Chapter 178 CHAPTER 178
Evelyn’s POV
Tamara didn’t leave. She continued paced back and forth across my office, heels striking the marble too sharply for comfort. I watched her hands and saw how they twisted together, how she kept rubbing her palms against her skirt like she could scrub away what had happened. Or figure it out.
“She took a call,” she said again, her voice strained. “The night she disappeared. Flora took a call and left the house.”
“Did she say who it was?” I asked carefully.
“No. Just that she needed to meet someone. She looked tense. But I just thought it was Flora being Flora.” Her eyes glistened. “I should have stopped her.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
She shook her head violently. “That’s not all.”
I braced for impact. “What else?”
“My uncle is in the hospital.” I blinked.
“Jon?” I asked surprised.
“Yes.” Her voice dropped. “Poison. He was poisoned that night.”
The word hit like a stone dropped into still water. I thought of telling her that my mother had been attacked that night too. That perhaps this was all linked together. But I had a Private Investigator looking into things already.
“What kind of poison?” I asked. I wished she would just sit down and stop pacing. She was causing my head to spin.
“They said it stopped his heart. He collapsed at home. They managed to take him to the hospital but…” She swallowed hard. “They don’t know if he’ll survive it yet.”
I rose up, unable to take anymore information. I tapped my fingers on the desk. For some reason, Tamara thought it best to tell me all these. It meant she knew something.
“Tamara,” I said gently, “who do you think is behind this?”
She didn’t hesitate.
“Rosaleen.”
The name hung between us.
“That’s a serious accusation.”
“She’s capable of it,” she insisted. “She’s been desperate lately. Especially after getting married to Alpha Michael. Flora knows the truth that she killed Marcus. Maybe she’s trying to silence everyone.”
I thought of how Philly and my mother had been attacked barely twenty four hours after she left the mansion. It could be possible that Rosaleen had given the information out.
She stepped closer, gripping the edge of my desk.
“Evelyn, you know the truth. If you testify about what she did to you while you were in the company, about how she planned with Xavier to kidnap you, we can build a case. We can stop her. And maybe, everything Flora has done won’t be in vain.”
I inhaled slowly. Those times seemed like ages ago. I had already accepted a settlement from Greywoods Industries for the products Rosaleen stole from me. Xavier was also sentenced and he refused to name Rosaleen. It was going to be hard to prove that she actually was part. I told her that.
“It would seem I'm attacking her because she married Alpha Michael,” I added.
She nodded weakly.
I walked her toward the elevator myself.
“How are you holding up?” I asked softly as we stepped into the corridor.
She laughed without humor. “I’m not.”
I wanted to squeeze her hand and maybe pull her into a hug and tell her that things would turn out fine. We reached the main entrance of the building, glass doors framing the late afternoon sun.
I saw Alpha Michael Greywood walking toward us. He was wearing a charcoal suit, perfectly tailored, no tie, the top button of his shirt undone just enough to look deliberate. The city moved around him, but he moved through it like it belonged to him. And in that perfect moment, the world seemed like a less scary place.
His aura had weight. A quiet authority that didn’t need an announcement. Even the security guard at the entrance straightened instinctively as he approached.And when his eyes lifted and found mine, I found my heart leaping with excitement. I didn’t know when a smile spread across my lips. Tamara followed my gaze.
“Oh,” she muttered under her breath. “It’s Alpha Michael.
He reached us within seconds.
“Fiona,” he greeted evenly.
“Alpha Michael,” she replied stiffly.
His eyes flicked briefly to me before returning to her. “How are you? It’s been a while.”
There were questions in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “I just came to say hello to Evelyn. I’m on my way home.”
She said nothing about everything she had said to me in the office. Perhaps she thought Alpha Michael would do everything to keep Rosaleen from trouble.
“I’ll call you later,” she told me, squeezing my hand.
“I’ll be waiting,” I replied.
Then she was gone.
Silence settled between Michael and me. He looked at me, smiling like a boy who was given a candy. His eyes danced playfully.
“You look tired,” he said softly.
“So do you.”
He exhaled faintly.
“I came to collect the signed contract myself.”
“Of course you did,” I teased lightly. “Because executives personally retrieve paperwork all the time.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“I wanted to see you.”
I tilted my head. “That’s what I thought.”
He didn’t deny it.
“I came to see your smile,” he corrected quietly.
My breath caught for a fraction of a second.
“That’s a very specific reason.”
“It’s the only one that matters today.”
I tried not to let that show on my face.
“Lunch?” he asked suddenly.
“I’m working.”
“You always are.”
“I have a ton of undone things.”
“So do I,” he replied evenly. “And I’m choosing to ignore them for an hour.”
I folded my arms. “Very irresponsible of you, Alpha Michael.”
“Come with me,” he insisted. “Just an hour.”
“I don’t think that’s wise.”
“Why?”
“Because people will talk.”
“They already do.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“Evelyn,” he said softly, stepping just a little closer. “Please.”
That did it.
I sighed dramatically. “Fine. One hour.”
—
The eatery was small and tucked away from the main road but still luxurious in all the sense of the word. We ordered simply and I was grateful he had come to save me from starving myself.
Our minds were both occupied with unsaid things. I was thinking of last night and i wondered what he was thinking of. Our eyes met suddenly and we both smiled.
“I was thinking about last night,” I said.
“I was thinking about the future," he replied. “With you.”
My heart did that stupid flip and I winced.
But just as our world narrowed and everyone else faded into the background, something tore through our veil. It was on the television.
“Breaking News: Philly Greywood Confirmed Alive.”
My fork stilled mid air and Alpha Michael’s gaze snapped toward the screen.
The news anchor continued. “Authorities are now linking it to the recent disappearance of Flora Dover. Dover’s abandoned vehicle was discovered earlier today near the
residence of Anna Trent, where Philly Greywood had been residing for a while.”