Chapter 171: Misguided

"What’s on your mind?" Magnus asked in an even tone as we crossed into the city limits.

"I was wondering why, if they’re homeless, they didn’t seek shelter at your support centers," I said, turning to face him.

He drove with an effortless, relaxed posture. Reaching over with one hand, Magnus covered mine, lacing his fingers through mine.

"Your sister is banned from those centers. No respectable establishment will hire her given her reputation, and she refuses to take low-tier work herself. She finds it far easier to beg outside a cathedral," he replied with a slight shrug, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Why is she banned?" I asked, tightening my grip on his hand.

My thumb reflexively traced the old scar running across his knuckles. The skin there was thick and calloused—he had fought in countless battles before his wolf woke up and never held himself back. I remembered all too well what he looked like when consumed by a berserk rage.

"I barred her," Magnus replied evenly. "She helped your father slander you. She’s never worked a single day in her life and wanted to live off everyone else. The moment you were placed under investigation, she ran straight to the news channels to give interviews. With your father pulling the strings, they profited immensely off that filth."

Magnus’s jaw tightened, the muscles along his cheek pulsing with tension. Even though it was all in the past, the mere memory of what they had put me through drove him to a quiet, simmering rage.

"What she said about Father... is it true?" I asked, searching my inner feelings.

Contrary to all logic, I felt nothing. No pain, no pity. It was almost frightening—I had always struggled to bear the suffering of others, yet toward that man, there was only a ringing emptiness inside me.

"Not quite. I never got the chance to do anything to him. Didn’t so much as lay a finger on him, though I desperately wanted to destroy him," Magnus offered a predatory snarl. "He died of sheer terror when I came for him. The bastard’s heart simply burst."

I sat frozen, stunned by the revelation.

Father had always been a coward, capable of venting his malice only on those weaker than him. On me. Dying from the mere sight of Magnus—it was entirely in character. I believed Magnus without a shadow of a doubt.

"You said they made a fortune off those interviews. Where did it all go? If they had that kind of money, they shouldn’t be begging on the streets with an outstretched hand. And... you haven’t said anything about my brother."

Magnus smoothly signaled and turned onto our destination street. Ahead, the elegant sign of a high-end fashion boutique shaped like a blooming flower came into view.

"Your father poured every cent of that dirty money into his laboratory," my mate replied. "Just as the prosecutor who pushed for your conviction claimed back at the trial—your father’s pharmaceuticals were toxic. He expanded production, churning out hazardous garbage on a massive scale. Countless people suffered."

Magnus pulled up to the curb but kept the engine idling.

"The government seized the laboratories and destroyed the inventory. They slapped the family with astronomical fines that were impossible to pay. And since your father dropped dead, every single debt fell squarely onto your mother’s shoulders."

"What happened to her?" I asked softly.

"She tried to find work. But people hadn’t forgotten your sister’s televised interviews. Not everyone was willing to overlook a family that sold out their own daughter so casually. The women at every workplace tormented her. She couldn’t keep a job anywhere. And, to be completely frank, I made sure of it. Eventually, she took a job at a chemical plant and suffered fatal poisoning."

"Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just leave them alone?" I looked into his cold eyes, trying to grasp the outer bounds of his ruthlessness.

"No," Magnus cut in harshly. "Your mother had the audacity to come to me. Once I unearthed the full truth, she begged for protection. She played the card that you were my fated mate, claiming I was obligated to provide for her family—as though she had forgotten personally walking Julia to those TV studios. I am not a good man, Jane. And I do not forgive. I did nothing to them that they didn’t bring upon themselves."

I processed his words in silence.

Magnus hadn’t killed them with his own hands. He had simply cut off their air supply, stripped away their support, and allowed their own corruption to drag them down into the abyss. And I couldn’t bring myself to blame him for it.

"But you still haven’t answered me about Ger," I reminded him gently.

"Your brother is free to step into any support center. He won’t be turned away. He can get a job, and I won’t move a finger to destroy him."

His words completely threw me off balance.

"Why?"

"Because your brother never gave false testimony against you. He didn’t disown you, Jane."

My breath hitched in my throat.

"When all of it unfolded, he was lying in a hospital bed. He had entered a rapid awakening, and he had no idea the trial was even happening. Your parents orchestrated everything behind his back, forging his signature on the paperwork. When you supposedly died, he was devastated. He didn’t come to me begging for money—he came to demand the truth."

Magnus stroked the back of my hand, soothing my sudden tremor.

"After his awakening, his priorities shifted drastically. But on her deathbed, your mother begged him to look after Julia. It seems a misguided sense of duty is keeping him chained to that toxic baggage. He hasn’t even touched his government allowance payouts once."

His words struck like a physical blow to the chest.

Ger... had a wolf? And he hadn’t betrayed me?

His expression from earlier flashed before my eyes. The Ger I remembered from childhood was a cruel, entitled brute. But today, I hadn’t seen a trace of malice in his face—only lethal exhaustion and a raw, timid joy that I was still alive.

"Come, my soul. Don’t burden your mind with the past," Magnus murmured softly, pulling me back to the present. "We need to take measurements of your exquisite body so we can stitch the most breathtaking gown imaginable."

Releasing my hand, he stepped out of the vehicle, walked around the hood, and opened my door, offering his broad palm with unwavering confidence.