Chapter 174 The Truth

Chapter 174 The Truth
Pete’s POV

The drive back to the police station felt longer than it should have.

It was my second time coming here today. The first time, I had come looking for answers. Now, I was coming for the man who might have them.

I sat in the back seat, staring through the window without really seeing anything outside.

Richard.

The name kept circling through my mind.

Richard had gone to Diya's company, questioned her employee about her movements, stolen Steve's phone, filed a complaint against her, and now he was sitting inside this very station waiting for me.

My hands curled into fists.

He better not waste my fucking time.

Because I wasn't sure how much restraint I had left. Every time I thought of Mike lying on that bed, something inside me wanted to stop being an Alpha and become nothing more than a grieving friend looking for someone to blame.

I had watched my best friend lie lifeless on a hospital bed because I hadn't been there to protect him. Diya and my son were still missing, and my mother was sitting in a cell while the man she had supposedly never heard of was being dragged into this mess.

If Richard knew where my family was, he was going to tell me one way or another.

I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes.

For a moment, Mike's face appeared in my mind again.

His stupid smile, his laughter and the way he used to call me an arrogant bastard whenever I refused to listen to him.

My chest tightened.

I swallowed hard and looked away.

I couldn't break down. Not now.

Not when there were still people waiting for me.

Not when Mike deserved justice.

Justice.

That was the only thing keeping me from falling apart. Because if I allowed myself to think too long about the fact that Mike was dead, I wasn't sure I'd be able to stand back up.

“Alpha….”

I opened my eyes and my driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“We're here.”

I looked outside.

The police station.

I hadn't even realized we'd arrived. The entire drive had passed without me noticing a single thing beyond the thoughts consuming my head.

The driver stepped out and opened the door for me and I slowly got out.

My entire body felt heavy. Not just tired, but heavy. As though every terrible thing that had happened today had settled somewhere inside my bones.

I took one step, then stopped. Then I placed one hand against the roof of the car and lowered my head.

My eyes burned and a tear threatened to fall.

I quickly wiped it away.

I wasn't going to cry here.

Not now.

I straightened my shoulders and took a deep breath. I couldn't bring him back.
But I could make sure whoever had taken him from this world paid for it.

“For Mike.”

The words left my mouth quietly.

Then I walked inside.

The chief was already waiting for me and the moment he saw me, he straightened.

“Alpha Pete.”

I barely acknowledged him.

“We were waiting for you.”

He fell into step beside me.

“The suspect is already in the interrogation room.”

“Good.”

The chief hesitated.

“There is something you should know.”

I kept walking.

“What?”

“His pack members are outside causing trouble.”

I stopped.

The chief continued carefully.

“His Beta is also demanding his immediate release. They've been insisting that we have no right to hold an Alpha without sufficient evidence.”

I turned slowly toward him.

“They can insist all they want.”

The chief swallowed.

“They're becoming aggressive. They're demanding to see Richard, and they've threatened to cause a scene if we don't release him.”

“Then arrest them.”

His eyes widened slightly.

“Alpha?”

“Anyone who makes trouble gets picked up.”

My voice was flat.

“Anyone who threatens my officers gets locked up.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“And anyone who tries to interfere with that interrogation…”

I stared directly into his eyes.

“Can explain themselves from a cell.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I turned away.

“Take me to Richard.”

The chief nodded.

“This way.”

We walked down the corridor and with every step, my anger grew heavier. I could already feel it crawling beneath my skin.

I wasn't here to negotiate or listen to excuses or to offer Richard a chance to explain himself.

I wanted answers. And if he refused to give them to me willingly, I would find another way.

The chief stopped outside the interrogation room.

“He's inside.”

I nodded.

“Leave us.”

The chief hesitated.

“Alpha, are you sure?”

I looked at him.

“Leave us.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

He walked away.

I placed my hand on the door and for a brief second, I closed my eyes.

Mike.

Diya.

Matt.

I opened my eyes.

Whatever happened inside that room, I couldn't allow my anger to control me. I needed Richard talking. I needed every answer he had.

Then I opened the door.

Richard was sitting at the table and his hands were cuffed in front of him. The moment he saw me, his expression changed.

He pushed himself out of the chair.

“You….”

His voice was filled with outrage.

“How dare you?”

I said nothing.

He stood there, breathing heavily.

“Who the hell do you think you are, barging in here and having me arrested?”

I slowly closed the door behind me.

“You son of a bitch.”

Still, I said nothing.

I slipped both hands into my pockets. Not because I was comfortable, because I needed them there.

The urge to grab his head and slam it against the wall until he stopped moving was almost unbearable.

My fingers twitched inside my pockets.

I wanted to hurt him. Goddess, I wanted to hurt him. But I needed him alive long enough to tell me where my family was.

