Chapter 146

[Third-Person’s POV]

How the hell could she have gone to see Isabella? Had she lost her mind?

Alexander couldn’t begin to comprehend his wife’s way of thinking when it came to taking such rash action. He’d practically had to drag her out of the house when it came time to leave for that ridiculous excuse for a dinner party.

Something he deeply regretted doing. Alexander was quick to realize that none of this madness would have taken place if he had only listened to Evelyn. The two of them should have never entertained the idea of going to the Silverwood Estate.

Evelyn had been adamant about not going and he made them—hell, he insisted on it! Even when he knew the horrible things Isabella had done.

Good God. Alexander’s stomach churned at the vile memories that flashed through his mind. His heart clenched in sympathy for the pain Evelyn endured at the hand of Isabella’s heartless scheming.

Which is why he couldn’t bring himself to understand why she would dare return to that house. Alone.

“Did she say why she was going over there?” he asked briskly.

Nina shrugged helplessly. “Just that she was going to confront Isabella.”

“I believe her exact words were ‘I’m not going to let her destroy the one good thing I have in my life because her own life turned to shit’,” Wendy recounted.

Alexander felt his heart seize in his chest. Jesus Christ. Evelyn had gone off to take a stand and fight for their marriage while he’d been actively avoiding her because of his own self-pitying thoughts.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“I have to go and get her,” he said firmly.

If he had learned anything from being in Isabella’s company, it was that he did not trust the woman any more than his own Stepmother.

“But there’s no telling if she’s still at the Silverwood Estate,” Nina commented. “She hasn’t been answering her phone and it’s been hours since she left the manor.”

“When did she leave?”

“This afternoon,” Wendy answered.

All that time and to not answer her phone even once?

Panic really started to set in. It was bad enough that she’d gone off on her own to face Isabella but to now find out that she wasn’t even answering her phone. No. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

“Well, I have to start somewhere,” he said. “I’m heading over to the Silverwood Estate and If I find that she’s not there, I’ll figure out a new plan from there. But I have to go. I have a horrible feeling in my gut that something isn’t right.”

Oliver swiftly nodded his head. “I’m coming with you.”

“Alright. Call for a backup car as well,” he told the Beta. “I have no idea what we’re walking into.”

...

Alexander’s nerves were not getting any better. In fact, by the time they pulled up to the doors of the Silverwood Estate, they had practically imploded.

The place looked as though it had been sealed up tight as a fortress. Not a single light was on, nor was there a single sign of movement.

“What the hell?” he grumbled under his breath.

“This place looks desolate.”

All the more reason for him to not trust the situation. Something was clearly going on and this was the work of Isabella trying to hide the fact.

His anxiety escalated to unbearable heights. Alexander stood up and abandoned his wheelchair at the door, not caring to

Oliver gave him a look that was swiftly waved off. Alexander had reached his breaking point when it came to hiding his true nature. There were more important things than trying to conceal his secret.

“Hard to believe that Evelyn and I were here literally last night.”

Because there was no one there to answer the doors, Alexander had little choice but to have the doors broken in. Both he and Oliver, along with the group of soldiers he’s brought, began to fan out around the first floor.

“Search everywhere,” he told them. “There’s no way that none of them aren’t around.”

It didn't make sense. If the place was truly empty, then Evelyn would have realized that and returned right back to the manor. But according to Wendy and Nina, she’d been gone for hours.

Alexander liked to think that he knew Evelyn well enough to the point where he could predict her pattern. She wasn’t someone who tended to go wandering off. Naturally, she would have just returned back to the house.

But she hasn’t. Which means that she has to be here somewhere.

As time went on and all his men kept turning up empty-handed, his sense of dread kept growing worse.

In a fit of desperation, he took out his phone and pulled up Evelyn’s number. By some chance of luck, he’d hoped that she would pick up. But no. She didn’t.

However, Alexander ended up hearing a faint noise on the far side of the living room.

“Everyone be quiet!” he hissed.

Slowly, he crossed the room to stand in front of an oversized bookcase. He pressed the ‘call’ button again. He turned his head and leaned his ear in close to see if he was able to pick up the noise once more.

Buzz. Buzz...Buzz. Buzz...Buzz. Buzz....

The ringtone was faint, almost muffled, but he was certain that it was coming from behind the bookcase.

“Sir?”

“I think I have something over here,” he said. “I can hear a phone going off, it has to be hers. Someone help me move this damn bookcase.”

One of the soldiers stepped up and stood on the other side, ready to push the bookcase to the side. However, it wouldn’t budge.

Alexander’s expression twisted with confusion. What the hell?

It didn’t make any sense why the bookcase couldn’t be moved—Christ, not even two people could move the damn thing!

Alexander pressed himself as close to the wall beside the case as possible. He figured, perhaps it had been secured to the wall. But no. There were no metal attachment plates but rather hinges...

“Oh my God,” he said darkly. “It’s not a shelf...It’s a fucking door.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t an ordinary door. There was no handle or knob that would give any clear indication as to how to open it. That’s when Alexander got the aimless idea to begin going through all of the contents that sat on the shelves. He touched and moved every book and knick-knack, hoping that one of them would trigger the opening mechanism.

He didn’t care how deranged he appeared, he knew it had to be somewhere. It just had to be!

Suddenly, Alexander’s fingers brushed up against one particular book that didn’t seem to want to budge. He immediately caught his attention and he reached out to remove it.

‘Click.’

Oliver swiftly reached out to rest his hand on Alexander’s shoulder, gently guiding him back so he didn’t get swiped. For a moment, they all stared into the obsidian doorway, not having a single clue what awaited them within it.

Two of his soldiers stepped up. “Sir, let us go first.”

Before anyone could make another suggestion, they all went still as a bone-chilling scream tore through the deafening silence. Alexander took off in a mad dash, not holding a single concern for what may get in his way.

He braced his arm out in front of himself to keep from crashing into any walls. He kept his senses locked on the sounds that were echoing around him. Apart from the footsteps that were following closely behind him, Alexander made out a whole other cluster of footsteps that were actively trying to escape.

“Block all possible exits,” he barked out.

There was a distinctively bright light at the end of the hallway. He followed it, but not a single thing in the world could have prepared him for the monstrous sight that awaited him.