Chapter 197

Seeing Victor with Olivia was agonizing. Without thinking, I ran out of the backdoor and began to walk. I had no destination in mind, but I had to get away from the sight of Olivia taking my place in Victor’s life.

Four blocks later, I reminded myself that Amy and her dad needed me in the kitchen, and I returned to the restaurant. Amy and Mr. Gray tried to act like nothing was wrong.

“Victor was here looking for you,” Amy said as she handed me clean dishes to put away.

Great, I didn’t want him to know I was upset. It would be humiliating for him to know I cared that he was with Olivia.

“What did he want?” I asked.

Amy shrugged. “I guess he wanted to talk to you.”

I could tell she wasn’t telling me everything, but I didn’t want to think about Victor and Olivia anymore that night. I tightly squeezed my eyes closed to try to get the image of them together out of my mind.

The three of us finished our work for the night, and Mr. Gray took us to my apartment.

“Thanks for your help, Daisy,” Mr. Gray said as we climbed out of his pickup truck. “If you ever need a job, let me know.”

“I will,” I promised and gave him a wave before he drove off.

Amy stayed the night with me. It was nice to have her there with me, even if we were too tired to talk.

We rode the bus to the Second Street bus stop the following morning and then walked to school discussing Justin. I didn’t want to talk about Victor. Talking about him made it hurt worse, like trying to walk on a sprained ankle.

However, I decided Amy was right about me staying at our school. I couldn’t leave now. I deserved to graduate after all my hard work over twelve years.

And I now had my best friend to help me through it. Her friendship would make it bearable.

But something had changed since yesterday. Nobody spoke to me at all. There wasn’t one nasty thing said to me or any rude staring either. Weirder still, Wendy and her friends seemed to be avoiding me.

As Amy and I walked to our homerooms, we had no choice but to pass them as they stood talking in the hall. I braced myself for a verbal attack and was surprised when I heard Wendy say, “Let’s get out of here.” And they turned and walked the other way.

The most surprising thing that happened that day was during werewolf history class.

It wasn’t a good idea for me to go to the bathroom without Amy, so I waited until everyone was in class before telling Miss Grant I needed to use the restroom.

She gave me permission, and I made my way to the same bathroom I had been trapped in the previous day. It was empty when I got there, but the memories of the incident were fresh in my mind.

So when I was doing my business in the first stall and heard the door to the hall creak open, panic rippled through me. I finished silently, listening for any danger.

But whoever had come into the bathroom was standing by the sinks, making no noise.

“Please. Not again,” I said, looking upwards as I smoothed my clothes.

Cautiously, I exited the stall and narrowed my eyes when I saw Olivia waiting for me. Maybe she wanted to brag about the good time she had last night with Victor.

I was wrong.

“Daisy, I'm sorry about what happened to you yesterday,” Olivia said. “I never should have said those things about you in the cafeteria. What I said wasn’t true, but I honestly didn’t mean to make anything bad happen to you.”

“Okay, thanks.” I shrugged and began washing my hands.

“I’m really sorry. It was a stupid thing to do. I was trying to fit in with the other girls,” she explained. “You know what it’s like at a new school. But I never meant for anything bad to happen to you, and I'm sorry you have suffered because of me.”

“Thanks, Olivia,” I said. “I appreciate your apology.” She seemed sincere. If she was a scammer after Alex’s money, she was a good actress.

She wasn’t done yet. “I told everyone to leave you alone from now on and that none of what happened is your fault. You aren’t an imposter. If anyone bothers you again, please let me know. I will make them stop.”

This conversation was the last thing I expected today. Was Olivia innocent in all this? Maybe William is wrong, and she is the real Alberta Wilson.

She seems like a nice person. Much nicer than I thought. Maybe she would do me another favor. It was worth a try.

“I appreciate your apology and your help with the bullies,” I began. “But there is something even more important that you can do for me.”

“Sure,” she agreed. “If I can do it, I will. What is it?”

“Before you came to Denhurst, I was CEO of Wilson, Inc. and started a new business model,” I said. “It was geared to help the Beta and Omega community while still making a profit for the company.”

She nodded. “Victor mentioned it to me. I think it was nice of you to try to help them. Things are unfair for the Betas in my country too.”

“Did you know I was raised as a Beta?” I asked.

“Yes, I was told about your background and how you came into Alex’s life,” she replied. “It must have been difficult for you.”

I wondered who had been talking about me with her. It seemed like an odd subject for a dinner date, and I couldn’t see Alex telling her about his ex-daughter to his new daughter.

“Unless you have lived as a Beta, you can’t imagine how difficult it is,” I told her. “That’s why I want to help them.”

“What can I do?” Olivia asked.

“Alex wants his daughter to take over the company,” I explained. “When you become CEO, please continue the new business plan. The reports have proven it to be profitable.”

She looked at me sideways and laughed. “Me … running a company? I’d like to help you, Daisy, but I won’t ever be in charge of Alex’s company.”

Then she winked at me. “But don’t worry, I’m sure the CEO will help the Betas.” She gave me a big smile before walking out of the bathroom.

What did that mean! Was she handing over the company to someone like John Cameron? That was my worst fear.

Didn’t she know Alex wanted the company to stay in his family? It was important to him. But if she wasn’t really his daughter, she wouldn’t care. She and her conspirators must be planning on selling it.

That was an outrage! I needed to speak to William. Olivia needed to be stopped before she ruined everything Alex and his ancestors worked so hard to build.

I felt helpless. Nobody would believe me if I told them what I thought was happening. They would think I was jealous of Olivia. But I couldn’t stand by and let it happen. I had to do something.

I began to pace the bathroom. The question had to be answered: Is Olivia Alex’s daughter, or am I?

What if William was wrong? He didn’t have any solid evidence yet. It was possible I wasn’t Alex’s daughter.

But then it struck me for the first time. If I’m not Alberta Wilson, who am I? I am definitely an Alpha. That was for certain.

There weren’t many Alpha babies put up for adoption. And an Alpha baby whose identity was unknown was practically unheard of.

If not for the accident that killed Joanna Wilson and put Alex in a coma, Alberta would never have been lost to her parents.

I must help William with the investigation and find out. I had to know the truth.

Who am I?