Chapter 78 Carrot and Stick
[Nyx]
"Seamless." Lysander's voice was ice-cold, "If we weren't checking surveillance, no one would ever know."
The guard came over to look at the screen, his expression confused. "That's... Miss Blackwood? She went to Miss Verdant's room?"
"Appears so." Lysander said calmly. "Can you help me back up this footage to a flash drive? Need the complete time period—today from three to four PM, rooms 304 and 310, plus relevant corridor areas."
The guard hesitated, glancing nervously between Lysander and the screen. "I... Commander, I should probably check with Alpha Blackwood first. This involves his sister—"
"It also involves Alpha Verdant's daughter," I interrupted, my voice hardening. "The future Luna of Shadowcrest pack. The woman your Alpha is about to marry." I stepped forward, holding the guard's gaze. "So I suggest you think carefully about whose interests you're protecting here."
The guard swallowed hard, his hand hovering over the keyboard.
"Miss Lilith Verdant is currently in critical condition," Lysander continued, each word deliberate. "If anything happens to her, your Alpha will want to know why. And he'll want to know if his own security failed to preserve evidence that could have saved her life."
The guard's face went pale. After a long moment, he nodded shakily. "Yes, Commander. Of course." He sat back down, his fingers trembling slightly as he began to operate the computer. "Will take a few minutes."
Lysander and I stood behind him. I leaned closer, keeping my voice low. "She just went directly. Didn't even need to disguise herself."
"Because she's the Alpha's sister," Lysander murmured back. "Even if someone saw her entering Lilith's room, they'd only think she was visiting her sister-in-law. Who would suspect her of poisoning?"
"But how dare she be so bold?" I whispered, confusion and anger bleeding into my words. "Doesn't she know hospitals have security cameras everywhere? To inject drugs so blatantly on camera—"
"Either she's overconfident," Lysander said quietly, "or—"
"Or she plans to delete the surveillance." I interrupted him, my voice suddenly cold. "She knows she's the Alpha's sister. Damon gave the hospital instructions to cooperate with her requests. She could use any excuse to enter the monitoring room and delete this footage."
"So she's not worried about being filmed at all." Lysander's voice carried cold understanding. "Because she plans to make this evidence disappear."
"Then she'll come soon."
Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
High heels. Quick but hurried.
Lysander's ears twitched slightly. Through his wolf hearing, he immediately identified who was coming.
Selene. He warned me through the pack bond, She's here.
The footsteps grew closer, heading directly for the monitoring room.
Lysander reacted instantly. He grabbed my wrist, his other hand pointing to a large equipment cabinet in the corner.
The door handle began to turn.
We moved almost instantaneously. Lysander slipped inside first, then pulled me in, closing the cabinet door just as the door opened.
---
Inside the cabinet was cramped. My back pressed against Lysander's chest, his arm wrapped around my waist, his other hand resting gently on my shoulder, signaling me to stay quiet.
His breath was warm against my ear, his heartbeat clear and powerful in this enclosed space—steady and strong.
Through the gap in the cabinet door, I could see inside the monitoring room.
Selene Blackwood walked in.
She wore hospital-issued casual clothes, pale gold hair loose, face pale. She looked weak, but her eyes were sharp.
"Good evening, Miss Blackwood." The guard stood up, clearly startled by her sudden appearance. "How can I help you?"
Selene's gaze swept the room—lingering on those monitors for a second, then landing on the guard.
"I need your help." Her voice was soft, carrying a fragile pleading quality. "About the surveillance footage from my room..."
Inside the cabinet, Lysander's arm tightened. I could feel the tension in his body, that readiness to fight at any moment.
I carefully reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone. I needed to record everything that happened next.
"What footage?" the guard asked.
Selene moved closer, her expression becoming more fragile. "This afternoon's footage. I... I don't want my brother to see it."
"Why?"
"Because..." Selene paused, seeming to hesitate. Then she took a deep breath, her voice catching with tears, "Because I didn't listen to him. He told me not to come to the hospital alone, but I came anyway to visit Lilith, and now I'm so scared..."
What an actress. I thought coldly.
"Miss Blackwood, I can't just delete surveillance footage." The guard said, his voice firm. "That violates hospital policy."
"Please." Selene's tears fell—real tears. "If my brother finds out I left my room this afternoon, he'll go crazy. He kept telling me to rest well, but I... I just wanted to check on Lilith. I was so worried about her, so I snuck out..."
"You went to Miss Verdant's room?"
"Yes." Selene wiped her tears. "But the nurses wouldn't let me in, said only immediate family could visit. I just waited outside for a while, then went back. But..." Her voice became more tremulous, "If my brother sees me sneaking out on the surveillance, he'll worry himself sick. He's already anxious enough about the avalanche."
The guard hesitated.
"Please." Selene grasped his hand, her eyes sincere and earnest. "Just delete those forty minutes. I promise there won't be any problems. My brother is Shadowcrest's Alpha, he'll be grateful."
Inside the cabinet, my fingers moved quickly on my phone screen, making sure the recording function was on. The lens aimed at the gap in the door, perfectly capturing Selene and the guard.
"This..." The guard was still hesitating.
"We can give you money." Selene said, her voice suddenly becoming practical and cold. The previous fragility and tears dropped away like a mask. "Enough money for you to buy a house in this town."
The guard froze.
"No one will know." Selene continued, her tone now completely different—calm, calculating, carrying irrefutable pressure. "Surveillance systems malfunction all the time, right? Technical issues, very normal. You just need to delete those forty minutes, then write 'signal interruption' in the report. Very simple."
"But..."
"If you don't agree..." Selene's voice grew colder, "I know you have a wife and two children. Your son just started at the academy, didn't he? It would be such a shame if your family suddenly lost their only source of income." She paused, letting the threat sink in. "And of course, you'd lose your security license too. Dismissed for incompetence—who would hire you after that?"