Page 14 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

"—why kidnap me? Why not just call me for a meeting?" She narrowed her eyes. "And whynow? My father—this Marcus Vale—has been dead for how long?"

"Days," Victor replied. "And as to why now..." He leaned back in his chair. "There are protocols for these situations, Ms. Vale. Protocols that require action before word spreads too far. Your father made powerful enemies and allies. Both are equally dangerous to you."

Serenity folded her arms across her chest, mind working through calculations.They want something from me. Something only I can provide. Access to accounts? Codes? Or is it something else entirely?

"So what?" she challenged, letting anger show. "You expect me to believe I suddenly own some criminal empire? That's not how inheritance works. I didn't sign anything. I wasn't in any will."

Victor's laugh was short and humorless. "The Vale Empire doesn't operate by conventional laws, Ms. Vale. Your father's organization recognizes blood right. As his only child, everything passes to you." He tilted his head. "Unless, of course, you're claimed by an Alpha who can... manage those assets on your behalf."

There it is.Serenity felt cold understanding creep through her veins.They don't want me to run the empire. They want to control who gets to run it through me.

"I'm not some medieval princess to be married off for an alliance," she snapped, genuine anger flaring now.

"No," Victor agreed, his voice softening dangerously. "You're something far more valuable in our world. You're an unmated Omega with a price on her head and no protection. Without The Society's intervention, you wouldn't survive the week."

Serenity held his gaze, fighting to keep her breathing even as she processed the implications. They thought they had hercornered. They thought they were dealing with an ignorant, helpless Omega suddenly thrust into a world she didn't understand.

They have no idea what I've been preparing for.

4

TRUE BETRAYAL

~SERENITY~

Victor circled the desk, his footsteps measured against the marble floor. The evening light cast long shadows across his face, deepening the lines of age and authority.

"Your mother, Elise Vale, was once a celebrated debutante in our society," he began, his voice taking on an almost reverent quality. "Beautiful, intelligent, and from one of the oldest Omega bloodlines. Her family had connections to some of the most powerful Alphas in the country."

Serenity maintained her expression of wary curiosity, though internally she was cataloging every word against what she already knew. Her mother had rarely spoken of her past, each detail extracted over years like pulling teeth.

"What happened to her?" she asked, carefully modulating her tone to sound appropriately confused.

Victor's mouth twisted. "She refused to accept her place. Rejected three sanctioned Alpha matches, all highly desirable. The Society doesn't take kindly to Omegas who believe they can operate outside our established order."

"So she was punished for making her own choices?" Serenity couldn't keep the edge from her voice.

"She was exiled," Victor corrected, as if that distinction mattered. "Stripped of her family name, her inheritance, her protection. In our world, an Omega without Alpha protection is..." he paused, searching for the right word, "vulnerable."

The threat beneath his civilized veneer made Serenity's skin crawl.

"That's barbaric," she said flatly.

"That's survival," Victor countered. "For thousands of years, our biological imperatives have shaped our society. We've merely formalized what nature intended."

Nature intended a lot of things we've moved past,Serenity thought.Like dying at thirty or killing each other for food.

"Your mother was cast out with nothing," Victor continued. "She would have ended up in the rehabilitation islands like most disgraced Omegas. But then—" his expression shifted to something almost amused "—Marcus Vale found her."

"My father," Serenity said quietly, testing the words in front of this man.

"Yes. Though at the time, he was just beginning to build his empire. He wasn't invited to Society functions, wasn't recognized by the old families." Victor's tone suggested this was the greatest possible insult. "But he saw your mother, learned of her situation, and claimed her. Against all tradition, without Society approval."

Serenity pictured her father—the fragments she remembered and the stories her mother had told. His quiet intensity, his absolute confidence. The way other men had deferred to him even in casual settings.

"He loved her," she said, not a question.

Something flickered in Victor's eyes—surprise, perhaps, at the certainty in her voice. "He protected her," he clarified. "Gave her his name, kept her safe. And when you were born, hekept you both hidden away from our world. A wise decision, considering the enemies he made."

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