My head throbbed with a mixture of grief and disbelief as I watched Tristan hesitate. That single moment of silence confirmed everything I feared—Natalie had known exactly who Violet was when she redirected her kidney.
"Julian," Tristan said carefully, his voice thick with reluctance. "Natalie specifically told me Violet was your daughter with Aurelia. She said you refused to acknowledge her publicly to protect Isabelle's position, but that privately you had made your choice."
The room seemed to tilt beneath me. "What?"
"She claimed you had decided Isabelle's life was more valuable to the pack's future. That you couldn't bear to make the choice yourself, so she was making it for you."
A sickening coldness spread through my body. I staggered backward until my legs hit the hospital bed, forcing me to sit.
"She knew." My voice sounded distant even to my own ears. "She knew Violet was my daughter, and she deliberately—" I couldn't finish the sentence.
