CHAPTER 82: A CRACK IN THE SILENCE

Josie

The woman blinked at me with wide eyes, her lips parting just slightly like she didn’t expect me to confront her directly. "I have no idea what you’re talking about," she said, her voice level but strained. "I respect you... a lot... as the Alpha’s future Luna. But I can’t answer questions I don’t know anything about."

I exhaled slowly, pressing my tongue against the inside of my cheek. I hated feeling powerless, hated that I was the omega and she was the one with authority. But I wouldn’t let that show. Not now.

"You’re the easiest person to talk to," I said carefully, slowly, keeping my tone even as I stared her down. "Especially after what happened at the party. But if you decide to get on our nerves..." I let the pause settle, like poison in the air. "It wouldn’t be so good for you."

That landed.

Her back straightened, and I could see the panic flood into her expression.

"I didn’t mean to hide anything," she said quickly. "Varen... he helped me and my children when he didn’t have to. I’m not going to take that for granted. Truly."

I didn’t respond. I waited. Let her talk.

"Michelle used her authority to silence me. She told me if I spoke out, she’d make sure I never found work again. And I believed her. I thought you were outside that night before the video ever started spreading. I did. I just... I didn’t know for sure."

"You stayed silent," I said, my voice colder now. "You should’ve crosschecked the facts. You should’ve spoken up. Instead, you hid like a coward. You’re an Alpha, aren’t you? Start acting like it."

Her jaw trembled, and her shoulders dropped like the weight of the past had finally caught up to her.

"My husband gave me pride," she whispered, eyes glistening. "He was an Alpha. He made people listen. But now he’s dead. And since then... no one looks at me the same. I’m not respected like I used to be. I was afraid. I didn’t want to be hurt like that again."

I stared at her for a long second, and then I sighed. "Be ready to say the truth when the time comes."

She looked up, eyes wide and unsure.

"I want to know who catered that day," I said sharply. "Names. Faces. All of them."

She nodded slowly, like a woman who had finally realized her time of silence was over. "I’ll be there," she said. "For the crown."

That was something.

I spent the next hour pushing every barrier, knocking on every door, summoning every record until I had a complete list of the waiters who worked the night of the party. Each name, each photo, I reviewed with sharp eyes. But one of them... he kept avoiding me.

I noticed him in the hall, quickening his pace the moment he caught sight of me. Like I wouldn’t notice. Like I’d let him disappear.

I clenched my fists. "Guards," I barked. "Do your jobs."

The man tried to run, but he didn’t make it far. They cornered him fast, dragging him back by the arms. He thrashed in their grip, panic blazing through his eyes.

"I didn’t do anything! I swear! Please, please let me go!"

I turned my head for a moment. I hated this. Hated the fear, the screaming. Hated what it said about the world we lived in. But I couldn’t afford to be soft.

I stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. My hand stung from the contact, but I didn’t flinch.

"You have five minutes," I said coldly, "to tell me why you had the guts to spike my mate’s drink. Or are you not afraid of the repercussions?"

His eyes grew impossibly wide. He swallowed hard, lips trembling. "I—I didn’t mean to... I was just following orders! I was—"

A loud crack echoed through the corridor.

I froze.

The man jerked violently before collapsing onto the floor, a pool of red spreading quickly beneath his shirt.

For one awful second, the world stood still. Then everything exploded.

"No!" I gasped, dropping to my knees beside him. "No no no—he was about to talk!"

"Get help!" I screamed, turning toward the nearest guard. "Don’t just stand there! Get the medic—he can’t die!"

"Where’s the shooter?!" another guard shouted.

The corridor erupted with movement as the guards fanned out, trying to find the direction the shot had come from.

I pressed my hands against the wound on his side, but the blood was gushing too fast. "Stay with me, stay with me—don’t you dare die!"

A hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up.

"It was from inside," the guard said grimly. "The shooter’s one of ours."

My heart stopped. "What?"

"The angle—close-range. They had access. They were stationed within our perimeter."

He didn’t need to say more.

It was someone we trusted.

I sat there, hands soaked in blood, unable to process how far this had all gone. How deep this betrayal had cut. Someone had silenced him before he could say a word. Someone who knew what he was about to confess.

"Check every guard that was stationed within this wing," I said through clenched teeth. "I want reports in ten minutes. And find surveillance."

"Yes, Luna."

That was when I heard the footsteps pounding toward me. I looked up just as two shadows blurred into motion.

"Josie!"

Kiel’s voice broke through the madness, and I barely had time to react before his arms wrapped around me. He pulled me to my feet and into his chest, holding me like I might shatter.

"I’m fine," I said hoarsely, but my hands were still shaking.

Varen was there too, his arms wrapping around both of us. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice raw with worry.

"No," I whispered. "Just..."

My throat tightened as I looked down at the blood on my hands.

"Someone killed him before he could talk."

Kiel pulled back enough to look me in the eye. "Who?"

"I don’t know," I whispered. "But whoever it is... they’re close."

The three of us stood there in silence, surrounded by chaos and blood, with only one thought burning in our minds.

Someone was still hiding.

And they were willing to kill to keep their secrets buried.