Killing him wouldn't bring Mike back. It wouldn't bring Diya and Matt back.

So I kept my hands in my pockets.

Richard pointed a finger at me.

“I'm talking to you!”

I looked at him as he continued talking.

“You little boy of yesterday. What gave you the right to….”

“Would you shut the hell up?”

My voice cut through the room.

Richard froze.

His mouth remained slightly open. He hadn't expected it.

Neither had I, but I didn't care.

I stepped closer.

“Listen to me carefully.”

My voice dropped.

“I'm not here to play games with you.”

Richard swallowed.

“I want my family.”

He stared at me.

“Where are they?”

Silence.

My jaw tightened.

“I asked you a question.”

Richard looked away.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

A humorless laugh escaped me.

“Wrong answer.”

“I genuinely don't…”

I crossed the distance between us and struck him across the face.

His head snapped sideways and blood immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Richard stared at me in disbelief, one hand slowly rising to his mouth. He looked less offended than shocked. As though he had spent his entire life believing that his position could protect him from consequences.

He stumbled backward and I grabbed the front of his collar and pulled him toward me.

“That's warning number one.”

I released him.

He caught himself against the table.

“You'd be very surprised how today ends for you if you keep playing games with me.”

Richard touched his bleeding lip.

“I don't know anything.”

I stared at him.Then I struck him again.

His chair scraped violently against the floor as he stumbled into it.

“You don't know?”

My breathing grew heavier.

“You don't know what I'm talking about?”

He stared at me in fear.

“You were the one who brought the complaint against Diya.”

I stepped closer.

“A woman you'd supposedly never met.”

Richard said nothing.

“You went to her company.”

Nothing.

“You questioned her employee about her movements.”

His breathing became uneven.

“You stole Steve's phone.”

“I didn't.,..”

“Shut up!”

He flinched.

“And you've come to this same police station more than once to see my mother.”

His eyes widened.

I'd seen the fear in my mother's eyes when I'd asked her about Richard. Now I was seeing the same fear in his.

Whatever existed between them, it wasn't innocent.

My fingers tightened.

“So answer me.”

I leaned closer.

“What is your relationship with my mother?”

Richard's lips parted.

“I…”

“What?”

“I don't…”

Another blow landed before he could finish.

His head snapped back.

“Wrong answer.”

He wiped the blood from his mouth with trembling fingers.

“Start talking.”

He stared at me and I could see the fear in his eyes now.

Good. He finally understood that I wasn't bluffing.

I pulled the chair away from the table and sat down opposite him.

“Let's try this again.”

I leaned forward.

“What is your relationship with my mother?”

Richard lowered his eyes and for several seconds, he didn't speak.

Then he whispered,

“She loves you.”

My brows pulled together.

“What?”

“Your mother…”

He swallowed.

“She loves you, Pete.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“Don't talk to me about love.”

“She did everything because of you.”

My jaw clenched.

“Don't use that excuse.”

“It's not an excuse.”

“Then what is it?”

Richard's eyes dropped.

“The truth.”

My expression hardened.

“What did she do?”

Richard looked at me.

“She wanted to protect your future.”

“My future?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

“Then explain.”

Richard took a shaky breath.

“When your father died…”

He paused.

“You were still young.”

I said nothing.

“The council wanted to remove you.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“Because of your father's crimes.”

My jaw tightened.

“Your father broke several laws while he was Alpha. After his death, the council wanted to punish his family.”

Richard's voice became quieter.

“They wanted to take your position away from you.”

For a moment, I couldn't speak.

All my life, I'd believed becoming Alpha was simply my inheritance. I'd never known there had been a time when the council could have taken everything from me before I'd even been old enough to fight for it.

I stared at him.

“But your mother fought them.”

I didn't move.

“She begged them to give you a chance.”

My chest tightened.

“And you?”

Richard looked down.

“I stood beside her. I fought beside her.”

“Why?”

He hesitated.

Then he looked back at me.

“Because I loved your mother.”

Something cold settled in my stomach.

Richard had loved my mother?

The thought was almost impossible to process.

“What?”

“I loved her.”

He swallowed.

“I had loved her for years.”

Disgust rose in my throat.

Richard continued before I could speak.

“I would have done anything for her.”

“And she knew that?”

He nodded.

“When she came to me with her plan…”

Richard's voice faded.

He looked down at his cuffed hands and my pulse began to pound.

A plan?

Not an accident. Not something that had happened without my mother's knowledge, but a plan.

“What plan?”

Richard slowly lifted his eyes to mine and for the first time since I entered the room, he looked genuinely afraid.

“Your mother came to me with a plan.”

I leaned forward.

“What plan was that, Richard?”