Chapter 174

[Evelyn’s POV]

My heart flipped several times over in my chest. It should have come as a surprise to me that the Alpha King had finally been made aware of Alexander’s long-standing secret.

“Well, we both knew that it was bound to happen,” Alexander muttered.

I tried to push down the growing sense of dread that had blossomed within my stomach. “What’s going to happen now?” I dared to ask.

Alexander’s expression seemed impassive. “Well, I’ll stand before the Royals and allow them to criticize and call me out on my lie. They’ll most likely demand an explanation for my actions and I’ll tell them the truth.”

“Sounds tedious,” I said.

“It most likely will be,” he agreed tiredly.

Without another thought, I got up from my chair and headed over toward the door. Both my father and Alexander went still and gave me expected looks.

“What?”

“Evelyn...I don’t think it would be good for you to—”

“I’m not letting you go alone,” I stated defiantly.

He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. I could tell he was gearing up for an argument but I truly didn’t have it in me. Today had been enough of a disappointment just knowing that we couldn't even get our hands on the Hemlock.

“Look, we all can pretty much guess how the King came to know about you being able to walk,” I noted. “Samantha very likely told Isabella.”

“And Isabella very likely reached out to Caroline,” he finished.

Any person who had a direct line to the Royal family was dangerous in their own right. Granted Caroline hadn’t been present during my torture, I had a good feeling that she was somehow involved in this so-called summons.

“What are the chances that Caroline will be there?” I asked him.

“It’s possible,” Alexander commented.

“Then perhaps, we could use it as an opportunity to inquire about Fiona’s current whereabouts,” I suggested with a smile.

Alexander's demeanor gradually began to loosen up to where suddenly he was mirroring my devious expression. The corner of his mouth curved upward into a smile.

“Are you sure you feel up for being around all those other people?” he asked. “I just don’t want you to feel obligated to push yourself more than you’re comfortable with.”

I placed my hands on my hips and squared my shoulders. “I’m going.”

My gaze suddenly shifted to my father who basically watched our entire interaction with a look of pure amusement.

“You two remind me of the way your mother and I used to be,” he said.

My heart gave a light clench as I tried to collect my thoughts. The man never spoke about my mother. As usual, he picked one hell of a time to bring it up. I centered my thoughts and got back to the mission at hand.

“Um, they’re going to be a small team of men here, momentarily,” I told him. “They’re going to be brushing through the greenhouse taking pictures and collecting any evidence they can.”

Leonard nodded his head. “It’s fine. Were you able to find what you were after?”

I let out a long breath, feeling bitterly defeated. “Unfortunately, no.”

Alexander slid to my side and placed a hand around my waist. “Although we found Isabella’s lab setup, we still haven't found any physical trace of the Hemlock she used.”

“What if she used it all up?” my father inquired cautiously.

I bit the inside of my cheek and slowly shook my head.

“I don’t think so,” I answered. “Knowing Isabella, her original plan to get rid of Edward was working perfectly until I was informed about it. If she was given the opportunity to resume her earlier work, I can’t imagine her taking any other route. Hemlock is not something naturally easy to come by—not even through illegal means.”

“In other words, she wouldn’t use it frivolously,” Alexander added. “Could there be any other place in the house where she would think to be a safe place to hide something like that?”

I wouldn’t have the slightest clue where Isabella would hide something as dangerous and noticeable as Hemlock. My father, however, looked as though he’d fallen into a serious train of thought.

“I might know a place,” he murmured.

Alexander and I were suddenly following my father out of his study. He led us down the hallway and up the main staircase. We followed him toward one of the guestrooms that appeared to be lived in.

“Who’s room is this?” I asked.

“Isabella’s,” he said. “A couple of weeks ago, she demanded to move out of the master bedroom for some reason or another. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But now I can almost begin to understand why she was so adamant about it. It wasn’t space she wanted, it was privacy.”

An excited flutter filled my insides.

“You think the Hemlock could be in here?”

“If it is in here, there’s only one place it would be.”

Alexander and I watched my father head over to the vanity table across the room. He reached down to pick up the square jewelry box and brought it over to place it on the bed in front of us. I could faintly recall seeing this box when I was a child. It was beautifully ornate and looked as though it had belonged to a princess.

Growing up, I was always drawn to it like any young girl would be. But Isabella had always made it a point to chastise me for so much as looking at it, believing that I would somehow break it.

All those years later, I was done being cautious and careful. It took every nerve in my body not to snatch up the jewelry box and smash it against the nearest wall. Especially because I was fairly certain the damn thing was locked up anyway.

I reached into my hair and pulled out one of the pins that kept a good chunk of my hair tucked back in place. No matter, I began to fiddle with the tiny lock until I heard that golden ‘click’. I slipped the lock out of the hinge and flipped open the top compartment.

My lips parted as half my breath fell out while the other half remained trapped in my lungs.

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

“This is it, isn’t it?”

I nodded my head and stared down at the innocent-looking plant. My nerves were coiling in a mixture of exhilaration as well as hatred. It was hard to think that such a small-flowered plant had the ability to bring on such heartache and devastation.

Sitting there, wrapped up in a small plastic bag, were several small clippings of Hemlock. They looked naturally aged given that Isabella didn’t exactly have the chance to better preserve them in any manner.

Leonard went to reach out to touch the green leaves but Alexander instantly stopped him.

“No. It’s best that none of us touch anything else,” he instructed. “When the team shows up, have them take fingerprints and recover the Hemlock as it is.”

I carefully placed the box back down and took a few good steps back.

Oh my God....We did it.

I almost couldn’t believe that we had found the proof we needed. And it was all because of my father. The snake man who had given me the cold shoulder for as long as I could remember. The same man who had used me as a pawn in his own scheme to build connections with those of higher status.

My eyes stayed locked on the small jewelry box while a poised smile spread over my mouth.

To think, this box basically holds the key to Isabella’s future prison cell.