Chapter 7: Unexpected Visitation

"What do you mean her memories just disappeared?" Leonardo asked as he received the news of Hazel's amnesia, his eyes glowing a complete gold, showing that his wolf was on the surface.

He had just gotten a call from Dylan upon arriving back in the country. "I was informed by her friends that she lost her memories after not being in school for a week. I think it's suspicious," Dylan explained. "I would have loved to go to her, but I need to take charge of the Alpha's meeting."

"It is indeed suspicious that she suddenly lost her memory, and I think it has to do with the untraceable account as well as Ruby's disappearance. Eric must have found out we are getting close to Hazel and erased her memories as a means to hide his first daughter's whereabouts. I will go straight to the Halton's to check things out," Leonardo offered and got into the waiting car.

"Keep me posted on whatever you find out. I'm still having that account traced; we might be able to find something this time."

Eric was startled as Leonardo stood at the door holding a bouquet. He looked from the expressionless man to the fragrant and colourful bouquet he was holding suspiciously.

"Won't you invite me in?"

Coming back to his senses, Eric opened the door wider and ushered him in. "Please come in. To what do I owe this unexpected visitation?" Eric asked curiously and led Leonardo to his study.

Leonardo looked around the living room in search of Hazel. "I heard from a little birdy that your second daughter lost her memory, so I came to check," he replied with a shrug. "Where is she?"

Eric felt chilled at the coldness in Leonardo's voice. His steps faltered a little, but he soon regained his composure. 

"Alpha Leonardo is truly informed. You already know such news when I've been trying to keep it under wraps," he chuckled nervously.

"It's only normal I keep my eyes on you and your family, and I find it suspicious that your second daughter suddenly lost her memory after meeting me. It makes me feel you are hiding something, something big," Leonardo replied with narrowed eyes. Eric felt he was being read through and sent for his wife to get Leonardo something to drink.

"There is nothing to hide. It was probably as it was reported to you; we did not know how it happened."

Leonardo scoffed and glared at Eric. "You mean you didn't erase your daughter's memories to keep your secret?"

"Why would I do such a thing?" Eric asked in surprise. He was a lot of things but never would he have dreamed of hurting any of his daughters. "She suddenly screamed from her sleep, thrashing around with a high temperature, and then she went back to sleep, only for her to sleep for a week and wake up without her memories. That was really what happened!" Eric explained.

"What do you take me for? A fool? How the fuck will she sleep in the safety of her goddamn room and then wake up with her memories gone? What the fuck did you do to her?!" Leonardo growled, already losing his patience from beating around the bush.

"I… I didn't do anything to her! She's my daughter. Why would I hurt her?!" Eric stammered, fearing for his life. "I don't know what is wrong with her!"

"Bullshit! You erased her memory, didn't you? Do you have something to hide? My men found out you have been funding an untraceable account. It's Ruby's, right? You got scared that she would spill your secret, and you erased her memories?" Leonardo probed, wanting to get to the bottom of the matter.

"I wasn't funding Ruby! I haven't seen or heard from her since she ran away!" Eric explained in haste, knowing how unreasonable Leonardo gets when he is angry or impatient. "I swear I am not funding Ruby, and I don't know where she is! The untraceable account is for the investigator I employed."

"What are you trying to hide then? Why are Hazel's memories gone then? It just doesn't make sense that her memory is gone just like that!" Leonardo seethed. He was on the verge of losing his rationality.

"She woke up in the middle of the night screaming and in pain. All her surroundings were so hot, and it burned that I couldn't even approach her, and then he injected her with something," Amanda spilt, and Lorenzo went stiff at the mention of Hazel being injected.

He was truly trying his best to hold back from killing the shorter man before him. He wouldn't want Hazel to hate him for killing her father. But not only was the man hiding a thief; he would even dare to touch his mate.

"Amanda!" Eric yelled, trying to stop his wife from explaining further. His eyes glared daggers at her for her betrayal, and he shrank back into himself when he noticed the deadly look on Leonardo's face.

"What was she injected with?" Leonardo asked, urging her to continue her explanation.

"I don't know. I've never seen it before, and he refused to tell me what it is or where he got it from. Will my daughter be okay?" she asked.

Lorenzo ignored her question and asked one of his own, "And then what happened after she was injected?"

"The heat stopped, and she passed out. She didn't wake up until a week later. We called the doctor, and they said there was nothing physically wrong with her, and the amnesia was caused by her long sleep, but I know that's just a lie. The injection must have done something to her. Please help my daughter. I don't want to lose her," Amanda sobbed, kneeling in front of him, pleading.

Leonardo turned back to Eric, bringing a cigarette to his mouth. "Start talking. I have no time to entertain your lies, Eric. What was the substance she was injected with? Where did you get it?" he questioned.

Eric remained silent as he glared at his wife across the room. His hands clenched by his side in defiance. How could he open his mouth to tell him that he had injected her with it out of desperation but didn't know what it was made of?

'If I was told such an excuse, I wouldn't believe it myself,' telling Lorenzo that would only get him into more trouble.

"It's not the first time she lost her memories, and you know it, Amanda! Why would you blame it on the injection? It could have been triggered by anything, and the injection was just a coincidence, you stupid woman!" He directed his aggression at his wife, wanting nothing more than to scream across her face.

"What do you mean it's not the first time she lost her memories?" Leonardo asked, his aura turning deadly cold as he stared down the couple. Amanda shrank back in fear, her instinct telling her to get as far away from the angry man as possible.

"Answer my fucking question before I send either of you straight to a coma," he threatened angrily.

"It was three years ago when she was first kidnapped, and she was returned to us without paying any ransom. She was also physically okay, but she had lost her memories. Since then, she did not remember her sister," Eric sighed and explained. He stood up from where he had been sitting, wiped off the blood stains on his mouth, and walked to his drawer to bring out a photo album.

He handed it to Leonardo and continued explaining. "It was surprising because the only person she couldn't remember was Ruby. They were both so close and inseparable at the time. She also didn't remember how, when, or who kidnapped her. She didn't remember the whole kidnap thing. It was unnerving, but we all decided that we wouldn't talk about it with her," he continued.

Leonardo flipped through the pages of the album, his eyes skimming through several pictures of a younger Hazel.

"She lost weight," he pointed out, holding up a picture of a bony-looking Hazel.

"After she returned, she started drying up, literally. The doctors couldn't find the cause, and we had to hope for miracles. She ate more and did everything she could, but the condition continued until a man showed up. He didn't drop a name or any contact information, and he treated her for a small price and gave me the injection to use on her when something abnormal happens," he sighed heavily, massaging his nose bridge as he continued.

"It was suspicious, I know. The man never answered any of my questions, and he even warned me not to trust him, which was why I hid the injection for so many years, hoping that there would never come a day when I would need to use it," he explained, feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

Leonardo took his time to swallow the information he had gotten, his brow knitted together in a frown at how much his mate had gone through without him by her side.

"It was also the same time Ruby disappeared, correct?" Leonardo asked.

"It was, and I've searched if there is a relation between those two events. I couldn't find anything. I've been looking for Ruby and also the kidnappers, and that's why I paid so much money to the investigator. The kidnapping event from three years ago was strange and unsettling, and I know something happened to Hazel back then, but until we find the kidnappers, we can't find what happened," Eric clarified.

"Leonardo?" a small cautious voice called out from behind him.