Chapter 5 Edward's expression shitted as he stared at the two crippled boys . His pride and fury warred in his face , and for once he had no words . I smiled coldly . " Nathan , Ethan - there are your parents . Go on , greet them properly . " At once , the slower of the two , Ethan , broke into a wide , mindless grin . " Mom ! Haha ... Mom ! " he cried , throwing his arms around Vivian . Tears , snot , and drool smeared across her gown . Vivian shrieked , shoving him away as if scorched . " Get off me ! Filthy ! " Ethan stumbled , nearly falling , before his brother Nathan caught him and steadied him . Nathan's eyes , sharp despite his frailty , fixed on Vivian with a hatred that silenced the room . I tilted my head , voice dripping with mockery . " What's wrong , Vivian ? Don't you recognize your own flesh and blood ? Or is it only worth calling them ' sons ' if they stand on the stage of the Royal Academy ? " Her jaw clenched . She swallowed hard , her lips twisting . They are mine . Of course I'll claim them . " Dozens of Stones had gathered to watch this spectacle . Whatever disgust they felt , Edward and Vivian had no choice but to play the part of doting parents . To deny the boys now would be to admit before the pack that they had abandoned their true heirs . Still , Vivian's eyes bored into me with barely concealed rage . " Why are my sons like this ? Did you do something to them ? Did you cripple them out of spite ? " I raised both hands innocently . " How would I know ? Perhaps it was your bloodline . Perhaps Edward's . Two children , both broken .... sounds like a curse of the Stone - Hart line , doesn't it ? I had my own pups to raise . When you discarded these two , I did what I could sent them to a sanctuary to survive . Be grateful they lived at all Vivian's face turned crimson . She pointed at me with a shaking hand , but no words came , The humiliation was complete . And so , under the eyes of the entire Stone clan , Edward and Vivian had no choice but to take the boys back - dragging their crippled . heirs out of the banquet hall like shadows of a nightmare . The celebration trumbled into whispers and stares . No one laughed . No one toasted . My sons sat at my side , silent and loyal , while the once - proud Stones wept as though the ground had been pulled from beneath their feet . Their " perfect heirs " were gone. I had known all along . A week before the banquet , when I passed by Edward's parents ' home , I overheard her whispering " At the ceremony ... we'll strike Clara down . We'll reunite Edward with his true heirs . Then she'll have nothing left ." So I prepared . I found Nathan and Ethan . And tonight , I gave the Stones exactly what they claimed to want : their long - awaited family reunion . Let them choke on it After selling my old den , I bought a new one - deliberately across the lane from Edward and Vivian's . And that was when I discovered the cruelest irony of all . They had been living here all along . For eighteen years , they played at being the perfect mated pair - neighbors hailed them as the very picture of devotion . But behind their closed doors , their love had rotted into venom . The walls were thin , and every night their voices carried across the Bleeet . " Edward ! If not for your stupid idea , we wouldn't be trapped like this ! " " You're the one who birthed two crippled pups ! How are we supposed to live now ? " Checker 5 " Don't you dare blame me ! You were too weak ! Don't forget - Adrian and Lucas are healthy ! " " Healthy ? They're not even ours ! Instead , we're saddled with these worthless brats - damn it ! " The sound of crashing furniture followed , curses flying like blades . From my window , I listened and smiled . For eighteen years they thought they'd fooled me . Now the curse of their own bloodline had come home to them .