Chapter 140SILVIA We'd released her due to lack of concrete evidence, but I'd never forgiven her. I'd carried that hatred in my heart for six long years, blaming her for taking my child away from me. And now I was learning that the real killer had been standing right in front of me, playing the role of the grieving ex-lover while she destroyed my family from within."You should have seen how pathetic he looked," Sophia had continued on the phone, apparently enjoying reliving Riley's final moments. "Crying for his daddy, begging me not to hurt him. It almost made me feel sorry for him. Almost."I'd forced myself to step away from the door then, my legs trembling with the effort of staying upright. I'd stumbled down the hallway in a daze, my mind struggling to process what I'd just learned. Sophia was a murderer - not just of Riley, but of my own daughter. She'd been part of my family for years, I liked her when she dated my son, although I was one of the underlying factors that cause
Chapter 139: The Realization SILVIAI stood motionless in the hospital parking lot, watching my son's taillights disappear into the darkness as he drove toward the forest. The weight of what I had overheard earlier in the hallway pressed down on my chest like a physical burden, which in turn made every breath that I took feel labored and painful. My hands were still shaking from the shock of it all, but I forced myself to take a deep breath and clench my fists until my nails bit into my palms, spilling blood. There would be time to fall apart later. Right now, I had work to do.I turned back toward the hospital entrance, my mind already shifting into the calculated mode I'd perfected over decades of pack politics and social maneuvering. The performance I was about to give would require every ounce of acting ability I possessed, but I'd been playing roles my entire life. This one just happened to matter more than most.The hallway leading to Sophia's room felt endless as I walked b
Chapter 138: The Light In The WoodsXENOISSilvia reached out and placed her hand on my cheek, a gesture that should have been comforting but somehow felt more like goodbye. My eyes narrowed at her at this. Was something going on?I wanted to open my mouth to ask her more but she stopped me."I'm here now," she said simply. "I'll take Sophia home tonight. You should go.""Go where?""To the woods. To find the truth about what happened to Riley." Her eyes met mine directly for the first time since she'd arrived, and I saw something odd that has never been there before. Almost like she was seeing everything from a new viewpoint."The person who needs you most right now isn't in this hospital, Xenois. Riley needs his father."I felt something cold settle in my stomach at her words. "What do you mean? Riley is... the rogues took him. We don't even know if he's...""Go," she interrupted, her voice gaining strength as she pushed me back with her hand as she continued speaking. "Trust me. G
Chapter 137: The Broken Matriarch XENOISI paced the hospital corridor, frantically like I was a caged wolf, my feet walking up and down the familiar linoleum flour as my mind kept on going and thinking up worst-case scenarios. Every few minutes I'd check my phone, hoping for some miracle update from the search teams , but the screen remained blank which was one of the things frustrating my life at the moment Were all my men incompetent or was this something stranger. There has been absolutely no calls, no texts, no sign that anyone had found even the smallest clue about where Riley might be. This was killing me slowly.Not just that, the silence from Lumina was eating at me. I'd tried calling her three times in the past hour, needing to hear her voice, needing to know if there had been any change in Ollie's condition. I needed her to know that even if I wasn't rushing there quickly because of this Riley situation, my thoughts were still on them and this wasn't a pick who was more
Chapter 136: The Lifeline THORNE "Don't touch it!" Carol snapped, hitting my hand away from his neck, her eyes were wide with panic as she seemed to be figuring what the bright light meant and from her reaction, it was bad news. "Someone on the other end has figured out that Riley has been drawing on a life force that doesn't belong to him. They're cutting the connection." She said, sounding panicked, as she started squashing some herbs together, trying to form a paste.The necklace was glowing brighter now, hot enough that I could feel the heat radiating from it even from several feet away. The metal was actually beginning to melt, drops of molten silver falling onto Riley's chest and hissing against his skin, but it didn't seem to be burning him,and leaving marks, more like drying up quickly in exposed air."What happens if they succeed in cutting it?" I asked, though I had a terrible feeling I already knew the answer.Carol's face was grim as she began pulling ingredients from
Chapter 135: The Race Against The UnknownTHORNE Today was one of the surreal days in my life. Standing in front of a witch and not ripping her to shreds because she claimed to be the only obstacle standing between Riley and certain death.And in as much as I hated to admit it, even to myself. I needed her help because I don't think the hospital would be able to treat this even if I managed to get him to one on time.Xenois was going to have my head for working with a witch but as long as it meant Riley was safe. I was willing to risk my morality.The woman in front of me didn't seem sinister. Aside from the general scent of what witches smelled like, there was no evil aura or dark energy coming from her.And truly she seemed like she didn't want to fight me because if she wanted to, she would have stopped my heart just by mere breathing. That's how terrifying they were.I let go of Carol as she moved back to the boy, checking up on him as I joined her.I crouched beside Carol as she