CHAPTER 469: A GREAT PERFORMANCE

Evaline:

The strangest part about discovering a possible mole in Kieran’s team was how easily the next morning pretended nothing had happened.

Sleep had not come to me peacefully. I remembered lying awake between Kieran and Oscar, feeling their breaths, their warmth, their arms wrapped around me... but the shadows of our findings lingered. And yet, when dawn finally bled through the curtains, they all woke as if our world hadn’t tilted dangerously on its axis just hours ago.

If this was how they wanted to play it, I was more than happy to follow.

We had a late breakfast in the vast dining room, late morning sunlight warm on the table, the clinking of cutlery almost offensively normal. The staff moved around with polite bows, their expressions unreadable, but I noticed more eyes lingering on me now.

Half of them personally witnessed my "meltdown". And the other half had learned about it from the first.

Good. Because it saved us the trouble of explaining.

After breakfast, we headed toward the living room, and Oscar subtly nudged my shoulder as a reminder.

It was showtime.

The first thing I did was to call Draven’s number, and with each unanswered call, I pretended to get angry.

After fifth try, I threw my phone on the couch and exhaled dramatically, pitching my voice loud enough to travel across the hallways for any prying ears, and planted my hands on my hips. Oscar crossed his arms and stared me down with an exasperation so authentic that if I didn’t know him, I would have thought he meant it.

"I’m telling you now, Oscar," I snapped, "I’m not apologizing to Draven. He can stay wherever he wants. I’m done chasing him."

Conversation among the nearby staff quieted instantly.

Oscar raised a brow. "I know you are angry, love. But you didn’t exactly hold back your words that day. You both need to calm down-"

"I don’t care." I tossed my hair with regal annoyance I absolutely did not feel. "He thinks he’s right? Fine. Let him stay away the entire holidays for all I care. I hope he realizes how wrong he is and begs me on his knees when he returns."

One of the maids gasped softly. Perfect.

Oscar let out a long, dramatic breath. "You two are impossible."

Kieran and River appeared in the hallway, playing their roles beautifully - River with the stern alpha disapproval, Kieran with the slightly amused older-brother exasperation. Both were careful with their expressions, but the mate bonds betrayed the amusement rolling under their skin.

The performance lasted only a few more lines, but by the time we finished, the room was buzzing. We didn’t need the staff to spread rumors purposely. They would do it on their own.

We needed a story to not only explain Draven’s sudden absence, but also my collapse upon my return to estate.

Smartly, the brothers made sure to keep their emotions sealed within the walls of their home to not let anyone notice anything had gone wrong over the past couple of days.

When the last servant drifted away, Oscar leaned close and whispered in my ear, "You deserve an award."

I smirked. "I know."

River placed a hand on my waist as we walked out, stepping into the front garden where Lioren was soaking in the warmth of sunlight. "Convincing performance."

Oscar slid his arm across my shoulders, voice low, warm. "If I didn’t know the truth, I had think you and Draven actually had a lovers’ quarrel."

I elbowed him softly. "Don’t make me add you to my list."

His chuckle rumbled through me.

- - -

Jasper was the only one outside the four of us and the two healers who knew the actual situation. I met him briefly in the hallway that noon before he left the estate for one of his "errands." He bowed his head to me respectfully, his expression calm but eyes sharp.

Though we wanted to not involve many people, we had no choice as there were way too many things needed to be taken care of. And Jasper was loyal. Was he the only one? That was the real question.

The possibility of a mole in Kieran’s team cast a shadow over every hallway, every passing guard, every casual greeting. Anyone could be hiding a knife behind a smile. Even River and Oscar were doing a thorough investigation of their own teams and the staff at the estate to make sure everyone was clean and could be trusted.

Later that afternoon, before the sun dipped too low, I traveled to Lakeshire Town to meet Rowan.

The town’s crisp air felt cleaner than the estate’s heavy tension-filled atmosphere, and seeing Rowan waiting outside the flower shop almost made my shoulders loosen.

"Eva," he called, relief softening his features. "You look... better."

I offered him a smile. "I have been trying."

He hugged me gently, pulling away to study me with those perceptive elder-brother eyes.

"Did you find anything new?" he asked.

My breath left me in a slow exhale. "Yes. And no. But I found... enough."

We walked behind the store, away from crowd. Rowan crossed his arms, waiting patiently.

"Lyra," I started quietly. "Did she ever mention anything about some black veins to you? Or... strange marks on her body before her incident? Did you saw anything like that on her?"

My words confused him for a moment, but before I could elaborate, his expression shifted.

He stiffened and his eyes widened. "Actually, she did." He swallowed. "Though she didn’t say it’s... veins, she did tell me she had a weird bruise on her chest. Like... a dark mark. She was irritated by it because she didn’t know how she ended up getting it."

My pulse quickened. "When?"

"I think... it was the evening before her incident."

That confirmed everything.

"But how come you learned about it? Is there anything unusual about that mark?" He asked, noticing the shift in my expression at his confirmation.

I told him about the black veins I saw on Draven. About the screenshot and those same black veins being mentioned in the original report. About the missing page in the report we just went through yesterday. And finally... about the possibility of a mole.

At this point, I held nothing back from Rowan. He was the person who had always known all my deep, dark secrets from the very day I arrived at Silver Moon and started the second Chapter of my life. And nearly a year later, he’s still the one who knew everything about me.

I expected panic. Or disbelief.

Instead, Rowan’s jaw clenched. "So someone knew."

"Or someone didn’t want us to know," I corrected softly.

He dragged a hand through his hair. "Eva... be careful. If there’s a mole in even Kieran’s team, that means whoever is behind these incidents has eyes everywhere."

I nodded. "I know. That’s why we are pretending everything is normal."

"Good." He looked at me, his eyes heavy with worry. "Just... don’t disappear on me too."

I hugged him tightly. "I won’t. I promise."

We talked for a few more minutes before we had to part ways as it was getting late.

Later that night, after I kissed my son a sweet ’good night’, I headed to my room to shower and change into pajamas.

The brothers were in the study at that time, but when I stepped out of the bathroom several minutes later, I found all three of them in my bedroom.

Kieran stood with his back against the window, his arms crossed. He turned to face me when he felt my presence.

"I have handed the task of checking with the victims’ closed-ones to Mark," he updated me. "He needs a day to verify with each family. But he’ll get the answers."

Oscar lounged on the edge of the bed, tension running through every line of him. "With Rowan’s confirmation, it’s already confirmed that the black veins are involved this time as well. But let’s wait for Mark’s report."

River was pacing, his hands behind his back, and his face calm as always.

I leaned against the headboard, watching all three.

It was frightening how quickly this had turned from a mystery into a hunt.

And still, somehow, they made sure I felt safe - protected - even when the world around us was anything but.

River stopped pacing and looked at me. "We’ll handle everything. Just keep doing what you are doing. Stay normal. Stay close."

Oscar winked. "And keep acting like Draven offended you deeply."

Kieran smirked and then added to my surprise. "Maybe add some tears next time."

I threw a pillow at both of them.

But despite the humor, the truth hung thick in the air:

A mole existed.

Someone had altered official records.

Someone had hidden information that could have changed a lot of things.

And now... that someone was being hunted by us.

I exhaled shakily.

Normal days...?

Not a chance.

But pretending?

That, at least, we could do.

For now.