Chapter 5

Miranda's Point of View

I squinted my eyes as I looked at his unconscious father, wondering what help he could be to us. I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself, so I voiced them out.

"I'm sorry to say this, but your father is clearly powerless right now. There's no way he can help us."

Vincenzo chuckled lightly. "Powerless? No. He has all the power in the palm of his hand."

"What do you mean?" I'm confused.

"The Alpha's seal," he said, hoping I'd understand, but my confusion only seemed to increase, so he went on, explaining clearly. "Only when you have the Alpha's seal can you be fully Alpha. But Lorenzo currently doesn't have it, because only my father knows its whereabouts. And as you can see, Lorenzo and his backers are only keeping him alive because of the seal."

"Hm." I nodded slowly as I was briefly deep in thought. "Since you know your father can help you take out Lorenzo, why haven't you rescued him all these years?"

He raised his brows as he exhaled.

"It's not easy to snatch a prisoner from Lorenzo. Look..." He pointed at a CCTV camera glaring at his father. "...I believe you know what that is. Lorenzo is watching him every second of the day, and rescuing him recklessly is like handing myself to him for crucifixion."

I nodded in understanding but gasped loudly when a thought crossed my mind.

"There's a CCTV camera. Doesn't that mean he'll know that we came here?"

"No, we're out of shot." I sighed, then he continued. "If I'm to rescue my father from here, I'd need someone I trust to be in Lorenzo's study and help me delete the scene—or even turn the camera off."

"Right."

I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't realize he was staring at me until he cleared his throat to get my attention.

"What?" I asked.

"I believe we have the same goal."

"Yes. Why?"

"Since we share the same goal, would you like to work together with me to bring down our common enemy?" he asked.

"Er..."

"Don't be scared of getting caught, because you will be working in the shadows. Nobody will know we're in this together," he assured me.

"Really?" I asked, my eyes fixed on the seer as I stared suspiciously at him.

"Oh, don't worry about him. He won't say a word. He's on our side," Vincenzo replied.

It all made sense now. In my previous life, when Lorenzo ordered the seer to burn me alive, he stopped listening to Lorenzo the moment Vincenzo came. I didn't know they were on the same side then.

"Fine, I'll help you. But... I have a condition."

"What's your condition?"

"This might sound crazy, but I had a dream that Lorenzo and Mia are going to frame me in three months. Are you sure we can take Lorenzo down before then?"

"A dream?" Vincenzo asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah."

"Do you believe in dreams so much?" he asked.

I sighed, getting a bit frustrated at his too many questions. "It's more than a dream!"

Seeing my expression, he nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry. I assure you that they won't have the opportunity to frame you. I'll make sure that dream remains a dream," his tone firm and reassuring.

Just then, I remembered the prophecy. "You've read about the prophecy, right?"

He nodded.

"According to the prophecy, Lorenzo wasn't supposed to be my mate. How then did we end up becoming mates? Aren't you bothered by that?" I asked.

"I'm bothered. Maurice..." He gestured at the seer. "...has tried to find out why you became his mate, but he hasn't gotten anything yet."

Right at that moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I reached for it and realized it was Lorenzo calling.

"Your mate telepathy doesn't work?" the seer asked. This is the first time he's spoken since we came here.

"No. We've never communicated through mate telepathy," I replied.

He set his lips in a thin line and nodded slowly, as though deep in thought. "I guess it's because you're not originally mates," he said.

I couldn't help but nod in agreement. Thinking about it now, throughout my previous lives until now, Lorenzo and I had never used our mate bond like other mates do. For example, mates are supposed to feel each other's pain and emotions, but I don't feel any of his. I'm sure he doesn't feel mine, too.

"Miranda," Vincenzo nudged me gently. "You should take that." He pointed at my phone that was still vibrating.

I nodded as I answered the phone. "Hey."

"Hey, darling. Where are you?" Lorenzo's voice came from the other side.

Maybe my ears were playing tricks on me, but I heard Vincenzo growl lowly in disapproval when Lorenzo called me darling. I took a quick glance at him, only to see his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes, which made him look so much like a jealous mate. What a dummy I was. How come I didn't notice his jealousy in my previous lives? I guess I was just too in love and deeply invested in Lorenzo.

"It's been two hours since I got home from the meeting and I can't find you." Lorenzo's voice pulled me back to reality. "Claire said you went to the orphanage. Are you still there? Should I come get you?"

"No," I answered quickly—in fact, too quickly.

"No?" Suspicion underlined his tone. "Why?"

I closed my eyes as I inhaled deeply. "I'm already on my way back," I lied.

"You know how worried I get when you're not near me," he said.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his blatant lie. Worried, indeed!

"I want to see you in ten minutes, or I'll come get you myself."

"But the orphanage is quite far from our home. I'll be home in twenty minutes," I negotiated, hoping he'd agree.

He stayed silent for a moment, then hummed in response and hung up. I faced Vincenzo and the seer—maybe I should be addressing him by his name now, Maurice.

"We'll find time to talk and plan our next move."

"Yeah. You should leave before your darling finds out you were not at the orphanage," Vincenzo replied. He sounded upset as he emphasized the your darling part.

Ignoring his words, I said, "Do you guys expect me to walk this dark tunnel alone?"

Vincenzo inhaled deeply. "Let's go." He led the way, still sulking.

I waved Maurice goodbye, then rushed after Vincenzo, who's almost out of sight.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he replied moodily. Not wanting to provoke him further, I followed silently.

>>>>>

>Alpha's Mansion<

"Phew!" I breathed in relief when I reached the main door of Lorenzo's mansion. I checked my wristwatch and realized it was only a fourteen-minute walk from the seer's lair.

I pushed the door open and stepped in, but I hissed quietly as I bumped into something. I raised my h

ead and saw Lorenzo glaring at me. He looked so angry.

"I..."

"What were you doing with my brother?!" he asked coldly.

Oh, no!