Chapter 59 CRACKS

Chapter 59 CRACKS
Caden's POV

I took the note from Maya and read it once.

Then again.

“Your father asked too many questions. Now, you’re making the same mistake. —A Friend.”

My hand tightened around the paper, the edges crumpling slightly under my grip. Everything in me went still, the kind of quiet that only came before something snapped.

“Who. Sent. This.”

My voice came out low. Controlled.

Not a question.

A demand.

Silence answered me.

I lifted my gaze slowly to Aria.

Her face was pale, but her chin was lifted, defiance clear despite the fear she was trying to hide. Maya stood beside her, tense, watching both of us like she was bracing for impact.

“Well?” I pushed, stepping closer. “I asked a question.”

Aria exhaled slowly. “We don’t know.”

My jaw tightened. “That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one I have,” she shot back, her voice steady even as her hand moved protectively over her stomach. “But this isn’t the first time. It’s the fifth rose I’ve received. All threats.”

I stilled.

“Fifth?” I repeated, my gaze snapping to Maya.

She didn’t look away. “Yes.”

Something cold settled in my chest.

I turned fully to her. “Why wasn’t I informed?”

Maya hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Because that was all it took.

“Because Aria asked me not to tell you,” she said finally. “She doesn’t trust—”

“I don’t trust that you won’t use it against me,” Aria cut in sharply.

The words hit harder than they should have.

I looked back at her slowly.

“Use it against you?” I repeated, my voice dropping.

Her eyes didn’t waver. “You’ve made it clear you want me gone. You think I’m a problem. So why would I hand you a reason to get rid of me faster?”

Something inside me twisted.

Dark.

Uncomfortable.

“Use death threats against you?” I stepped closer, the words coming out quieter now, but sharper. “What kind of monster do you think I am?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice just as quiet. “You’ve given me plenty of reasons to think the worst.”

The truth sat between us.

Ugly.

Unavoidable.

For a second, neither of us moved.

But inside me—

Everything was moving.

My wolf surged forward, furious, restless, clawing at the edges of my control.

Protect.

Find the threat.

Destroy it.

The instinct hit hard enough to make my head throb.

I turned away from her abruptly and faced Maya instead, forcing my voice back into something steady.

“Security,” I said. “Increase it.”

Maya straightened slightly. “Already have extra patrols—”

“Not enough,” I cut in. “I want guards posted outside her room. Rotating shifts. No one gets in without my clearance. No exceptions.”

Maya nodded immediately. “Understood.”

I turned back to Aria.

“You don’t leave the packhouse without me or an escort.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“I’m not your prisoner,” she snapped, anger flaring now. “You don’t get to lock me down because someone sent a note.”

“You’re not locked down,” I said, stepping closer. “You’re under my protection.”

“That sounds exactly like a prison.”

“It’s the only thing keeping you alive.”

Her breath hitched slightly, but she didn’t back down. “I can handle myself.”

“No, you can’t,” I said bluntly. “Not against this.”

“And you think you can?” she challenged.

“Yes.”

The answer came too fast.

She blinked, thrown for half a second.

Then her expression hardened again. “I didn’t ask for your protection.”

“I’m not asking for your permission,” I shot back.

Her eyes flashed. “That’s not how this works.”

“That’s exactly how this works,” I said, my voice dropping again. “You follow my rules, or you die. Choose.”

Silence hit the room.

Heavy.

Tense.

Maya shifted slightly beside us but didn’t speak.

Aria stared at me, her chest rising and falling a little faster now, her hand still pressed to her stomach.

For a second, I thought she’d argue again.

Push back.

Refuse.

Instead, she said nothing.

And that silence—

It wasn’t agreement.

It was something else.

Something I didn’t have time to figure out.

I turned and walked out before either of them could say anything else, the door slamming harder than I intended behind me.

My steps were fast, sharp, my mind racing even as I tried to hold onto control.

The note.

The roses.

The threat.

I didn’t slow down until I reached my office.

The door shut behind me with a heavy click.

Silence.

Finally.

I dragged a hand through my hair and paced once, twice, trying to burn off the energy clawing under my skin.

It didn’t work.

Nothing worked.

I pulled the note out again, smoothing it out against the desk.

My grip tightened on the paper.

This wasn’t random.

It wasn’t just a threat.

It was specific.

Deliberate.

Whoever sent it knew something.

Something tied to her past.

Her family.

I stared at the words again, my mind turning over possibilities faster now.

Her father asked questions.

Questions about what?

And why would that get him killed?

The thought hit before I could stop it.

What if it wasn’t rogues?

My jaw clenched hard.

No.

That was—

I exhaled sharply, pushing the thought aside.

But it didn’t leave.

It just sat there.

Waiting.

I grabbed my phone before I could overthink it and dialed.

Luca picked up on the second ring. “Caden.”

“I need you to find out everything about Aria’s parents,” I said immediately.

There was a pause on the other end.

“Everything?” he repeated carefully.

“How they died. Why. Who investigated. I want full reports, original files, anything that doesn’t add up.”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

“Why now?” Luca asked.

I looked down at the note again, my grip tightening unconsciously.

“Because someone’s threatening her,” I said, my voice low. “And they’re tying it to questions her father asked before he died.”

Silence.

Then, quieter, “That’s not something people throw around lightly.”

“I know.”

“You think there’s more to it?”

“I don’t think,” I said. “I need to know.”

Luca exhaled slowly. “Alright. I’ll start digging.”

“Do it quietly.”

“Of course.”

“And Luca—”

“Yeah?”

I hesitated for half a second.

Then forced the words out anyway.

“If there’s anything… off… I want to know first.”

Another pause.

Shorter this time.

“Understood,” he said.

The line went dead.

I lowered the phone slowly, my gaze drifting back to the note still spread out on my desk.

I stared at the words, something cold settling deep in my chest.

Because if her father died for asking questions—

And now she was asking them too—

Then whoever killed him…

Was about to come for her next.