Semua Bab The Trapped Heiress: Bab 121 - Bab 130

“Yes, Alpha.” Talon answered.“She gave me all the information, and I never read it.” Noah’s hand closed over his mouth. “She sent me the evidence, exactly what I needed at that time. She had done my job for me, and she put it in my hands.”“And Miss Hamilton did have everything investigated.”“And I let her down," Noah said, his voice shaking.He sat for a long time without speaking.Talon, who had learned long ago, stood motionless by the window. The lamplight threw long shadows across the floor.What have I done? Noah thought.He remembered Laurel coming to the company and telling him that she wanted to talk to him, but he had thrown accusations after accusations and slapped her in front of the entire office and disrespected her. She wanted to explain herself, but he had shut her out and had her thrown out of her own company because he was jealous of Wyatt Jacobs, as his wife shared her problems with him but not with him, her mate. Yet she had sent the evidence to him before leavi

There it is; it was perfectly done. A mother, gracious and sincere, thanked the wife for her generosity. Every word was polite, and every word was expertly placed like a knife’s blade to wound her.Laurel almost admired it.Is the whole family trained for this? She wondered, do they rehearse? She could see exactly what the woman was doing, gloating and establishing in front of the wife how long and deep the Hamiltons' connections to Knights go. And Sherry, propped on her pillows, was watching with bright, hungry eyes.I am too tired for this.She withdrew her hand and smiled with perfect serenity.“Mrs. Hamilton, my husband naturally looks after Sherry; she was injured in our territory. It would be strange if he didn’t.” Her voice was light and pleasant. “I told Alpha Hamilton the very same thing. And why would I mind?” She turned her eyes to Sherry and gave a small, warm, utterly impersonal smile. “Sherry is like a sister to my husband.”The word fell into the room like a pebble in a

Brighthaven City HallIt was the largest building in the city and the most magnificent, a vast sweep of pale stone, with soaring pillars and a dome that caught the light of the moon shinning above it. Great bronze lanterns burned along the steps, lightening gold beams across the marble. Searchlights stroked the sky as it was heavily guarded. A long line of black cars crawled up the drive, ushering the passengers in, who passed through the tall doors and vanished into the light.The city hall was surrounded by the small hills.They raised in low, dark hedges on every side, covered in old, twisted trees, on the nearest slope, just beyond the lawns stood, the ruins broken and rumbling. They were the most famous archaeological site in Brighthaven, and in the daytime, tourists wandered through them with guidebooks and cameras. Tonight, lit from below by hidden floodlights, they seemed to lean toward the building like watchers at a feast.Laurel looked up at them through the car window and

Lula had been assigned a seat at the neighboring table, a pleasant spot, but a little distant from the center of things.But the organizers, who were not fools, had noted two things. First, Madam Lula had arrived in place of the McKinleys, a family of considerable standing, and was clearly acquainted with the Knights; second, the Noah Knight and his wife had walked in with her.So, discreetly, the two tables had been drawn together. A pair of waiters carried Lula’s chair across the floor and set it at Laurel’s right hand.Talon’s seat, on the other hand, sat slightly to one side, a small, respectful distance from the table. It gave him an excellent view of the room.Lula looked at it and at Laurel and gave a little nod of approval.“Sensible,” she murmured.“Very.”They sat down, a waiter came to their table with the champagne, Lula declined with a smile, and Laurel took a glass and held it without drinking.Beyond the open windows, on the hill, the ruins gleamed like old bone.Laurel

“It seems so,” Noah whispered, and for once even he looked stunned. They had known Wyatt was hiding somewhere, but never in their wildest guesses had they expected him to walk into this ballroom. “He is here.”And there he was, rising from a table at the back, calm and composed, in a black suit that fit him perfectly. He walked down the aisle as though he had all the time in the world, heads turned, whispers followed, and Laurel’s breath caught as he climbed the steps and accepted the necklace from the auctioneer’s hands.A prickling sensation crawled up the back of her neck. Wyatt, she thought, panic rising. What are you about to do?The auctioneer passed him the microphone. “A word of thanks, Mr Jacobs?”Wyatt smiled, easy and charming, and the audience relaxed.“Ladies and gentlemen, I thank the auctioneer for presenting me with this necklace. It was a close run, as I had to compete with Mr Noah Knight for it.” Laughter rolled through the hall, and Noah inclined his head with a fai