Chapter 167 The Interrogation
Chapter 167 The Interrogation
Pete's POV
The door opened and I turned toward it.
Two of my guards stepped inside first, then Steve walked in between them. The moment his eyes landed on me, he stopped. For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.
I watched him carefully. His face had gone pale, his lips parted slightly, and I saw him swallow hard before his eyes moved around the room. The guards, the security officers, the monitors and then they settled back on me.
I saw fear….Real fear.
I narrowed my eyes.
This wasn't the first time Steve had seen me.
I remembered the first time I'd walked into Diya's company. He had been standing beside her then, laughing while she insulted me. He hadn't been afraid of me or even looked uncomfortable. If anything, he'd seemed entertained. That had been the kind of loyalty he'd shown Diya from the beginning.
So what the hell had changed?
I could still remember the sound of his laughter that day. Steve had laughed like I was some ridiculous stranger who had wandered into the wrong office. Goddess…I had hated him for it.
But I'd also respected him for one thing.
His loyalty to Diya had never been in question. So why was he standing in front of me now like a man who had just been sentenced to death?
I leaned back slowly in my chair.
“Sit down, Steve.”
He didn't move. His eyes darted around the room again before returning to me, then he licked his lips.
His throat moved as he swallowed and I watched that tiny movement.
He was nervous….Very nervous.
But then he lifted his eyes to mine again.
“I'm not sitting down until I speak with Miss Diya.”
My eyebrows pulled together. For a second, I simply stared at him.
Did he really just say that?
My mate had been kidnapped, my son was missing and Mike was fighting for his life behind a hospital door. And this man was standing in front of me demanding to speak to Diya as if none of it had happened.
My anger flared.
But beneath it was something else.
Confusion.
Why was he so desperate to speak to her?
“What?”
“I need to speak with Miss Diya.”
Something cold settled in my chest.
I stared at him.
Was this man seriously trying to play with my intelligence?
“Sit.”
“Please, Alpha. I just want to know where Miss Diya is.”
I gave a humorless laugh.
“You're asking me where she is?”
“Yes.”
I leaned forward.
“You're standing in a security room surrounded by my guards, after my mate and son disappeared from this hospital, and you're asking me where they are?”
His expression changed.
“Did you…Did you say disappeared? What happened?”
I stared at him and for one brief moment, I wondered if he was actually a very good actor. Then I pushed the thought away.
No.
He knew something.
He had to.
“You tell me.”
Steve shook his head.
“I don't understand.”
I stood.
“Where were you around nine this morning?”
He blinked.
“Nine?”
“Yes.”
His forehead creased.
“Is there something wrong?”
My jaw tightened.
“Answer the question.”
“I…”
He glanced at the guards.
“I was at home.”
I studied his face. There was no hesitation this time, or maybe he was telling the truth.
I hated that I couldn't tell which.
“Doing what?”
“Getting ready to go to work.”
“And then?”
“I was supposed to go to the office.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
He swallowed.
“I wasn't feeling well.”
I stared at him. Something about his answer rubbed me the wrong way.
Maybe it was the timing, maybe it was the fact that my mate and son had vanished from this hospital on the exact morning he was supposedly bringing something for Matt. Or maybe I simply didn't want to believe that all of this could be a coincidence.
I stared at him.
“Not feeling well?”
“Yes.”
“Convenient.”
His eyes widened.
“I swear, Alpha…”
My patience snapped.
My fist slammed against the table.
“ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION!”
Steve jumped. His shoulders jerked and his entire body began trembling.
“I-I was at home.”
I stepped closer.
“Do I look stupid to you?”
“No, Alpha.”
“Because right now, I'm trying very hard to understand something.”
I pointed toward the monitors.
“You supposedly called Diya this morning.”
His face went blank.
I watched his face carefully. I wasn't looking for his answer, but I was looking for the lie before he spoke it.
His eyebrows pulled together and confusion crossed his face….Real confusion.
My suspicion sharpened.
“You supposedly told her you were outside this hospital.”
He stared at me.
“You supposedly brought a package for my son.”
Steve shook his head slowly.
“I…I didn't.”
My eyes narrowed.
