“Stop that,” I whispered, glancing toward my open office door. “I need to focus on work.”
“Later, then,” he promised with a wink.
By evening, I was exhausted but satisfied with the day’s accomplishments. Draven and I picked up Liam from daycare together, our little boy running to us with drawings clutched in his tiny fists.
“Mommy! Daddy! Look what I made!”
My heart still skipped whenever he called Draven ‘daddy.’ Seeing them together, both with those stunning violet eyes.
After dinner, Draven took charge of Liam’s bedtime routine.I listened from the hallway as he read three bedtime stories.
Draven had just closed Liam’s door when his phone rang. His expression immediately tensed as he answered.
“Jace. What’s up?”
I watched Draven’s face darken as he listened, his jaw clenching tighter by the second. When he hung up, his eyes were troubled.
“What is it?” I asked, already dreading the answer.
“That was Jace with news about the investigation,” he explained, leading me to the living room. “Remember I told you about the forger who made fake documents for Howard? The one called Swift Mind?”
“Yes. What about him?”
“He was arrested this morning,” Draven said grimly. “This Swift Mind cracked under interrogation and revealed everything about the documents he forged for Howard. Not just passports, company documents too.”
“So he knows a lot,” I mused.
“And he’s cooperating fully. Already provided all the aliases Howard and his wife were using. The Alpha Council investigators used that information to trace a fake credit card Diane used recently. They got an address.”
Something in his tone made my stomach clench. “And?”
“They raided a property this afternoon. Howard wasn’t there, but the investigators noticed disturbed earth in the garden and called in forensics. Jace said they found…” Draven paused, as if deciding whether to continue.
“What did they find?” .
“Diane’s body. Buried in a shallow grave with a plastic bag still tied around her head. Asphyxiation. According to the medical examiner, she was killed approximately three days ago, shortly after using that credit card. Evidence points to Howard himself as the killer.”
I bolted for the bathroom, barely making it before emptying my stomach. The violent heaves continued long after there was nothing left.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have told you so bluntly.”
I shook my head, feeling sick again. When the nausea passed, Draven helped me clean up and took me to bed.
“He killed his own mate,” I whispered, horror washing through me. “What kind of monster does that?”
“A desperate one,” Draven replied grimly, pulling me against his chest. “The Council investigators believe she wanted out-threatened to expose him. Howard couldn’t risk it.”
“If he killed his mate, what might he do to us?” I put my hand on my belly, thinking of our baby.
“We’re increasing security at the pack house and the office,” Draven assured me. “Extra patrols around our territory. Howard won’t get anywhere near you or Liam.”
But his words couldn’t stop the memory of that disturbing doll from surfacing-the one left at my desk with its throat slashed. Howard knew about Liam. Had been watching us.
“Try to rest,” Draven urged, kissing my forehead. “I’ll be right here all night.”
Even with him beside me, I had terrible dreams about plastic bags and dead bodies.
I woke up scared several times, and Draven always held me tight.
“You’re safe,” he whispered after my third bad dream. “Our babies are safe. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
I held onto him, trying to feel better. But I was still very scared.
Howard was still out there somewhere. And now he had nothing to lose.
Ella’s POV
This place is a living nightmare! Days locked in this filthy hellhole with these wretched women. Not quite as bad as that pigsty of a dungeon, but still terrible. They transferred me here the day after my arrest and, to make everything worse, stuck me in the same cell as that insufferable Linda. I fantasize about clawing her eyes out hourly.
“Hey, rich girl! Visitor for you. A lawyer! Want to see them?” The guard shouted through the bars, her voice as crude as her manners.
“Finally! Daddy sent someone to get me out of here!” I clapped my hands and jumped up, excitement coursing through me.
The guard barked at me to turn around, then slapped cold sliver handcuffs on my wrists before unlocking the cell. As she secured the door behind us, Linda climbed down from her bunk.
“Tell your lawyer to get your daddy to bail me out too, princess,” she called. “Otherwise, I might start singing some interesting songs about his business dealings.”
“Are you threatening my father? Have you forgotten who he is?” I glared at her, hoping to shut her up.
“He’s the one forgetting what I know.” Linda pressed her face between the bars. “And trust me, if he leaves me here, I’ll pluck every pretty feather from your painted wings before I’m done!”
The guard shoved me down the hallway, cutting off my retort. After a humiliating strip search that felt more like a gynecological exam, we arrived at a visitation area with booth-like spaces, each containing a stool and telephone. The guard secured my cuffs to the front and pointed me toward the last booth.
I nearly stumbled when I saw who waited on the other side of the glass. He gestured for me to sit and pick up the phone.
“What are you doing here? I was told my visitor was a lawyer,” I said, confused and irritated.
“If you’ve forgotten, Ella, I am a lawyer,” Bruno replied calmly.
“Why are you here?” My patience was already threadbare.
“To talk.”
“About what?”
“First, I want to know what I meant to you,” Bruno leaned closer to the glass. “Because I loved you deeply. We’ve been together since we were teenagers. Then suddenly, I discover you’re engaged to Draven and ‘pregnant.’ I even thought the child might be mine, but you weren’t pregnant at all. So please, out of consideration for the affection I’ve always had for you, tell me the truth. What did I mean to you?”
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