Chapter 170 The Connection

Chapter 170 The Connection
Pete’s POV

Steve remained silent for several seconds. His eyes moved toward the floor as though he were searching through his memories.

I waited and every damn second felt like another piece of my patience being stripped away.

Finally, he lifted his head.

“And that was how he walked.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“The man.”

He swallowed.

“I remember how he walked.”

Something about the way he said it made my attention sharpen.

“How?”

Steve hesitated.

“He had a limp.”

For some reason, the word hit me harder than it should have and my stomach tightened. I didn't know why. Maybe because the image forming in my head was becoming too familiar.

Then suddenly, I stood so quickly that the chair scraped violently against the floor.

“A limp?”

Steve flinched.

“Yes, Alpha.”

My heartbeat suddenly changed.

“What kind of limp?”

“I don't know. It was noticeable. One leg seemed…” He paused, searching for the right words. “Stiffer than the other, maybe.”

I stared at him and my mind was already moving.

No…It couldn't be.

There were thousands of men who walked with a limp. It meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“What else?”

Steve blinked.

“I remember his hair.”

My jaw tightened.

“What about it?”

“It was red.”

The room seemed to grow quieter.
My heartbeat stumbled.

“Red?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

Red hair.

My mind supplied a name before I could stop it.

Richard.

I immediately rejected it. No. That was too easy. Too fucking convenient. And I wasn't going to accuse another Alpha because of a hair color.

“How red?”

Steve frowned.

“I don't know how to explain it. Very red. Almost impossible not to notice.”

My fingers slowly curled into fists.

Red hair and a limp.

My mind flashed to one person.

Richard.

But I wasn't ready to say his name.

Not yet.

I needed certainty.

“What else?”

“He had a moustache.”

My stomach dropped.

I stared at him.

“Thick?”

“Yes.”

I went completely still.

A limp could be a coincidence. Red hair could be a coincidence. Even the moustache could be a coincidence.
But all three together?

My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin.

Richard.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

I turned toward the CCTV monitor.

Richard.

The name echoed through my mind.

It couldn't be a coincidence, not anymore.

The limp, the red hair, the thick moustache, and Richard had been asking questions about Diya.

My breathing grew heavier.

“What else did he say?”

Steve swallowed.

“He asked about Miss Diya's schedule.”

“I know.”

“When she usually comes to the office.”

“Yes.”

“When she usually left.”

My jaw tightened.

“And whether she was going to be away for long.”

I stared at the frozen image on the monitor.

Every question suddenly sounded different. It wasn't curiosity, but surveillance. He hadn't been trying to make conversation, but he had been mapping her life; When she arrived, when she left and when she would be alone.

My skin prickled.

How long had that bastard been watching her?

I turned back to Steve.

“Did he tell you his name?”

He shook his head.

“No.”

“Did you ask?”

“I don't think so.”

“Did he give you any reason for asking about Diya?”

“No.”

“Did he know her?”

“I don't know.”

I walked slowly toward him.

“Think carefully, Steve.”

He nodded quickly.

“Did that man say anything that made you think he knew Miss Diya personally?”

Steve's forehead creased.

“I don't remember.”

“Then remember.”

My voice was quiet now. This was far more dangerous than when I had shouted.

Steve swallowed.

“He asked me if Miss Diya had any enemies.”

My breath caught.

Why would a stranger walk into Diya's office and ask her employee who her enemies were?

That wasn't a question a normal client asked. It was the kind of question someone asked when they already knew there was a reason to be looking for trouble.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

And suddenly, the council meeting came back to me.

I could almost hear the elder's voice again.

“The complaint was brought forward by another Alpha.”

At the time, I'd barely questioned it. Richard had always been difficult, ambitious and too interested in matters that weren't his concern. But now his name sounded different inside my head.

Richard.

The same Richard who had walked into Diya's company. The same Richard who had questioned Steve about her movements. The same Richard whose description matched the man sitting somewhere in my memory.

He had been the one who filed the complaint against Diya. At the time, I had been too distracted by everything else to see the connection.

But now…Now it was staring me straight in the face.

Richard had gone to Diya's company, questioned Steve about her movements and had asked about her enemies. Then…Steve's phone disappeared and two days later, that same phone was used to lure Diya and Matt out of the hospital.

My pulse pounded harder.

“No.”

The word slipped from my mouth.

Steve looked at me.

“Alpha?”

I barely heard him.

My mind was moving too quickly.

