Chapter 179
Augustin’s POV
In the money transfers, I identified one of the recipients. Ilis name is Fox Larson, and he’s in Verdantla. Unlike the others, he used his actual identy instead of a numeric code.”
“That’s a breakthrough!” Juno sat up, excitement in her eyes. “We finally have a real lead. After all these weeks of chasing shadows, we have an actual marke
and location.”
‘I think Eliza has been helping them hide their tracks all this time, I added. She must have missed this one transaction.”
“I suspected as much,” Juno nodded, her expression hardening. But we didn’t have proof before. That little snake–f knew she couldn’t be trusted. All this time pretending to be so helpful while undermining us behind our backs.”
‘I’m going to move on this immediately,” I said, determination in my voice. “Tomorrow, we’ll arrest Fox Larson and interrogate him. He might lead us to the
others.”
“No,” Juno interrupted, shaking her head firmly. “Don’t arrest him yet. Have him watched instead. We need to be smarter about this.”
I frowned. “Why wait? We finally have a solid lead.”
“Because surveillance might lead us to more conspirators,” she explained, “We need to widen our net. If we arrest him now, we alert the others. Fox Larson doesn’t know that we’ve caught Eliza and her handler. We can use that to our advantage.”
She leaned closer, her eyes bright with intensity. “According to Eliza’s information, they’re planning something during the competition when security will be lighter. We should use Eliza as bait to draw out the others. Make them think she’s still free and working for them.”
“I don’t trust Eliza,” I said flatly. ‘She’s proven herself disloyal. How can we rely on her for something this important?”
“We don’t need to trust her,” Juno countered, her voice confident. “We just need to use her selfishness. She’ll sell out anyone to reduce her own punishment. She didn’t join them out of conviction–she joined out of spite because you never returned her feelings. That makes her manipulable. She’ll do what benefits herself most.
“What about Mira?” I asked, referring to Eliza’s handler. “Should we use her too?”
‘She’s not suitable for this. Keep her locked up,” Juno advised, shaking her head. ‘She’s too committed to the cause. But once word gets out that we have Eliza, the rebels will have to deal with her directly. They’ll be forced to make contact, and that’s when we’ll catch them.”
I nodded, impressed by her plan. “We can make this work. Let’s do it your way. I’ll have Bryloch arrange the surveillance first thing tomorrow.”
Juno yawned, exhaustion finally catching up with her. I gently pushed her to lie down, and she rested her head on my chest, falling asleep almost instantly.
I watched her sleep, noting how tired she truly was. My thoughts drifted to what she’d said about Azalea Gray and the elders‘ plot.
It’s time to cut the elders‘ power, I decided. They’ve caused enough damage.
Next day, I woke up to the soft morning light filtering through the curtains. Turning my head, I found Juno still sound asleep beside me.
She’d been working herself to exhaustion these past few days. Between planning the competition, investigating the traitors, and dealing with her pregnancy, she barely had time to breathe. I gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, careful not to wake her. The dark circles under her eyes concerned me.
‘Sleep, Berry,” I whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before sliding out of bed.
I didn’t want her getting sick. Pregnancy already took a toll on her body, and adding exhaustion to the mix wasn’t good for her or our child. I grabbed my
to the dining room. phone and texted the kitchen staff, ordering them to prepare breakfast and bring it to our bedroom. Juno needed to rest, not rush
After a quick shower, 1/dressed for the day, glancing back at my sleeping mate. She hadn’t moved an inch, confirming just how tired she truly was. I closed the bedroom door quietly behind me and headed downstairs to the dining room.
1/2
Chapter 179
When I arrived at the dining room, I found only Brylach and Adrys already costed and eating breakfast. They both locked up al
“Morning,” I greeted, taking my usual seat,
Is Juno still resting?‘ Adrys asked, battering a piece of toast.
I nodded. ‘She’s completely exhausted. I ordered breakfast to be brought to our room so she
can sleep in
Bryloch chuckled. The ladies must have worked themselves to death yesterday. Scarlett was the same way
“Breakfast is going to be boring without our soon to be wives,‘ I said, reaching for the coffee pot. “They bring a certain energy to the room that I’ve gen accustomed to.”
Adryx nodded in agreement. ‘Freya practically collapsed when she got back to our room last night. I don’t think she even managed to change her clothes before she was snoring.”
‘Scarlett walked in and face–planted on the bed,” Bryloch added with a fond smile. She begged me not to wake her up even if the manor was burning down. Her exact words were Let me burn in peace if it means I can sleep five more minutes.”
His expression darkened slightly. “I’m starting to wonder if that Saskia is dumping all the work on our ladies. She was hired to help, not to make them work harder.”
I shook my head, taking a sip of my coffee. “I don’t think Saskia’s the problem. Our women are just used to handling everything themselves. They don’t know how to delegate. Juno especially, she insists on reviewing every detail personally.”
“I’ve arranged for the staff to serve Juno in our room,” I told them. “They all need the rest. We can’t have them falling ill right before the competition and wedding. Perhaps we should suggest they take today to recover.”
We finished our breakfast quickly, each of us eager to start the day despite the early hour.
I have some good news,” I said as I set down my coffee cup. “Yesterday I managed to track down one of the payment recipients in Verdantia.
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