Chapter 172

[Evelyn’s POV]

“Jesus Christ,” I hissed.

I was deeply disturbed to find that many of my original plants were long dead from neglect. But the real shocker of it all was the mass amount of equipment that covered the entire top of the work table.

My lips parted as my eyes widened in fear. Within seconds, Henry’s theory had become fact.

It shouldn’t have come as any surprise that Isabella had proceeded to tarnish one of the most endearing and special places from my childhood. My greenhouse had been a gift from my father before he truly began to distance himself from the family and really life itself.

Looking around, the place was covered in old, rumpled boxes, glass beakers, and burners. Several racks of glass test tubes lined the overhanging shelves.

My heart caught in my throat. Isabella had turned my beloved greenhouse into an evil Chem. lab for her murderous plans.

Clearly, the psychopath had been going at this for a while. It made me easily wonder how many trials she’d gone through in order to get it right.

“And here I thought Isabella was clear-headed as her daughter,” Alexander commented.

“Far from it.”

Isabella had well proven herself to be far more intelligent than I would have ever given her credit for. This was the same woman who harped on her own appearance for every social gathering as though she was entering a beauty competition. No one would ever think that there were real thoughts flying through her head.

Yet, glancing around at all of the distilling equipment was proof that she had taken the time to put some serious thought and planning into all of it.

I moved closer to get a better look. Above all else, the Hemlock was what I was truly after. Once more, this setup proved nothing of ill-intent without the vital component.

“Let’s see,” I muttered to myself. “She was smart enough to put a padlock on the door...But was she smart enough to actually hide the Hemlock away somewhere else?”

“Be careful not to touch anything,” Alexander warned.

I began to search every square inch of the work table. I looked in between all the beakers and vials but found nothing. Nothing.

My heart sank into my stomach. No. This couldn’t be it. I refused to believe that we made it this far to catching her in the act only to reach another dead-end.

I could feel my anger begin to boil. I bit down on my tongue hard enough to draw blood just to hold back the frustrated scream.

“It’s alright,” Alexander said evenly. “We’re going to find it. In the meantime, I’m going to call Oliver and have him send a team out here to collect fingerprints. They’re going to comb through this entire place—even if we missed anything, chances are they will find something.”

I tried to be hopeful for that, but in the back of my mind, it just didn’t seem like it was going to be enough. Again, I could have kicked myself. Why on earth would I have thought that it would have been an easy endeavor?

I ran a hand roughly through my hair, fighting back the urge to smash everything in sight.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

Both Alexander and I turned our heads to find Leonard standing in the doorway with an astonished look on his face. I couldn’t tell what the man was more shocked about—the fact that Alexander wasn’t paralyzed, or the fact that I was now wearing his mask.

[Third-Person’s POV]

Leonard Silverwood had been away on business for the last several days, only to come home and find the place in complete disarray. He couldn’t locate a single person from the staff to explain why his home appeared to have been searched through.

He’d called out to his wife several times before stumbling into his office and found a messy written note, explaining that she was going to be spending some time with Samantha and Liam.

Fine by him.

The old Alpha had reached a point where he truly couldn’t care less what the woman did. In fact, he was thankful to receive any sort of quiet time to himself while he could.

It wasn’t until he heard a loud sound of metal grinding that he stood up from his desk and quickly headed toward the back of the house. He made it out to the greenhouse where he spotted the broken lock on the ground. His brows pulled together while he began to hear the muffled sound of voices.

Leonard couldn’t fully believe what his eyes were showing him. Alexander Kingston was not only standing next to his daughter but wasn’t hiding behind a mask piece. Yet, his daughter, Evelyn, on the other hand, was.

Was he having some sort of aneurysm? He couldn’t make sense of any of it.

“Evelyn?”

“Hey,” she greeted weakly.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to not have had to deal with this sort of encounter.

“Where the hell is everyone?” he questioned.

“I suspect that Isabella had sent them away.”

His face twisted in further confusion. “Sent them away?” He shook his head and turned to face Alexander. “And since when the hell are you like this?”

“Father—”

“No, it’s alright,” Alexander interrupted. “Leonard, you should know the truth. I am not, nor have I ever been paralyzed. I wasn’t even in the car when the accident had occurred.”

“It was an act so he could catch the person responsible for trying to assassinate him,” Evelyn added.

“Well, then explain to me why the hell you’re the one wearing the mask now,” he demanded.

Evelyn felt the support touch of Alexander’s hand on the small of her back. She let out a slow breath before reaching up to undo the ties. The disgruntled sound Leonard let out felt like taking a hit to the gut.

“Jesus Christ,” he gasped.

“Do you remember that hidden room behind the bookcase in the living room?” she asked.

Leonard covered his mouth with his hand. “You were never allowed in that part of the house, you knew it was dangerous.”

“Of course, I knew,” she said bitterly. “But Isabella saw it as the perfect place to take out all of her anger on me.”

“Isabella?”

“Your wife knocked Evelyn unconscious and practically dragged her beyond those inner barriers,” Alexander explained. “She had your daughter strapped to a table and tortured for hours.”

Leonard slowly shook his head, staring at his own child in disbelief at what was being said.

“She’d broken a few of Evelyn’s ribs before handing her over to another who took a blade to her face. Yes, Leonard. It’s true. All of it.”

Evelyn tried to steady her breath, refusing to look at her father for the moment. “You’re wondering why Isabella had gone to stay with Samantha...It’s because she’s currently in hiding. Alexander showed up the night she had planned to have me killed and fled.”

Leonard lowered his head, trying to wrap his mind around everything he’d been told. He didn’t want to believe that the woman he was married to would commit such a heinous crime. Unfortunately, there was always that dismal voice in the back of his mind that constantly tried to warn him against Isabella’s character.

He knew that the woman had naturally gravitated her attention more toward Samantha for obvious reasons. But would she really have gone as far as to try and kill Evelyn?

“What is all this?” he asked, gesturing to the equipment on the table.

Evelyn scoffed. “I think it would be best if we all go inside and sit down. There’s a lot you need to be made aware of.”