Chapter 47: What do I believe

Charles’s large hand stayed clamped against the side of her neck, his thumb moving back and forth in a slow, calculated stroke. He was standing close enough that his chest brushed against her shoulder every time he drew a breath. His dark eyes remained completely locked on her face, scanning every single detail—the faint twitch in her eyelid, the slight paleness around her lips, and the way her breath caught in her chest.

"Just a little tired from the flight," Harriet repeated, her voice steady enough to pass for normal. She kept her lips pulled into that bright, forced smile. "Everything is perfect."

Charles didn't move his hand away. His eyes narrowed by a fraction, the heavy, oppressive weight of his Alpha aura settling into the room. As a wolf, his senses were too sharp to be completely fooled by a practiced expression. He leaned in closer, his nose brushing against her temple as he took a deep, quiet breath. The scent of her skin was always sweet to him, but right now, underneath the expensive vanilla perfume, he could smell the faint, sharp tang of pure anxiety. It was the scent of a mate keeping a secret.

"You smell stressed, Harriet," Charles murmured, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly register. "The city air hasn't even hit you for an hour, and your pulse is already running too fast."

"I am just thinking about the gala," she lied quickly, her hand coming up to touch his wrist, trying to pull his hand gently away from her neck where the note was hidden inside her blouse. The paper felt like a hot coal pressing against her skin. "Two days is very little time, Charles. If the fabrics aren't finished, or if the press decides to bring up Taylor again..."

"I told you the past is dead," Charles said, his hand finally dropping from her neck, only to grip her waist tightly. He pulled her flush against his torso, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Evelyn is handled. Taylor is handled. You have nothing to fear because you belong to me. Remember that."

"I know," she whispered, looking down at his shirt button so he wouldn't see the sudden doubt in her eyes.

The ride back to the Edwin mansion in the luxury SUV was long and quiet. The city traffic moved slowly under the grey afternoon sky. Throughout the entire drive, Charles kept his large hand heavy on her knee. He didn't say a word, but his grip was constant, his long fingers pressing firmly into her thigh. He was reading her mood, his inner wolf tracking the subtle shifts in her scent, but Harriet kept her face turned toward the window, staring out at the passing streetlights. Inside her mind, a frantic plan was already forming. Midnight. She had to get to the old Walter estate by midnight, and she had to do it without the most powerful Alpha in the city finding out.

The grandfather clock in the main hall of the Edwin mansion struck twelve times, the heavy metallic rings echoing through the quiet house.

Inside the master bedroom, the space was dark except for the faint moonlight spilling through the velvet curtains. Charles was downstairs in his private study, caught up in an urgent, late-night secure call with the city council regarding the final block of election votes. Harriet had been waiting for this exact moment.

She slipped out from under the heavy duvet, her bare feet hitting the floor without a sound. She quickly pulled on a dark wool coat over her clothes, ensuring the hidden note was tucked safely in her pocket. Sneaking past the guards on the eastern wing was easy enough; she knew the staff rotation schedule, and she managed to slip out through the side conservatory door into the cool night air. She didn't dare take one of Charles’s cars. Instead, she walked down to the main road outside the estate gates and flagged down a regular city taxi, giving the driver the address she thought she would never visit again.

The taxi pulled up to the gates of the Walter family estate twenty minutes later. Harriet stepped out onto the gravel driveway, her eyes widening slightly as she looked up at the massive structure. The large crystal lamps on the porch were glowing, the windows were perfectly clean, and the air around the property smelled distinct and familiar the sharp, heavy scent of old wealth, silver, and the unmistakable, dominant mark of the Walter lineage.

Harriet pushed the heavy front doors open. They weren't locked. She walked into the grand drawing-room, her heels clicking softly against the polished wood.

Sitting in a large leather armchair by the fireplace was Hayley.

She looked exactly like Harriet the same black hair, the same pointed nose, the same flawless shape. But she held herself with a cold, calculated confidence that Harriet had lost the day she was thrown into the streets. Hayley was sipping tea from a delicate china cup, her eyes glinting with a dark satisfaction as she looked up.

"You actually came," Hayley said, her voice soft but sharp, cutting through the quiet room. "I wasn't sure if your new Alpha master would let you out of his sight long enough to breathe."

"Hayley," Harriet said, stopping a few feet away from the chair. She didn't take off her coat. "What is the meaning of that note? Tell me the truth. Did Charles really have something to do with what happened to me?"

Hayley set her teacup down on the wooden side table with a slow, deliberate click. She leaned forward, her face full of false pity, playing the victim card perfectly. "Oh, Harriet. You always were the naive twin. You thought Taylor just randomly turned into a monster and lost you in a card game?"

Hayley reached down to the side of her chair and pulled out a thick, leather-bound financial ledger along with a single piece of parchment. She slid them across the table toward Harriet.

"Look at the date on that agreement," Hayley said softly, her voice spinning a thick web of manipulation. "That is Charles Edwin’s personal signature, signed alongside Taylor Rue’s company name. Look at the timeline, sister. It was dated three full months before Taylor ever walked into that casino. It was dated before our father officially disowned you."

Harriet’s hands shook as she picked up the document. Her eyes raced across the text. It was a formal debt acquisition paper, detailing a massive transfer of funds from the Edwin empire into Taylor’s failing accounts, followed by a clause that demanded full collateral if the debts weren't paid. The collateral wasn't property. The phrasing was clear the legal rights to the Walter female.

"Charles wanted our bloodline, Harriet," Hayley whispered, standing up from her chair and walking over to place a comforting hand on Harriet's shoulder. "He knew our father would never give you to an Edwin Alpha willingly because of the business’s . So, he played the long game. He systematically ruined Taylor’s businesses, triggered his gambling debts through his own underground casinos, and backed our father into a corner until the shareholders had no choice but to disown him and he had to disown you to save our reputation. He forced you into the gutter so you would think he was a god when he saved you. You aren't his beloved wife, Harriet. You are just his captured prize."

The words hit Harriet like a physical blow. The evidence looked completely real. The dates matched perfectly, the signatures were exact, and the cold, hard logic of the plan fit Charles’s terrifying capability perfectly. Her deep-seated trust in her twin sister, the bond they had shared since childhood, completely blindfolded her to the trap Hayley was setting.

"He... he told me he won me by chance," Harriet choked out, her vision blurring as she stared at the signed document. "He said he was just protecting what belonged to him."

"Because he wants you compliant," Hayley said, her eyes flashing with a hidden malice as she rubbed Harriet’s arm. "If you know the truth, you will hate him. And an Alpha cannot truly control a mate who hates him. Don't let him know you were here tonight, Harriet. If he finds out you know the truth, he will lock you away permanently, just like he did to Taylor and Evelyn. Play along for now. Wait until the gala is over, and we will get you out of this city."