Chapter 192 The Horrid Truth
Chapter 192 The Horrid Truth
~Caligo's Point Of View~
Three of us occupied my study. Nyx, Cassian and I. We sat around the desk, silent as night owls with eyes that were utterly fixated on the screen of the laptop. It was more so listening than it was watching. That was why not a single person spoke.
Cassian reached forward, tapping on a key to increase the volume. The bugging devices in the bath chamber had been connected to my work laptop, so we could listen in on Aurora and Rose's conversation.
I sat there with heavy anticipation, my arms feeling like logs of wood as I rested them on the desk. What would become of me if Rose's words turned out to be true?
Throughout my childhood, Aurora slowly replaced the awful memory of that woman, and with time, I began to see her as someone I could confide in. Someone I could trust with my life. I began to see her as a mother.
And I cared for her. Very deeply, in fact, that I was able to endure living amidst people who despised my guts. That was the only reason I was able to survive here as a teenager. Because Aurora was there to guide me, to offer comfort on my lonely days.
Was I supposed to believe all that had been an act?
To what end? What exactly was she trying to achieve?
That question did not go unanswered for long. Because as we listened in on their conversation, all three of us slowly began to realize the truth. The room's temperature dropped by a huge margin.
I felt cold. Inside and outside.
Aurora… hated me.
Worse still, Aurora was after my death. She, the woman who I had come to love as a mother figure, despised me enough to want me dead.
“How…”
Hearing the horrid words that fell from Aurora’s mouth made a shiver run down my spine.
“There's no way…”
Nyx slumped back into her chair, her eyes wide with shock.
The more I listened, the more my heart sank. And at the end of it all, the question that lingered in my heart was: why?
Why?
What had I done for her to hate me this much? My eyes betrayed the turbulence that was going on in my head, and I rose to my feet to pace around the study. Throughout my life, I had tried to be kind to Aurora, just as she had been kind to me.
What could I have done? Was there something I wasn't remembering?
“I don't get it.” Cassian spoke at that moment. He seemed to be going through the same horrid bafflement. Everyone in that study was.
Nyx muttered with a sigh, “Never in all my years of living would I have imagined that she was capable of such. It's so shocking that I don't know what to say…”
“Right?” Cassian’s eyes met mine. He gave me a nod of inquiry. I understood the question he planned to ask. But there I stood, having no answers to anything.
I was deeply hurt. So much that my chest began to ache terribly.
It shouldn't have been a time like this. Not when I was desperately struggling to hold the pack together, and needed all the support I could get.
“Cut it off.” I spoke suddenly, my jaw tightening. “I don't want to hear anymore.”
Cassian cut off the connection and closed the laptop.
“What are we supposed to do now?” He asked.
What else was there to do?
“I'm going to speak with her.” I said, my lips suddenly going dry. “Because I need to understand. I need her to make me understand what exactly it is I've done to deserve such… treachery.”
I turned around. The dampness under my eyes grew obvious with every word I said.
“I trusted her, Cassian. I adored her. And yet she would stab me in the back like this? For how long? How long has she harbored such feelings towards me?”
Cassian’s lips quivered a few times, but even he couldn't find the right words to say in such a situation. Nyx wasn't faring better than I was. After all, she was also one of the few who also regarded Aurora like a mother.
The study descended into silence after that. No one spoke for the next few minutes. That was, until a call came in on Cassian’s phone. I watched him retrieve the device from his pocket, then place it by his ear.
His brows gradually knitted as he listened to the voice on the other end.
Cassian soon ended the call. He looked at me and said, “The medical experts are done with the autopsy.”
Right… I had asked for Hannah's body to be properly examined so as to learn the exact cause of death.
“And?” I raised a brow.
Cassian inhaled deeply, then shook his head. “There are no physical wounds, and no prior signs of illnesses that could've taken her life. No fingerprints were found either.”
I narrowed my eyes very slightly. With a heart that was as heavy as stone, I muttered, “In other words, magic was used.”
“Looks like your suspicion was correct.” Cassian rubbed his chin. He rapped the edge of the desk with his fingers, then said, “But how can you be certain that it's your father?”
“I'm not. It's just a hunch.”
“What?!” Nyx blurted out at that moment, her eyes flying like darts towards me and Cassian. “Wait— what are you two talking about?”
Oh, right. Nyx hasn't exactly been in the loop for a while now…
I sighed softly and first gave a command to Cassian, “Get in touch with Zara. Tell her to be here before nightfall. We need her to analyze the body from a witch’s perspective.” When he nodded and left the study, I dragged my chair and positioned it in front of Nyx.
“What are you talking about, brother?” She asked with a puzzled frown. “What do you mean father killed that maid?”
“My dearest sister,” I grabbed her hands and squeezed gently. “The devil has been amongst us for a long time now. Only, it's starting to seem like there isn't one, but two devils. And tonight, we are going to expose both of them.”