CHAPTER 154: CHAPTER 154 PIECING TOGETHER THE TRUTH

Ryan’s POV

Draven was a mess. After dealing with Ella and Howard, I’d been working nonstop to find Caroline.My contacts in Maplewood said she hadn’t gone back to her parents’ place, making her disappearance even more confusing.

Nate called earlier, frustrated because Eleanor wasn’t answering his calls or texts. The guy was losing it without his mate.

I strongly suspected Eleanor had taken Caroline on a trip. Caroline’s apartment lease was still active, and she hadn’t resigned. She was too responsible to just vanish without wrapping things up.

But Alpha Draven was too worried to listen to reason. Love really blinds us sometimes. I couldn’t blame him though. My Ruby had been giving me the cold shoulder because of all the drama between Caroline and Draven.

As for Liz, Kyle and I made sure she stayed away from Draven. That crazy woman needed to be handled fast before Caroline came back to more trouble. Liz kept calling Draven nonstop, so Kyle had his sisters look into why she suddenly showed up again. They promised answers by day’s end since Liz’s mom was visiting their salon.

So, we waited. Meanwhile, I had plenty of work to keep me busy.

I was just finishing up the quarterly financial reports when my phone rang.

"Ryan Cole," I answered briskly.

"Ryan, it’s Jace." He was one of our pack sent to Maplewood to dig into Caroline’s past.

"Tell me you’ve got something," I said, sitting up straighter.

"Not exactly what we expected, but definitely interesting," Jace said quietly."I’ve been talking to locals about Caroline. Three years ago, there was a big scandal. She went to the annual masquerade ball in Maplewood and got pregnant with a man she never knew."

My blood ran cold. "Say that again?"

"Yeah, she hooked up with some mystery guy at the ball. No one knew who he was. Her ex, Marcus, was bitter and spread rumors all over town. Apparently, she said she never saw the father’s face because of the masks."

My heart started pounding. "Jace, I need everything on that ball. When exactly was it? Who was there? Any photos, any details at all."

"I’ve already compiled a report. Sending it to your email now," Jace said. "There’s even a photo of her at the ball. She looked stunning, according to everyone I spoke to."

"Jace, you’ve done great work," I said, already opening my email."Stay in Maplewood for now. I’ll be in touch."

As soon as I hung up, my phone rang again. This time it was Alpha Arthur, Draven’s father’s old friend who’d been coordinating the private investigators hired to find the mystery woman from the masquerade ball.

"Beta Ryan, we’ve identified the woman from the ball," he said without preamble. "The investigators have confirmed her identity beyond doubt."

"Let me guess," I said, my voice barely above a whisper as I stared at the photo that had just loaded on my screen. "Caroline Bennett."

There was a pause on the other end. "How did you know?"

"Please send me everything you have," I said. "I’ll come to you right away."

I downloaded the reports, my hands shaking as I pieced together what this meant. The photo in Jace’s report showed Caroline in an elegant mask and gown, looking radiant. The timestamp matched exactly with the night Draven had told me about, the night he attended that masquerade ball in Maplewood, the very same night he met the mysterious woman who’d haunted him for years.

Caroline was that woman. Liam was Draven’s biological son.

"Holy shit," I whispered, leaning back in my chair.

I printed everything and placed it in a folder. I needed to get this information to Draven immediately, but I knew this revelation would rock him to his core. After everything that had happened, learning that Caroline was the woman he’d been searching for and that Liam was truly his blood would completely overwhelm him.

I needed backup. I pulled out my phone and called Kyle, Joseph, and Nate, telling them to drop everything and meet at my house. This wasn’t news to deliver in the office.

Then I headed straight to Draven’s office, not bothering to knock before entering.

"Draven, we need to go to my house right now. It’s an emergency," I said.

He looked up from his computer, his violet eyes narrowing at my tone. "What is it? What happened?" His gaze searched my face. "Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

"I’m not okay," I admitted. "But this isn’t about me. We need to go to my house now. Drop everything."

"Ryan, don’t scare me," Draven said, standing up. "Is it about Caroline? Have you heard something?"

"Yeah, it’s about her, but we can’t discuss this at the office."

"Alright, let’s go," Draven agreed, grabbing his jacket.

"We’ll take my driver. Daniel," I called to the security guard as we passed, "keep monitoring the situation with Howard and his daughter. Don’t let them cause any more trouble."

"Yes, Beta Ryan," Daniel replied with a nod.

In the elevator, Draven studied my face intently. "Alpha Arthur has an urgent report," I explained, giving him just enough information to keep him from demanding answers I wasn’t ready to provide.

"You’re really shaken up," he observed quietly. "I’ve never seen you like this."

"You’ll know everything soon enough," I promised.

We spent the rest of the journey in silence. When we arrived at my house, Alpha Arthur had already set up a video call with Clara on the laptop. Kyle, Joseph, Nate, and Draven all gathered in my living room, none of them having any idea what was about to unfold.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the information I held. This would change everything for Draven and for Caroline, wherever she was.

"I’ve asked you all here because I’ve discovered something that will affect not just Draven, but our entire pack," I began, looking each of them in the eye before focusing on my Alpha. "Draven, do you remember telling me about the woman you met at the masquerade ball three years ago?"

His expression darkened immediately. "What about her?"

I placed the folder on the coffee table and slid it toward him. "We found her."