Chapter 164
Juno’s POV
tand in hand, we headed downstairs to the dining room, where Freya, Scarlett, Bryloch, and Adryx were just arriving. I noticed with amusement that everyone had wet hair and was wearing sweatpants. I wondered if the guys had planned this.
“Perfect timing,” Scarlett said with
a knowing smirk.
We all took seats around the large dining table as staff served delicious meal of roasted chicken, vegetables, and fresh bread. I grabbed food immediately, and for a few blissful minutes, no one spoke.
“So,” Freya said, breaking the companionable silence, “that was some disturbing stuff we found in Helena’s office.”
We all nodded in agreement.
“Those pictures of Helena with the Alpha King were something else,” Scarlett added with a raised eyebrow. ‘Looks like they had some special… preferences.”
Everyone laughed, the tension in the room easing slightly.
“She definitely lived up to the title of ‘mistress,“” Freya commented.
Scarlett’s smile faded. “It’s all pretty sad, when you think about it.”
We fell silent, the weight of our discoveries returning.
“How did your mother ever tolerate Helena?” I asked Augustin, genuinely curious.
He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”
“If I were in your mother’s position,” Freya said, stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork, “I would have made sure Helena ‘disappeared‘ a long time ago.”
We all laughed at her directness.
“I’ve wanted to make Calla disappear multiple times,” Freya continued, “but Quinn wasn’t worth the effort.”
Augustin laughed at that, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
“My father wasn’t worth the effort either,” he admitted. “With what we’re discovering, no one would have blamed my mother if she’d just killed him.”
I placed my hand on his thigh, gently stroking it in comfort.
4
“We need to figure out a lot of things quickly,” I said, redirecting the conversation. “Like why the killer chose to murder Helena in this house instead of her own home.”
Freya raised her hand. “Because Helena’s house was covered in silver on all the windows and doors, she suggested. “The killer needed to get her somewhere with less protection.”
Everyone laughed at Freya’s classroom gesture, but I had to admit her reasoning made sense. Still, something didn’t add
1/3
Chapter 164
- up.
“But that is the Alpha King mother’s house, I pointed out. It should have been heavily guarded.”
Exactly, Augustin agreed.
“So how did the killer manage to attack and kill Helena in a place that should have been so secure?” I asked, the question hanging heavily in the air.
A terrible thought formed in my mind, but I kept it to myself. I would be too damaging to voice without more evidence.
“Maybe we should read her diary,” Scarlett suggested. “That might help us understand what was going on in her head.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, but I couldn’t speak. My suspicion was probably the most likely answer, but I needed to discuss it privately with Augustin first. Making such an accusation publicly could damage the investigation and people’s reputations.
“Augustin, Bryloch said, changing the subject, “what about those letters where Helena was giving money to your half- brother?”
Augustin frowned. “I don’t understand why she would give him money and then warn him to stay away from Goldenvale, lying that I was looking for him.”
“Didn’t your mother ask Helena to help with a plan to overthrow your father?” Bryloch asked.
Augustin shook his head. “By then, I was already Alpha King. It couldn’t have been about that.”
“Maybe it was something else entirely,” Bryloch mused. “What if Helena did have a child?”
We all turned to look at him.
“What if the child died at birth?” he continued. “What if that was the fathers‘ doing, to hide the truth?”
“What do you mean?” Scarlett asked.
“Think about it,” Bryloch explained. “If people found out that Helena was unfaithful to her husband, and that the object of her infidelity is the Alpha King, it would have damaged the Alpha King’s reputation. And with three fathers sharing Helena, the child could have belonged to any of them.”
He paused, letting his words sink in. “What if they killed that baby? It would explain why Helena lived such a lonely life and always seemed sad.”
“And she couldn’t tell anyone because it would destroy her image,” Bryloch continued. “She would lose her right to represent the Ashford family in the elder council.”
“Even if Augustin’s father wanted to, he couldn’t make Helena his Luna,” Bryloch concluded. “The Montalvo bloodline was more noble than the Holbrooke family.”
We all sat in silence, absorbing Bryloch’s theory. It made a disturbing amount of sense.
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll go through Helena’s diary together,” Augustin said firmly.
2/3
Chapter 164
I squeezed his thigh in support, planning to tell him my thoughts once we were back in our room.
“We should continue searching Helena’s office,” Adryx suggested
What’s strange,” Freya pointed out, “Is that for someone who kept records for the elder council, Helena didn’t have a computer. All the letters were photocopies.”
“Maybe someone stole her computer,” Scarlett suggested.
We all looked at each other, realizing this was a valid point.
“There were a lot of locks on her office door and windows,” Adrx noted.
Augustin shook his head. “The killer could have stolen the computer before the murder and locked the office and passage afterward.”
“Let’s stay one more day,” I suggested. “We can go through the files we have, then have the a delta scan everything into the computer.”
Everyone agreed with the plan.
Back in our bedroom, I closed the door behind us, gathering my courage to share my suspicion with Augustin. I hoped he wouldn’t be angry, but he needed to hear what I was thinking about Helena’s murder.
*Be careful, *Seraphine warned in my mind.
I took a deep breath and turned to face Augustin, praying my theory wouldn’t drive a wedge between us.
Chapter Comments
1
POST COMMENT NOW
J
