Chapter 96: Searching for the Truth
Chapter 96: Searching for the Truth
(Aria’s POV)
“Miss Summers, is something wrong?” Luna Thornton asked, her elegant features creasing with concern,
I quickly composed myself, forcing my expression into something resembling normalcy. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain she could hear it.
“Luna Thornton, I’m really sorry, but that bracelet is so important to me, I must find it…” I hesitated before taking the leap. “Would you allow me to see the surveillance video from the day of the territorial gathering?” “Surveillance?” Luna Thornton’s eyebrows shot up, clearly not expecting such a direct request.
I held her gaze, trying not to appear as desperate as I felt. The seconds stretched between us like an eternity. My palms were sweating now. This was my only chance to discover what happened that night.
After what seemed like forever, Luna Thornton pursed her lips and nodded. “Alright, Miss Summers, come
with me.
Relief flooded through me, making my knees weak. “Thank you, Luna Thornton.”
The elegant pack matriarch led me through the mansion’s winding corridors. Each step brought me closer to the truth – a truth I both craved and feared. What if I discovered something terrible? What if my worst fears were confirmed?
We entered a small, dimly lit room filled with monitors. A security wolf nodded respectfully to Luna Thornton before stepping aside.
“Show Miss Summers the footage from the territorial gathering last month, Luna Thornton instructed.
My fingers clenched nervously as the footage began playing. There I was, entering the grand hall in my emerald dress, looking so innocent and unaware.
The camera captured Richard Reed’s cold stare following me from across the room. I watched him approach, his face twisted with contempt as he berated me publicly. My stomach turned at the memory.
from a passing waiter shortly after. I My past self looked shaken, accepting the glass of wolf–whiske flinched as I watched myself drink it, now almost certain it contained moonberry extract.
The effects were visible almost immediately. My movements became unsteady, my expression disoriented. A waiter – not one I recognized – approached and helped me out of the hall.
And then… nothing. The camera didn’t follow us beyond the main gathering space.
“What about other areas?” I asked urgently, my voice rising. “The corridor outside the hall, and the guest lounge?”
Luna Thornton smiled apologetically. “We don’t have surveillance in those areas, especially not in the pri guest lounges.”
My heart plummeted. Without this footage, how could I ever know what truly happened? Who had taken advantage of me that night? My hands trembled with frustration and fear.
Chapter 96. Searching for a
Miss Summers?” Luna Thorton’s volce broke through my spiraling thoughts. Are you alright?
Iforced a smile that felt brittle on my face. I’m fine. Luna Thornton, may I visit the quest lounge to look
around?”
She hesitated briefly, her amber eyes studying my face. “Of course, I’ll take you there.”
We walked in silence through the mansion’s elegant corridors. With each step, fragments of that night began resurfacing in my memory – disjointed images that hadn’t been clear until now. Cold sweat formed on my brow as partial memories flickered through my mind.
1
The guest lounge came into view, its door slightly ajar. I stepped inside, and immediately more details flooded back, hitting me in waves of nauseating clarity.
The plush bed where I’d been laid down. The heavy scent of moonberry and wolf–whiskey in the air. The feel of unfamiliar hands on my skin. My heart raced violently as the memories intensified.
I moved through the room in a daze, pretending to search for my bracelet while really trying to piece together what had happened. My fingers traced the edge of the bed, and suddenly I remembered being pushed down
onto it.
The memories were becoming clearer, triggered by being in this space again. I remembered being pressed down against my will, heavy breathing against my neck, aggressive hands gripping my arms. My wolf cowered within me at the memory.
A flashback hit me so vividly I nearly collapsed – the male’s scent, powerful but completely unfamiliar. Not Alexander. Not anyone I knew.
My wolf whimpered anxiously within me as the chilling realization struck. The male who had been with me that night hadn’t been Alexander. The scent was wrong, the touch unfamiliar, the strength overwhelming.
The truth hit me like a physical blow- the pup I carried wasn’t Alexander’s.
I clutched the edge of a nearby table, my knuckles turning white. Terror gripped me as questions swirled through my mind. Who was the father? Was it someone Richard Reed had arranged to be there? A stranger chosen to create this exact situation?
My hand instinctively moved to my belly, protecting the innocent life growing there. My wolf, despite her distress, remained fiercely protective of our pup. But my rational mind raced with horrifying implications. What if there was a recording of the assault? What if Claire or Richard intended to release it after my mate bond severance was finalized? The scandal would destroy not only my reputation but potentially harm my unborn pup as well. I felt sick at the thought.
The sharp ring of my mobile phone cut through my spiral of fear. Dominic’s name flashed on the screen. My hand shook as I answered.
“Hello?” I tried to sound normal, but my voice cracked.
“Where are you?” His voice was calm but carried an undercurrent of concern. “Olivia said you weren’t shopping with her. Why did you lle?”
My carefully constructed composure crumbled instantly. Tears burst forth, streaming down my face as sobs shook my body violently. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe properly.
“Aria?” Dominic’s voice grew increasingly urgent. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?”
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Chapter 96 Searching for
I couldn’t articulate the turmoil within me. The shame and fear were too overwhelming, choking my words before they could form How could I tell him? How could I tell anyone?
“Please talk to me,” Dominic pleaded, his powerful Alpha presence normehow reaching through the phone. “Tell me where you ate. I’ll come to you.”
“I miss my mother,” I managed between sobs. If only she were here. She would know what to do. She would hold me and tell me everything would be okay, even if it wouldn’t.
I continued crying, releasing the emotions I’d been suppressing since discovering Claire’s scheme, since learning about my brother’s betrayal, since suspecting the truth about my pup. The tears flowed endlessly, my chest aching with each sob.
After several minutes, I became aware of traffic sounds in the background of the call. The realization hit me through my grief.
“Are you driving?” I asked, wiping furiously at my face.
“Yes,” Dominic confirmed, “I’m trying to find you. Are you feeling better now? What happened? Where are you?” I glanced around the guest lounge, the scene of my violation. Luna Thornton had tactfully stepped outside to give me privacy, but I knew I couldn’t stay here much longer. This room suddenly felt suffocating, the walls closing in on me.
Though still deeply distressed, I recognized that I needed to face my situation head–on. The pup I carried – a pup that might not be Alexander’s, that might have been conceived through deception and assault- represented a ticking time bomb in my life.
Despite the growing bond I felt with the unborn life within me, my wolf increasingly protective and nurturing, I had to acknowledge the harsh truth: this pup would enter the world shrouded in shame and uncertainty.
It would never be accepted by any pack, would be forever tainted by the circumstances of its conception. The stigma would follow both of us forever. It would be called terrible names, excluded and ostracized. What kind of life would that be?
Silver Moon Estate blurred through my tears as I made the painful decision – despite how much I had come to love the tiny life growing inside me, I would have to terminate the pregnancy.
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