Page 58 of Alien Huntsman

Each friendly face eased the knot in her stomach. She’d expected judgment, not this warm reception. Even with Korrin’s intimidating presence, people seemed genuinely happy to see her.

Elli gave her a shy smile from behind the flower stall and beckoned her over.

“Aunt Margaret’s been talking about your stepmother. She said she’s been acting strange since you disappeared. And even stranger when word got out about Edgar?—”

She stopped abruptly, looking uncertainly at Korrin. She could feel his tension through their joined hands, but his face remained impassive.

“We heard about it,” she said calmly. “And we’re headed to the bakery now.”

“Good luck,” Elli whispered, then vanished back into the crowd.

A few minutes later they were standing outside the bakery. She took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of fresh-baked bread and sweet pastries, so familiar it made her chest ache. This place had been her sanctuary once—her father’s legacy. Now it felt like stepping into someone else’s memory.

She pushed the door open, the little bell above it announcing her arrival with a cheerful jingle that felt jarringly out of place. Korrin’s presence at her back gave her courage as she stepped inside.

Lenora stood behind the counter, hair escaping from her usually perfect coiffure, flour smudged across her expensive blouse. She looked… old and worn, her expression morphing from irritation to shock as she registered who had entered.

“Tessa?” she whispered. Her gaze darted to Korrin, then back to Tessa. “What are you doing here?”

The bakery was empty of customers. Perfect. She moved forward, stopping at the counter that had once been her domain. The wood was sticky with spilled syrup, and only a few sad-looking pastries occupied the display case.

“Hello, Lenora.” She kept her voice steady, even as her heart hammered against her ribs. “The place looks… different.”

Lenora’s mouth tightened. “If you’ve come to gloat about the state of things, you can leave. I’ve had enough troubles without you showing up.”

“Troubles?” She tilted her head. “Like Edgar being found dead? Or the fact that your plan to have me killed failed?”

Lenora’s face paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t you?” Tessa leaned forward. “I know what you did, Lenora. I know you hired Korrin to make me ‘disappear.’ I know you sent Edgar with poisoned honey when that didn’t work.”

Lenora’s eyes darted to the door, calculating an escape, but Korrin shifted slightly, blocking the exit.

“I didn’t want you killed. I just wanted you gone. And I don’t know anything about poisoned honey.”

The last part had the ring of truth, and she supposed it was possible that Edgar had concocted that part of the plan himself. It wouldn’t surprise her if he’d decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one would.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you wanted me eliminated.”

“You have no proof.”

“I don’t need proof.” Her voice remained calm, though inside she was shaking. “Everyone in this village knows what kind of woman you are now. And they know what kind of woman I am.”

She watched Lenora’s face, noting how her stepmother’s eyes darted past her toward the bakery windows. Following her gaze, she realized a small crowd had gathered outside, faces pressed against the glass, watching the confrontation unfold. Mrs. Jacobson stood front and center, her severe expression fixed on Lenora.

Lenora’s demeanor shifted instantly. Her spine straightened, and she forced a tremulous smile. “What ridiculous accusations! I would never harm my dear stepdaughter.” She raised her voice, clearly performing for their audience. “Tessa, darling, I’ve been sick with worry since you disappeared!”

The falseness of it turned Tessa’s stomach. All those years of pretending, of enduring Lenora’s cruelty behind closed doors while she played the grieving widow and devoted stepmother in public.

“Is that so?” she asked, her voice still calm as Korrin moved closer, his warm presence steadying her. “Then perhaps you’d like to explain why you hired a bounty hunter to make me disappear?”

Lenora’s laugh was brittle. “What an imagination you have! Always making up stories?—”

“She offered me gold. More specifically a necklace that Tessa’s father left to her.” Korrin’s deep voice cut through Lenora’s protests. He stepped forward, a predatory gleam in his eyes as he studied Lenora. “A very valuable necklace to ensure Tessa vanished without a trace.”

The crowd outside gasped. Someone pushed open the bakery door, and suddenly the onlookers were no longer content to watch from outside. They filed in, silent and watchful.

“You wanted me gone so badly you were willing to have me killed,” Tessa said, her voice carrying clearly through the now-crowded bakery. “When that failed, you sent Edgar with poisoned honey.”

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