Chapter one hundred and eighty four

And with that, Elena turned and walked away, leaving Cleopatra broken and shattered on the floor. Elena’s mind reeled as she processed the information. Rhys’s uncle, Christopher, was involved in his kidnapping. The man who was supposed to protect and care for him had instead betrayed him in the worst possible way.

Elena felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She couldn’t believe that Christopher could do such a thing. She had trusted him, assumed that he wouldn’t hurt family, but now she saw him for what he truly was – a monster.

Her anger and hurt boiled over, her thoughts consumed by images of Rhys as a child, scared and alone. She felt his pain and fear as if it were her own, and it fueled her rage. How could Christopher do this to his own nephew? How could he live with himself, knowing what he had done?

Elena’s heart ached for Rhys, for the childhood he had lost, for the family he had never grew up with. She felt a deep sense of betrayal, not just for Rhys, but for herself as well.