Chapter 037

Chapter 37
Matthew sat in his car, staring at the old photograph in his hands. The edges were curled, and the ink slightly faded from years of wear. In the picture, a woman was smiling. A woman he had killed.

His own sister in law.

He had expected to feel something about it. Maybe a bit of guilt or regret. Instead, all he felt was a sense of inevitability and responsibility. It had to be done. There was no changing the past, and frankly, he didn’t want to. Someone had to do the job, and hesitation would mean a job not well done.

He could still remember the exact moment it happened. The change in her eyes when she realised who her attacker was, the way her lips had parted in disbelief, and the sharp inhale of fear as the bullets penetrated her body just before the blade sliced through her neck.

The human body was fascinating in that way. Even as her head hit the floor with a dull thud, the rest of her body still twitched, as if refusing to accept that it was all over for her. Her blood had splattered across his boots, and a lot of it seeping into the tiled floor of the hotel.

He could still hear the sound of it. Of everything.

Matthew threw his head back against the car seat, laughing like a mad man.

Funny, wasn’t it? A man like him, a murderer without a conscience, suddenly thinking about the life he took. And for what? The woman was already dead. Whether he regretted it or not didn’t change a damn thing.

What was really nagging at him, though, was the girl.

Gabriella Christensen.

The niece who had been kept under lock and key, hidden away so well that even he hadn’t been able to get a single photograph of her. Kudos to her mother.

Gabriella was a ghost, protected by a mother who knew the dangers lurking in the shadows. He had thought the problem was solved when he saw her jump. No, he had known. Lucien had just sent him here on a wild goose chase, and there was no way that he was returning with golden eggs.

He had watched her small body plummet from that rooftop, had seen the way she crashed onto the speeding car below. By all logic, she should have been dead. The human body could only take so much damage, and that fall should have shattered her beyond recognition.

Lucian was so sure that he had made some kind of mistake, that Gabriella Christensen had survived, but Matthew saw all the blood. How was he going to find proof of a dead person anyway? Dig up an arm?

But no, he had been terribly wrong. He had thought that she was dead until he got to the hospital where she was taken.

Matthew leaned forward, resting his arms against the steering wheel. He had spent the last few days tracking every bit of information he could, retracing the steps of the people who had rushed her to the hospital.

It had cost him a small fortune. Nurses, janitors, security guards, everyone had a price, and he had paid them. Some asked questions, others just took the money and gave him what he wanted, not caring. Apparently, they didn’t even know her name. All they knew was that she had a fatal accident, and her mother had been decapitated.

He scoffed. And they said humans were the most caring creatures.

And after all of that, the payments and the time, there had been no death certificate, no record of a body being sent to the morgue.

There was no official report of her dying.

That fact had caught his attention.

The nurse he had finally cornered had looked at him suspiciously when he asked about the girl.

“Who are you to her?” The nurse had asked him.

He had smiled giving her the charming yet empty expression he had perfected over the years.

“I’m her uncle. I came back after I saw the video on social media. She’s the only family I have left.” He had said smoothly. Not entirely false. Not entirely true. But it was enough to get the nurse to think about it, to consider giving him what he wanted.

He had leaned in, lowering his voice.

“Please, if you know anything, tell me. I’m sure my brother and his wife wouldn’t be happy with me if I let her be alone.”

That had done it.

The woman had sighed, glancing around nervously before finally speaking.

“She didn’t die. But I can’t give you any more than that. Her records were wiped for security reasons, and I don’t know anything more than what I’m about to tell you.”

Matthew’s fingers had twitched at his sides, the urge to grab her by the throat and force the truth out of her strong. But he had held himself back.

Instead, he had kept his tone calm.

“Thank you. Where was she taken?”

The nurse had hesitated again. But in the end, greed and selfishness disguised as compassion won over caution.

“Crescent Moon.” She had whispered after looking around, making sure she wasn’t overheard.

Matthew had blinked, momentarily thrown off.

“Crescent Moon?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything else, so I can’t help you out further.” The nurse said.

Matthew nodded and counted some notes, handing them to her and muttering a “thank you”.

Now this had just gotten interesting.

Crescent Moon was a pack he had visited once before, years ago. He wondered what it would be like now.

Why was she there?

It didn’t make any sense. If Gabriella was supposed to be in hiding, especially away from her non-human side, keeping her within werewolf territory was the worst possible move. It was practically begging for trouble.

Matthew tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, still lost in thought.

Maybe whoever it was that took her didn’t know who she really was. Or they wanted her to know, whichever. It was more likely for her to be dominantly human, but it didn’t change the fact that he had to find her.

Maybe she was there to be hidden in plain sight.

The more he thought about it, the more intrigued he became. This wasn’t just about tying up loose ends anymore. Matthew felt cheated in his own game, and he wanted to find out who it was that had outplayed him.

Who had taken Gabriella right from under his nose and kept her with them.

Because if she was alive and not properly contained, she wasn’t just a survivor, but also a threat. A walking remedy that was also a threat.

“I’m the funniest person I know.” He voiced his thoughts.

Matthew let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

Lucian wanted Matthew to confirm what he had believed to be true, that Gabriella Christensen was dead. But it seemed like Lucian really had some sort of psychic powers after all?

Well, what a drag.

Matthew had to get to Crescent Moon. Had to find her and take her home with him unfailingly.

A slow smile spread across his lips.

He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she realised that she hadn’t escaped her fate after all.

“Wait for me, Gabriella. I’ll be there with you shortly.” He muttered, starting the engine and throwing his used cigarette butts out of the car.