Chapter 212 The Prison Visit

Chapter 212 The Prison Visit
The meeting inside the council pavilion stayed in Piper’s mind long after she and Ember left the festival grounds.
The adults had dismissed her concerns without hesitation, choosing old grudges over the possibility that someone was manipulating both packs. 
She had expected resistance, but not the ease with which they ignored the evidence sitting right in front of them.
Neither of them spoke much during the drive.
The cheerful atmosphere surrounding the Alpha Tradition faded with every mile until it was replaced by quiet roads and high concrete walls topped with coils of barbed wire.
Ember looked out the passenger window before breaking the silence. “I still think festivals are supposed to be more fun than council meetings.”
Piper managed a faint smile.
“I don’t think anyone at that meeting was interested in having fun.”
“They weren’t interested in listening either.” Ember sighed, resting her head against the seat. The car rolled to a stop outside the visitors’ entrance.
The prison looked exactly how Piper imagined it would.
Cold.
Grey.
Unwelcoming.
Its towering walls seemed to swallow the evening sunlight, while uniformed officers moved about.
For a brief moment, Piper stared through the windshield.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Scarlett was inside.
The woman who had kidnapped her. The woman whose confession no longer made sense.
Ember noticed the hesitation almost immediately. “You okay?”
Piper took a slow breath before nodding. “I have to be.”
They climbed out of the car and walked together to the security checkpoint.
After confirming their identities and signing the visitors’ register, an officer collected their phones and directed them through the metal detectors.
Another guard checked a clipboard before looking up.
“So…” he said, studying Piper for a second. “You’re here to see Scarlett.”
“Yes,” Piper answered.
He nodded absentmindedly as he flipped another page.
“That’s strange.”
Piper frowned.
“What is?”
The guard looked between her and Ember.
“You’re not the blonde girl who usually visits her.”
Piper blinked. “The… what?”
“The blonde girl.” His expression suggested he hadn’t realised he’d said anything unusual.
“She comes every so often.”
Ember straightened beside her.
“What blonde girl?”
The guard shrugged. “About your age. Long blonde hair. She’s been here a few times already.”
Piper’s stomach tightened.
“There can’t be that many blonde girls around here,” Ember muttered.
Piper looked directly at the guard.
“Can you describe her?”
He thought for a moment. “Tall. Walks with a crutch sometimes.”
That was all it took.
Piper and Ember looked at each other at the same moment.
“Elsa,” Piper whispered.
Ember let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Even on crutches she’s still causing trouble.”
The guard raised an eyebrow. “You know her?”
Piper ignored the question.
“When was the last time she came?”
“Yesterday and a few other times.”
She’d been coming here and talking to Scarlett. If Scarlett was already behind bars, what could she possibly offer Elsa?
The officer gestured toward a secured door.
“They’re ready for you.”
Neither Piper nor Ember moved immediately.
Ember lowered her voice.
“This just got a whole lot worse.”
Piper nodded.
“It means Elsa knows something or thinks she does.”
They followed the officer through a series of heavy security doors, each one locking behind them before the next opened.
The officer stopped outside a small visitation room. “You’ll have fifteen minutes.” He unlocked the door and stepped aside.
Together, they stepped inside.
The room was simple.
A metal table stood in the centre beneath harsh fluorescent lights, surrounded by three chairs. Thick reinforced glass stretched across one wall, while another secured door waited on the opposite side.
Piper wrapped her fingers around the edge of the table, trying to steady the nervous energy building inside her.
A metallic click echoed from the other side of the room.
The door opened slowly.
Two officers escorted Scarlett into the room, her wrists restrained in front of her. Unlike the last time Piper had seen her, there was no chaos surrounding her. Just the same calm confidence that had always made Piper uneasy.
Scarlett looked exactly like someone who believed she was still in control.
Her eyes immediately found Piper.
Piper hated that her body reacted before her mind could stop it.
Her shoulders stiffened and her fingers tightened against the edge of the table.
A memory flashed through her mind of when Scarlett kept her locked in a room for days.
Scarlett noticed and A faint smile appeared on her face.
“You still look at me like you’re waiting for me to take you somewhere.”
