Chapter 154

[Evelyn’s POV]

Leaving that bedroom had proven to be a lot harder than I initially anticipated. By some lucky break, I was able to fall asleep without a single awful memory trying to filter its way through my subconscious.

When I woke up, I was quick to notice that Wendy had already slipped out while I was still asleep. I couldn’t thank her enough for staying until I was finally able to get some real rest.

But now I was quick to find that I was facing a new problem. I felt too embarrassed and self-conscious to leave the room. I really didn’t want anyone to see me. Yet there was so much that I wanted and needed to do.

For instance, I deeply missed my plants in the greenhouse. I missed going to the library to research new tea blends and finding the right combinations. I missed having afternoon tea with Wendy and Nina. Most of all, I missed Alexander.

If I was able to get anything accomplished today it was that he and I needed to talk. I curled my hand around the door handle and used that same thought as my motivator.

Having carefully gotten out of bed, I changed into an oversized t-shirt and shorts. Sadly, there wasn’t much I could do with my hair due to the gauze wrap. And according to Ian, I wasn’t permitted to shower until the wrap was removed, along with the stitches, and he was able to give the O.K.

So, in the meantime, this was the best I could do at present.

Just breathe. You can do this.

It wasn’t as though no one in the house knew what had happened. What did it matter if they saw me anyway?

The last time I’d checked the time on the clock that sat over on the nightstand, it read half past six in the morning. Under normal circumstances, Alexander would still have been lying in bed. However, there was always the possible chance that he could have already been up and about.

Taking a deep breath in, I turned the handle and opened the door. The hallway was a bright contrast compared to my heavily shadowed room. I squinted my one uncovered eye and waited for my vision to adjust.

My first thought was to check the master bedroom but my gut was telling me that he was already tucked away in his office. I kept close to the walls as I moved for extra support. My ribs were still intensely sore but I was eager to move.

As I rounded the corner, I saw Oliver carrying a large file in his hands. He immediately spotted me and stopped. His eyes grew wide with shock.

“Evelyn.” His voice filled with wonderment. “You’re moving. How are you feeling?”

I couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t often the man was ever caught off guard and stammering.

“I needed to get out of that room,” I stated. “I’m still very sore and tired but there are things that I need to do. Where is he?”

Right as Oliver was about to answer, we both heard a low grumbling voice call from down the next hall.

“Oliver, did you find those files? I swear, something needs to go right around here, otherwise, I’m going to start losing my motherfucking—”

My heart skipped a beat as Alexander rounded the same corner and stopped next to Oliver. His eyes became as large as the Beta’s had.

“Hey,” I said raggedly.

Alexander stared at me, unblinking. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine—well, as fine as I can be at the moment. I was just telling Oliver that there are things I’m looking to do.”

He was beginning to get that same distressed look in his eyes. “Such as?”

“Such as talk to you. There’s a lot we need to discuss.” My eyes dropped to the large folder in Oliver’s hands. “But, if you’re busy right now then I suppose I can—”

“No. It’s nothing,” he said. “These are just some old articles I’d been collecting on Gregory. I’m more than happy to talk but, Evelyn, are you sure you’re feeling up for it? I’d rather you be resting.”

“I refuse to be bound to a bed for the next week,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”

Alexander looked as though he was preparing to argue with me, but I stood firm on my ground. He clenched his jaw and let out a long breath.

“Fine. Where would you like to go?”

“Your office will be fine,” I answered evenly.

I visibly winced the moment I turned in that direction and instantly regretted it. The last thing I wanted was to appear any more weaker than I already felt. As expected, Alexander was instantly at my side with a firm hand on my hip, keeping me steady.

“How about you two head to the office and I'll be back with some ice packs?” Oliver suggested.

Silently, Alexander and I made our way there without any further interruptions. Thankfully, there weren’t that many staff members moving around which spared me from any further turmoil.

Right as we entered the private room, Alexander eased me down into one of the available chairs. He, on the other hand, remained standing. It didn’t take long for that same look of anguish to cross his face.

I grimace. “Will you please stop looking at me like that?”

Narrowing his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest and glowered back at me.

“Like what?”

“Like I’m on the verge of falling to pieces,” I said. “What happened at that house wasn’t your fault.”

“It is.”

“It is not!” I shouted back. My insides tightened from the tingling pain that scattered through my body. “The only people who are at fault here are Isabella, Fiona, and Samantha.”

Alexander’s sneer was shortly interrupted by a brief look of surprise. “Samantha?”

I nodded. “She happened to be there when I first spoke to Isabella.”

I watched his body become ridged with tension.

“She saw what was happening and didn’t do anything to stop it.” His words came out as a statement rather than a question. “And, all this time, I’d given her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Hardly,” I snorted. “She’s just as guilty as the other two. Alexander, there is a lot that we need to talk about—mainly about us. But I’m not in the right mental or physical state to have that kind of discussion. So, I need to know what has happened since I lost consciousness in that room.”

“I will tell you everything if you will fill me in on everything that happened on your end up until you were struck from behind.”

I nodded my head in agreement and over the next hour, Alexander and I exchanged our sides of the story which brought us to the current situation of not being able to track down either Isabella or Fiona.

“Evelyn, did you know that room existed in that house?” he asked.

“I did,” I confessed. “But I was always told to stay away from it because it was never considered safe.”

“Are there other rooms like that one that are hidden in plain sight?”

I shook my head and heard Alexander curse under his breath. “Which means that Isabella is nowhere on the property.”

“We would have found her if she were. The only people that are at the house are your brother, the guard, and what little staff remain. Leonard has been away on some kind of business trip which excuses his part in all this,” he said.

I tapped the edge of my chin in thought. “Fiona will be the hardest one to track down. Isabella will only be able to hide herself for so long. But Samantha...The only place she would be able to run off to would be back to her own pack.”

And the chances are, if you want to get to Isabella, you’ll likely have to get through to Samantha.

“Would she be that foolish to simply go back?”

“Samantha doesn’t necessarily have a choice. Her only escape from her life with Liam would have been to the Silverwood Estate. Now that that place has become a crime scene, she has nowhere else to run to.”

“Well, then, I suppose the question now is how do we lure her to come out and talk?”

The corner of my mouth curved. “I have an idea.”