Chapter 116

Richard's POV

The drive to Blackwood Manor took half the normal time. As I sped down the road, I barely noticed the speedometer hitting 110 mph.

Brad opened the door as I approached, his expression carefully neutral. I didn't give him time to speak—I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall, lifting him until his feet dangled above the marble floor.

"Where is she?" I demanded, not bothering to hide the wolf in my voice.

Brad's eyes widened as he struggled for air, his hands clawing at my grip. I loosened it just enough for him to speak.

"Alpha... please..." he gasped.

"Richard!" My father's voice boomed from the top of the grand staircase. "What is the meaning of this?"

I released Brad, who crumpled to the floor, and turned my fury toward him. "Where's Elena?"

Gerald's expression betrayed nothing as he descended the stairs. "Shouldn't you be handling company matters?"

"Don't play games with me," I growled, feeling my control slipping. My fingertips tingled as claws threatened to emerge. "I know you were at the hospital. I know your men were there last night. Where. Is. She?"

"Control yourself," Gerald warned, glancing meaningfully at my hands.

I looked down to see my fingers had fully transformed, razor-sharp claws now extended where my nails should be. My eyes must have changed too—I could see with preternatural clarity, every detail of my father's face in sharp focus.

"If anything happens to Elena," I said, my voice deathly quiet, "I swear I'll walk into the nearest police station and confess to murder. Do you understand me? I'll destroy everything we've built."

"Richard, I'm just helping you. All I can do is help you bury this secret permanently. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, you're not wrong." I paused. "But that's not a reason for us to kill people."

"What did you say?" He was taken aback.

"Because this makes me feel like I killed them all, that I've killed everyone around me one by one. Now it's my children's mother's turn. Tell me, after killing her, who's next? Is it you? You also know my secret!"

Something shifted in Gerald's expression—fear, perhaps. Good. He should be afraid.

"You... you're truly insane!"

"Yes, I am insane. If you kill her, I really can't guarantee what I'll do." I enunciated each word distinctly.

I advanced on him, my partial transformation progressing further. I could feel my facial bones beginning to shift, my jaw elongating.

"I didn't harm her," he said, his voice strained. "I just wanted her to stay put with me, not go out again, but she ran away last night. I'm looking for her too right now."

I stared at him, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. My father was many things, but he had never outright lied to me.

"She ran because she was waiting to be imprisoned by you for life?"

He glared at me but didn't say another word.

"I will find her, but I hope this doesn't happen again. You know what kind of person she is better than I do, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you arranged this marriage years ago, besides strengthening the pack, wasn't it because she knew my secret that you did so?" I said sarcastically.

His eyes filled with shock, clearly not expecting me to know about this.

He had no ground left to argue with me, and his face turned pale.

I turned to leave without looking at him again.

After getting into my car, I slammed my fist hard on the steering wheel. Angry at my father's actions.

At the same time, my heart ached more. The letters she wrote had kept me company. She had been hurt because of my secret. Everything she did made my heart ache. Was it worth it for her to do all this for me?

My phone's ringtone broke through my thoughts. I composed myself and answered the call, starting the engine.

"Alpha," Ethan's voice came through. "Good news. A hospital patient took a photo of Elena leaving with someone else. She wasn't taken by your father."

"Who was it?"

"It's... very blurry, we haven't been able to make out who it is yet, but I've already had tech working on it. We should have results soon."

"Got it. I'm on my way."

I stepped on the gas, and the car shot toward downtown like an arrow released from a bow.

Elena's POV

"Are you absolutely certain about this?" Jason asked. "Elysium is far from here."

I nodded, not looking up from the screen. Yesterday, when Gerald decided to take me back to the manor after my discharge, I started contacting Jason, and after Richard left that night, Jason quietly took me away.

We sat in the main hall of his house, a place far enough from everyone to avoid immediate detection. The fireplace crackled, casting dancing shadows across the wooden floors.

"I need to trace the money flow. Since you said your brother never hired those people, we'll start by investigating this money!"

"But to investigate money, you don't need to go abroad. The money was transferred from my brother's account in Moonhaven."

"Who knows? There are many shell accounts nowadays. It's not impossible that they used your name to make transfers."

Jason leaned against the doorframe, his expression troubled. "Elena, I still don't understand why you trust everything I say. My family hasn't been kind to you."

I set the laptop aside, considering my words carefully. "Because your family wouldn't be stupid enough to come after me at a public gala. If your family really wanted to harm me, they would have more discreet methods."

He nodded slowly, accepting my explanation.

He began arranging for a helicopter. I moved to the window, staring out at the rolling fields that stretched toward the distant tree line.

The reason I trusted Jason was more complex. Years ago, before I married Richard, I wrote a novel based on my experiences with him. I didn't publish this novel at the time. After getting married, I even forgot about it.

However, somehow that novel was published abroad, in the country where the man who hypnotized me was currently studying. The coincidence was too perfect to ignore.

I pressed my palm against the cool glass, watching my breath fog the surface. My reflection stared back at me, my eyes more determined than before.

I needed to uncover the truth.

Jason's POV

After arranging for a helicopter, I returned to my study to handle some work matters. An hour later, the helicopter was already hovering at my estate's helipad. We began packing some simple luggage. That's when the phone rang. Richard. My stomach dropped as I answered.

"Where is she?" His voice was ice cold.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Don't play games with me, Jason. Half an hour. That's how long you have to hand Elena over. If you don't, I'll hang you from the clock tower myself."

I nearly dropped the phone. How did he find us so quickly?

"Elena isn't your property," I protested. "What gives you the right to demand her back?"

"Are you challenging me?" The threat in his voice was unmistakable. Then the line went dead.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I rushed to find Elena. Damn it.