Piper forced herself to relax. “Because you did.”
The smile faded slightly.
Scarlett took her seat after the officers removed her restraints and stepped back outside.
Ember remained quiet beside Piper, but her expression made it clear she had not forgotten what Scarlett had done either.
Scarlett leaned back.
“I was wondering when you would come.”
Piper frowned. “You knew I would?”
“No.” Scarlett stared at her carefully.
“But I knew eventually you would stop accepting the easiest answer.”
Piper ignored the comment.
“Elsa has been visiting you.”
Scarlett didn’t react. That alone told Piper enough.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
Scarlett’s eyes moved briefly toward the glass before returning to Piper.
“People visit for many reasons.”
“What reason did Elsa have?”
Scarlett tilted her head slightly. “You tell me.”
Piper’s jaw tightened. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” She asked, feigning innocence.
“Answer questions with more questions.”
A small smile crossed Scarlett’s face. “You’re more like Irene than you realise.”
The name immediately reminded Piper of one of the reasons why she was here. “What does that mean?”
Scarlett didn’t answer.
Piper held her gaze. “I don’t think you killed Irene.”
Silence filled the room.
Even Ember looked surprised by how directly Piper had said it.
Scarlett stared at her for several seconds before letting out a quiet laugh.
It wasn’t mocking, it sounded more like relief. “Finally.”
Piper frowned. “Finally?”
“Yes,” Scarlett said. She folded her hands together. “Because for weeks, everyone has been asking the wrong question.”
“What question?”
“Why did I kill Irene? But that was never the question that mattered.”
Piper raised a brow.
“Why was Irene looking into what wasn’t her business?” Scarlett asked softly. “She always had to know everything.” 
She gave a theatrical sigh, wiping an imaginary tear from beneath one eye before the amusement vanished from her face. “Poor Irene. Digging up things people spent years making sure stayed buried.”
Piper felt frustration rising.
“Scarlett, Cecil is missing. If you know something…”
Scarlett's expression shifted almost unnoticeably at Cecil's name. She took her time drinking the glass of water in front of her.
"That cat always looked for an excuse to run away." She dropped the glass. "But I trained her well. She always came back."
“Where is Cecil?” Piper asked.
Scarlett looked at Piper for a long moment before the corner of her mouth lifted into a faint smile.
“I don't know” she said with a scoff. “But I helped put her exactly where she needed to be.”
Something inside Piper snapped.
Her chair scraped violently across the floor as she shot to her feet, both hands slamming onto the metal table.
“Whatever fantasy you've built in your head, Cecil isn't coming back to work for you.”
Scarlett’s smile faltered.
“And this obsession you have with controlling everyone?” Piper continued, her voice cold. “It ended the day those prison doors closed behind you.”
She tilted her head, studying Scarlett.
“Where’s Alpha Vlad now?”
Scarlett didn’t answer.
“That’s what I thought,” Piper said. “You sacrificed everything for a man who doesn’t even remember you exist, he loved Irene and you refused to accept that.”
Scarlett’s jaw clenched.
“You’re going to die in this prison, Scarlett,” Piper continued surprising herself“You’ll spend the rest of your life behind these walls, and when your time finally comes, you’ll die alone.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“No,” Piper shot back. “You’re not in control anymore. You’re just another prisoner waiting for the world to forget you.”
“SHUT UP!”
Scarlett lurched to her feet so violently that she screamed, " You think you’ve won? “ pointing a trembling finger at Piper. “You think you’re safe because I’m locked in here?”
The officers outside immediately rushed toward the interview room.
“You think the Moon Goddess chose you?” Scarlett screamed. “You've been lied to! Irene found the truth... and that's why she died! Keep digging, Piper! You'll end exactly like she did!” she screeched
A taser sounded through the air as Scarlett dropped to her feet.
“She's even crazier in here,” Ember muttered, glancing back over her shoulder as though she half expected Scarlett to break through the prison doors.
Piper barely heard her.
Scarlett's final words kept replaying in her mind.
The Moon Goddess...
Irene...
The truth...
If Scarlett hadn't killed Irene...
Then who had?
And more importantly… Why had Elsa been visiting her?
What had Scarlett told her?