Chapter 70 Hidden Agendas
DANIEL'S POV
I met them immediately after Emma said those words.
Lisa turned to Emma slowly and I could see the fear in my sister's eyes. The kind of fear that came from knowing something terrible and wishing she did not have to say it out loud. "What are you talking about?"
Emma pulled out her phone with shaking hands and showed us screenshots of Dante Moretti's private website. Supernatural artifacts. Ancient wolf relics. Items tied to prophecies and bloodlines. One section was labeled "Silver Wolf Collection. Inquiry Only" and my blood ran cold as I stared at the screen.
Emma's voice shook as she spoke and I could hear the guilt weighing down every word. "I have been researching everyone around you since the betrayal. Trying to make up for what I did. Trying to protect you the way I should have from the beginning. Found this yesterday. Dante Moretti has been collecting silver wolf artifacts for years. Items that belonged to your mother, your grandmother, wolves from the bloodline going back centuries. Things that should have been buried with them or passed down through your family."
Lisa's face went pale and I watched all the color drain from her cheeks until she looked like a ghost. I moved closer and studied the phone over Emma's shoulder. There was a photo of our mother's necklace. The silver one with the wolf pendant that she never took off. The one she was wearing when she died. The one that disappeared with her body and was never recovered despite our years of searching and offering rewards.
"How did he get that?" My voice was Deadly. The kind of voice that came before violence.
Emma took a breath and I could see her hands trembling as she scrolled through more screenshots. "That is what I wanted to know. So I dug deeper. Called in favors from contacts in the human world. Searched through old police records and news archives. Dante Moretti was at the scene of your mother's death. He was the human witness who called it in to the authorities. The one who claimed he saw rogues attack her on the highway. The one whose testimony closed the case as a random animal attack."
The implications crashed down like a building collapsing on top of us. Our mother was not just killed by a coalition of Alphas trying to prevent the silver wolf prophecy from coming true. Someone made sure certain items from her body disappeared before we could recover them. Items tied to silver wolf power and bloodline magic. Things that could be used against Lisa or sold to the highest bidder. And Dante Moretti was there when it happened. Standing over our mother's body and taking pieces of her like she was nothing more than merchandise.
Lisa swayed on her feet and I caught her before she fell. My hands gripped her shoulders and I could feel how badly she was shaking. "Adrian brought him here. Why? Why would he bring the man who was at our mother's death scene directly to me?"
Emma looked between us with tears still streaming down her face. "I do not know. Maybe Adrian does not know about Dante's collection. Maybe he is innocent and Dante manipulated their friendship to get close to Lisa. Maybe he used Adrian as an unwitting pawn to gain access to the silver wolf. Or maybe..." She trailed off and could not finish the sentence because the alternative was too terrible to say out loud.
"Or maybe Adrian has been playing a longer game than we thought," Nathan finished as he appeared in the doorway. He was holding a tablet and his face was filled with the kind of anger that came from discovering a deep betrayal. The kind that made you question every interaction you had ever had with someone. "I did some digging after Emma came to me with this information an hour ago. Dante Moretti does not just deal in artifacts. He is a broker. He connects wealthy supernatural collectors with sources. With people who can provide rare items or information. He is the middleman between those who want power and those who have it."
He showed us the tablet and I felt my stomach drop to my feet. A transaction record. Payment from Marcus Krane to Dante Moretti six months ago. It was a very large sum, enough money to buy a small house. The description read "Silver Wolf Consultation" and I knew exactly what that meant. Marcus Krane had paid Dante to tell him everything he knew about Lisa and how to claim her.
Nathan explained what we were all thinking. "Dante Moretti advised Marcus Krane on how to legally claim Lisa. Probably told him about the marriage contract your mother signed when she was desperate and alone. About the loopholes in the pack law that would make it binding even decades later. About Lisa's vulnerabilities and her pack's weaknesses. He has been setting this up for months. Maybe longer."
Lisa was breathing hard and I could see her mind racing through everything. Every conversation she had ever had with Adrian. Every time he had offered help or advice. Every moment he seemed to care about her well-being. "And Adrian brought him here. Today. Right when Marcus Krane is challenging me. Right when I am pregnant and vulnerable and desperate for an escape. This was planned. All of it."
My fists clenched and I wanted to break something. Preferably Adrian's face. "That is not a coincidence. Nothing about this is a coincidence."
We all looked outside where Dante Moretti waited by a sleek black car. He was checking his watch and looking around with what seemed like innocent curiosity. Taking in the pack grounds like a tourist visiting a new place. Still playing the role of oblivious human art dealer who just wanted to show Lisa some paintings and help her relax. But now I could see the calculation in his eyes. The way he studied everything like he was pricing it.
Ryan appeared in the doorway and took one look at everyone's faces. What happened? What did I miss?"
Lisa's voice was low when she answered. Empty of all emotion like she had used up every feeling she had left.
"Adrian has been playing me. Maybe from the beginning. Maybe everything he did was part of Marcus Krane's plan. Every kindness, every offer of help, every moment he seemed to understand me better than anyone else. It was all manipulation."
Before anyone could respond Adrian himself walked up the path toward us. He saw us all staring through the window and his smile was easy and genuine-looking. Nothing in his expression suggested he knew what we had just discovered. Nothing that showed guilt or fear or calculation.
"Lisa? Ready to go? I promise Dante will be a perfect gentleman. Just a quiet afternoon away from all this stress. You deserve that after everything you have been through."
Lisa made a decision that surprised everyone including me. "Actually, yes. I am ready."
She grabbed her jacket from the hook by the door and walked toward Dante's car with her head held high. I grabbed her arm and hissed, "What are you doing?"
Lisa's voice was cold when she answered. "Getting answers."