“You didn't?”
“No.”
“You're telling me you didn't make that call?”
“I didn't.”
I stared at him.
My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin.
Every instinct in me wanted to believe he was lying. It would have been easier that way. If Steve had done this, I had someone to blame. Someone to hunt and someone to punish. But if he hadn't…
Then someone had used him.
And that meant the person behind this was smarter than I'd thought.
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
My anger surged.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it's the truth.”
I laughed bitterly.
“The truth?”
I walked around the table.
“Your phone was used to contact my mate.”
Steve's eyes widened.
“My phone?”
The way he said it made me pause.
It wasn't defensive, it sounded almost frightened. As though the words themselves had introduced him to a problem he hadn't known existed.
“Yes.”
“You're sure?”
He stared at me. I watched the color drain from his face.
“I didn't call her.”
“You're lying.”
“No, Alpha.”
“You're telling me you weren't outside this hospital?”
“No.”
“You weren't bringing anything for Matt?”
“No.”
“You didn't ask Shantel to come downstairs?”
“No.”
My patience snapped.
“Then explain what the hell happened!”
Steve flinched. His breathing became uneven and his hands were trembling so badly that he clasped them together in an attempt to hide it.
I watched him.
This wasn't the Steve I remembered.
The man who had once laughed while Diya insulted me was gone and in his place stood a man who looked genuinely terrified.
“I can't!”
His voice cracked.
“Because I don't know!”
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
Steve's chest was rising and falling rapidly.
His eyes looked genuinely terrified.
I stepped closer.
“You knew Diya trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where she was.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Matt was in this hospital.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Mike was protecting them.”
“I…I …
“And yet you're telling me you had nothing to do with this?”
“I would never hurt Miss Diya.”
His voice broke.
“And Matt?”
He shook his head.
“I would never hurt that boy.”
I watched him for a moment. Then I asked quietly,
“Where are they?”
“I don't know.”
“Who took them?”
“I don't know.”
“Who attacked Mike?”
“I don't know.”
“Who used your name to get everyone away from that room?”
“I don't know!”
His voice echoed through the room and I stopped. My instincts were screaming at me to keep pressing. To break him until he told me everything. But suddenly, something didn't feel right. I still didn't trust him. But his fear…It didn't look like the fear of a man who had been caught. It looked like the fear of a man who had just realized he had been dragged into something far bigger than him.
My eyes narrowed.
“Steve….”
He looked at me.
“Where is your phone?”
His face changed.
“My phone?”
“Yes.”
He hesitated.
“I…”
“Where is it?”
“I don't have it.”
I stared at him.
“What do you mean you don't have it?”
“I lost it.”
“When?”
Steve lowered his eyes.
“Two days ago.”
I went completely still.
“What?”
He looked up.
“My phone…. I lost it two days ago.”
For several seconds, I couldn't process what he had just said.
Two days?
My mind immediately went back to everything that had happened. The call, the package, Shantel leaving the room and my family disappearing….And now this.
“You're telling me your phone has been missing for two days?”
“Yes.”
My jaw tightened.
“And you didn't think that was important enough to report?”
Steve shook his head quickly.
“I thought I'd find it.”
I stared at him.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear something apart. Instead, I forced myself to breathe, because suddenly, this wasn't just about Steve anymore.
My jaw tightened.
“Steve.”
He looked up.
“Did you make that phone call this morning?”
“No.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Think carefully.”
“I am….”
His voice trembled.
“I didn't make any phone calls.”
I watched him as he swallowed hard.
“My phone went missing two days ago.”
Silence filled the room.
I looked at him again. He was staring back at me, terrified.
“I swear, Alpha.”
His voice cracked.
“I didn't do this.”
I said nothing. Because for the first time since Diya and Matt disappeared, I wasn't looking at a suspect….I was looking at another victim.
And whoever had stolen Steve's phone two days ago had known exactly what they were doing.
My eyes slowly moved toward the CCTV monitor. The two men in doctor's coats were still frozen on the screen.
Someone had planned this. Someone had been watching us long before I knew there was a threat. And now I had one question burning through my mind.
Who the hell had been planning this for two days?