Chapter 145 CHAPTER 145
Michael’s POV
“Was?” I asked.
“Is,” he repeated. “Your mother is alive.”
The wind blew strongly and silence stretched between us. My heart was racing. My mind was racing. I wanted to hear more but I was scared that I wasn't even ready for the truth.
“It was better for everyone to think she was dead,” he continued.
“Why?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Viktor Calderon wants her dead,” he said as though those five words would make me understand everything that was going on.
“Viktor Calderon?”
He looked at me. “Your mother was not a perfect woman. She was having an affair with Viktor’s younger brother. When a pregnancy got involved, Viktor wanted her gone. It was bad for the family. Especially when they knew her identity.”
I felt my heart squeeze within my chest.
“So, she was poisoned,” he said.
“But she survived it, and you decided to tell the world a lie. Why?” I faced him. “Why didn’t you make Viktor Calderon pay for trying to kill her?”
He sighed. “Because she killed his brother.”
The words dropped heavily in the tense air between us.
“What?”
“She lost control of her fox. She went berserk. It was a brutal death and when she called me to tell me what she had done, I threatened her with a divorce."
I felt myself stagger backwards.
“So, does that mean Anna is not yours?” i asked.
“She isn’t," he said.
“Then.. why?”
“That’s the only way I can protect our family. To keep the affair hidden. To make it seem as though she had actually died while trying to give birth. No one must know that the child survived. Viktor Calderon was only able to rest when he found out that she had died in childbirth.” I saw the jaw on his temple tighten, and I heard a crack in his voice. “She's been undergoing all forms of therapy, but she’s still unpredictable.”
I parted my lips to speak but no words came out.
“I’ve witnessed what it is to be mated to their kind, Michael. I won’t watch you make the same mistake with Evelyn. Rosaleen is digging around and I'm afraid she may find out something soon.” He placed his hand on my arm. “The only way we can protect our family is if we have her on our side.”
I shook my head. “Where is she?”
He looked up. “On the topmost floor.”
I swallowed. “Is this why you fought so hard to become Mayor? Does it have to do with her?”
He nodded gently. “Now that you know the truth, you should understand why I don't want you to mate Evelyn.”
I couldn’t see how it made Evelyn Moon a problem. “She’s different,” I said.
He shook his head. “All she needs is for something to make her fox emerge and for her to lose control. We can’t have that again, Michael. I’ve tried to manage the situation with Philly as best as I can. I cannot add Evelyn Moon and her mother…” his voice trailed off.
I suddenly remembered I wanted to ask him why he was constantly looking at Anna Trent. “She told me, Anna Trent, that part of my mother still remained in her. Is that why you keep looking at her?”
He nodded slowly. “I felt her pull when she was close to me. Anna Trent is lucky to be strong enough to keep her under control.”
I scratched my scalp. “Is there not a way this can be controlled? Have you seen her all these years?”
“No,” he said. “She’s dead to me. I just couldn't bring myself to kill her for your sake.”
“I want to see her,” I said. “I need to hear these things from her.”
He turned around and walked beside me as i started to head back in. “She’s always heavily sedated. She might not be able to remember what happened.”
We walked in silence as we got into the hospital. My mind was filled with thoughts and I could imagine his as well. I had not seen my mother since that afternoon when I had found her in a pool of her own blood. Yet, in the last few days, I had heard things about her that I couldn’t believe.
The topmost floor was quiet. It was the perfect place to keep someone away from the world. I thought of the day I had walked with Evelyn to meet her mother for the first time. It had been a positively surprising moment for her. Here I was, almost in the same shoes, but without her support and troubled that I would meet far worse than I had heard.
“You go in,” Alpha Raymond said. “I’ll wait outside.”
I saw raw emotions in his eyes that I had thought were lacking all these years. In a way I understood him. He had been doing everything to protect her. To protect our family. I just wished Evelyn didn’t have to get entangled in all of this again.
I turned away and pushed the door open. I looked into the room and saw that she wasn't alone. She had a guest in her room, a guest I recognised and I knew trouble was beginning.
She smiled at me. “You were in on it too, weren't you?”
I stopped in my tracks. “What are you doing here, Rosaleen?”
She laughed. “I was getting acquainted with my mother in law. She's been such a wonderful friend.”
I walked to her side and pulled her against me. “How did you find this place? Who gave you the information?”
“I was just looking around and I found her. I mean..”
My grip on her arm tightened. “Don’t play coy with me, Rosaleen. You’ve been sneaking in the Greywoods mansion and now you found her, definitely not randomly.” I looked at her uniform. “For one, I know you don’t work as a janitor.”
She smiled and held my gaze. “Viktor Calderon sent me.”