Richard, the council complaint, the questions, the missing phone, the hospital and the kidnapping.

It was all beginning to connect.

But one question remained.

Why?

Why would Richard want Diya and Matt? What did he stand to gain from this?

I turned away from Steve and dragged both hands through my hair.

“Why the hell would Richard do this?”

Steve stared at me.

“Richard?”

I didn't answer. Because another memory had just surfaced.

The council.

The elder who had accidentally mentioned my mother.

Your mother…

I'd dismissed it at the time.

I had been too focused on the accusation against Diya, but now the memory hit me differently.

Why had the elder mentioned her? Why had my mother's name even entered that conversation?

I slowly lowered my hands as my mother's face appeared in my mind.

Her warnings, her strange behavior, the way she had always looked at Diya, the things she had said about my relationship, the way she had wanted Diya away from me….and then Richard.

My mother had a reason to hate Diya.

My stomach twisted.

“No…”

I shook my head.

I didn't want to believe it.

But the pieces were fitting too perfectly.

Had my mother spoken to Richard? Had she told him about Diya? Had she helped him plan this?

My chest tightened.

But why?

What relationship did my mother have with Richard?

No. I shook my head.

I couldn't just make that accusation because the pieces seemed to fit. My mother could be cruel, she could be controlling and she had made her feelings about Diya very clear. But kidnapping her? Attacking Mike? Using my son as leverage?

That was something else entirely.

I turned back toward Steve.

“Did that man say anything about my mother?”

Steve looked confused.

“Your mother?”

“Yes.”

“No, Alpha.”

“Think.”

“I don't remember him mentioning her.”

I stared at him.

“Did he mention me?”

Steve hesitated.

“A little.”

My eyes narrowed.

“What did he ask?”

“He wanted to know how often you visited Miss Diya.”

My blood ran cold.

“He asked about me?”

Steve nodded.

“And whether you usually come alone.”

My fists clenched.

This wasn't just about Diya anymore. It was about me, my family, my movements….Everything.

Someone had been studying us, and Richard was suddenly sitting at the center of it.

I turned toward my guards.

“Get every piece of information we have on Alpha Richard.”

One of them immediately stepped forward.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“His movements, his calls, his visitors and every vehicle that entered his territory in the last week.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“And contact the council.”

The guard nodded.

“I want to know exactly when Richard filed that complaint against Diya and who was present when he did.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I looked at another guard.

“You're coming with me.”

He straightened.

“Yes, Alpha.”

I took a breath.

Then my voice hardened.

“Actually, no.”

The guard looked confused.

“Alpha?”

“You and the others are going to Richard's pack.”

His eyes widened slightly.

“Now.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“You're not going there to ask questions.”

I stepped closer.

I could feel my anger returning, but this time it wasn't the wild or helpless rage I'd felt outside Mike's room. This was colder, focused, and dangerous.

Someone had taken my family and had nearly killed my best friend.

And now I had a name.

“You're going there to arrest him.”

One of the guards hesitated.

“Alpha… Richard is an Alpha.”

I turned slowly toward him.

“I know exactly what he is.”

My voice dropped.

“And if he thinks that title is going to protect him, he's about to learn otherwise.”

The room went silent.

“Alpha…”

“I don't care what position he holds.”

My jaw tightened.

“If he has something to do with what happened to my family, he answers to me.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Take enough men.”

I looked at the others.

“I don't want him warned. I don't want his guards giving him time to prepare. And I don't want anyone leaving that territory until you've searched it.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Search his office, his house, his vehicles. Everything.”

My voice dropped.

“Find my family.”

The guards nodded.

“We will, Alpha.”

I turned back toward Steve. He was still standing exactly where I'd left him and his face was pale.

“What about me?”

I stared at him.

For a moment, I considered keeping him here. But he had given me something more valuable than an explanation. He had given me a direction.

“You stay here.”

Steve nodded quickly.

“Yes, Alpha.”

I started toward the door.

Then one of my guards spoke.

“Alpha Pete…”

I stopped.

“Are you not coming with us?”

I slowly turned around.

My eyes moved from him to the closed hospital room behind us. Mike was still there. Diya and Matt were still somewhere out there. And Richard might be holding the answers I needed.

But there was something else I had to do, something I couldn't leave to my guards.

There was one person I hadn't spoken to yet. One person who might know far more than she had ever told me.

I straightened my shoulders.

“No.”

The guard frowned.

“Why, Alpha?”

I looked at him.

“I have a very important business to attend to.”