irrevocably against me. My criminal empire was crumbling.


    But I refused to go down quietly. If I was going to fall, I would drag Connor Rivers down with me.


    “You could have lived quietly in exile,” Connor said, his voice deceptively calm. “Why choose this path?”


    I spat on the floor between us. “I’m not one to cower like a beaten omega.”


    “My mother deserved better than exile and poverty,” I continued, my voice rising with decades of suppressed rage. “Your father destroyed her life.”


    Connor’s ice–blue eyes shed dangerously. But he remainedposed, which only fueled my anger further.


    “Speaking of suffering,” I said with a cruel smile, “how is dear old William Rivers doing these days?<b>” </b>


    I leaned forward as much as the restraints allowed. “I’m guessing the wolfsbane poisoning is taking its toll?”


    My wolf snarled with vindictive satisfaction. Even from this prison cell, I could still inflict pain on the Rivers


    family.


    “The systematic poisoning was quite elegant, don’t you think?” I taunted. “Slow and agonizing, just like my


    mother’s death.”


    (Connor’s POV)


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    Chaphor 183: The Mother.


    Frederick’s words hit their mark, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing my pain.


    98 Panta


    “It was you who directed Vanessa Reed to administer the poison,” I stated coldly.


    Frederick feigned ignorance, that cruel smile never leaving his lips. “I have no idea what you’re talking about<b>.” </b>


    His wolf paced restlessly beneath his skin. I could see the predatory gleam in his eyes.


    I reached into my jacket and pulled out a photograph. I slid it across the metal table.


    <b>“</b>Do you remember this ce, Frederick?”


    The change in him was immediate. His face contorted with rage as his wolf snarled within.


    The photograph showed a small wooden house in Shadowmere City. The ce where he had lived with his


    mother Victoria Price.


    “Where did you get this?” he demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl.


    “I’ve been very thorough in my investigation,” I replied, my voice dripping with ice. “Tell me about your


    mother’s resting ce.”


    Frederick’s eyes turned bloodshot. Veins bulged on his forehead as his Alpha instincts roared in protective


    fury.


    “What have you done?” he whispered, his voice filled with dread.


    I smiled coldly. “I had my people visit Victoria’s memorial shrine. Very touching, really.”


    “The way you’ve maintained that little wooden house all these years,” I continued. “Such devotion to a dead


    woman.”


    Frederick lunged at me, but the silverced restraints held him back. The guards stepped forward, ready to


    intervene.


    “You bastard!” he screamed. “If you’ve touched my mother’s grave, I’ll kill you!”


    I remained perfectly calm. “Interesting thing about graves, Frederick. Sometimes they’re not what they appear


    to be.”


    I signaled to Dominic Reeves, who had been waiting outside. He entered carrying a ck ceramic urn.


    Frederick’s eyes widened in horror. “No,” he whispered.


    “I exhumed Victoria’s grave,” I revealed calmly. “Imagine my surprise when I found it empty.”


    Frederick’s face went white. “That’s impossible.”


    “A cenotaph,” I continued. “Containing only clothes and jewelry. Very clever, really.”


    Dominic set Sarah Winters‘ Memorial Urn on the table between us. The ck ceramic gleamed under the


    harsh lights.


    Frederick screamed, his eyes filled with murderous hate. His wolf howled in anguish as he recognized what I


    was holding.


    “These are your mother’s real ashes,” I said softly. “Victoria Price’s remains.”


    Frederick’s breathing became ragged. His silver restraints burned his skin as he struggled against them.


    “You sick bastard,” he gasped. “Those are sacred.”


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    Chanter 193 The Mother.


    Bhavy> I leaned back in <b>my </b>chair, studying his anguished expression. “I’m offering you onest chance, Frederick<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    “Reveal the truth about the wolfsbane poisoning of William Rivers,” I continued. “And I’ll ensure your mother’s ashes remain undisturbed.”


    Frederick’s wolf warred between protective instinct and burning hatred. I could see the internal struggle tearing him apart.


    “Choose wisely,” I warned. “This offer expires in thirty seconds.”


    Frederick’s hands shook with rage. “You have no honor,” he spat.


    “Neither did you when you tried to murder Olivia Winters,” I replied coldly.


    The seconds ticked by in tense silence. Frederick’s breathing grew morebored.


    Finally, he shook his head. “Go to hell, Connor Rivers.”


    I kicked him violently. The silver restraints burned his skin as he fell backward.


    “Fine,” Frederick gasped, blood trickling from his mouth. “I’ll tell you the truth.”


    “I did instruct Vanessa Reed to poison William Rivers with wolfsbane,” he confessed. “But only on one condition.”


    My blood ran cold. “What condition?”


    Frederick’s eyes gleamed with malicious satisfaction. “That Olivia Winters had to die first.”


    My face paled as his words sank in. The targeting of Olivia wasn’t just about inflicting pain.


    It was part of a deadly bargain with Vanessa Reed.


    “You see,” Frederick continued,ughing maniacally, “Vanessa was obsessed with your precious fiancée.”


    “She agreed to poison your father slowly,” he revealed. “But only if I eliminated her romantic rival permanently.


    His wolf howled with vindictive satisfaction. “How does it feel, knowing your father’s death was the price for


    Olivia’s<b>?</b><b>” </b>


    My Alpha fury reached dangerous levels. The air in the room grew thick with my rage.


    Frederick reveled in my pain. “The look on your face is worth every moment in this cage.”


    With a cold gaze that promised retribution, I signaled to Dominic Reeves.


    Dominic raised Sarah Winters‘ Memorial Urn high above his head. Then he smashed it onto the concrete


    floor.


    The ck ceramic shattered into countless pieces. Victoria Price’s ashes scattered across the prison floor


    like gray snow.


    Frederick screamed in anguish. His wolf’s protective instincts shattered along with the ceramic.


    “No!” he wailed, falling to his knees despite the silver restraints. “Mother!”


    I watched his breakdown with icy satisfaction. “Clean up this mess, Dominic.”


    Dominic produced a broom and dustpan. Frederick watched helplessly as his mother’s sacred ashes were


    swept into a waste bin.