Chapter 90

[Third-Person’s POV]

Poor Oliver looked as though he was going to have a heart attack. The moment he’d admitted to what had been uncovered, he realized that he and his boss weren’t the only ones in the room. Standing off to the side, was a rather distraught-looking Evelyn.

Oh God, he thought. Had he just blown the cover of their secret mission to uncover the culprit of Alexander’s attack?

His heart stalled in his chest for a few seconds, while he waited for the thunderous vibrato of Alexander’s scolding voice. But it never came. In fact, the feeling in the room wasn’t so much filled with tension as it was with startling curiosity.

Evelyn, of all people, was the one who stepped up and spoke.

“The car?” Her brows furrowed in question until suddenly something in her mind appeared to click into place. “Wait, you mean the car that was involved in the accident that almost killed Alexander?”

Oliver wasn’t sure how to answer. He felt as though he was being baited into a trap. All he could do was glance at Alexander for any sort of guidance as to what he should do.

He blamed himself for not being more vigilant with his surroundings. However, Alexander merely turned his gaze to Evelyn and gave the young woman a light nod.

“Yes.”

From there, Evelyn snapped her eyes right back to Oliver. “Where was it?”

Once more, he wasn’t sure what to do. Was he allowed to divulge such secretive details? Since when had Evelyn been brought into the inner circle of their operations?

A swift nod from Alexander gave Oliver the O.K. to carry on.

“The vehicle was located in a junkyard no further than twenty miles from here.”

“How are you certain that you found that exact one?” she questioned.

“Every car that’s owned by the Kingston family is built with a special, unique interior,” he explained. “Trust me, car crashes aren’t a common occurrence with this pack. So the chances of us stumbling upon the wrong car are slim to nothing.”

Evelyn nodded her head. “Okay, so you located the car. Hold on, was it ever uncovered as to why the crash occurred in the first place? I mean, potential murder plot aside, how did the vehicle end up in its current state? Were the brake lines cut? Was the steering mechanism not working?”

Oliver was truly astonished by Evelyn’s insight on the matter. He shared a look with Alexander who was also pleasantly surprised by her suggestions and made a mental note to write them down for later.

“We’re not entirely sure,” Oliver commented.

“You see, when the whole incident occurred, I wasn’t the one behind the wheel. I couldn’t tell if the brakes had been cut or if the steering wheel had locked up,” Alexander said. “What’s devastating about it all was that I ended up losing one of my drivers in the accident.”

Evelyn’s features were pinched with sadness.

“Just so we’re clear, Oliver, I am now including Evelyn in on our progress when it comes to this case,” Alexander clarified. “Going forward, it’s imperative that she knows what is going on as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oliver,” Evleyn spoke out with hesitation. “I...I’m sorry about what I did.”

For a brief moment, the Beta was utterly bewildered. It wasn’t until Alexander nonchalantly brushed the side of his nose with his finger that Oliver was able to comprehend what Evelyn was referring to.

“Oh, Evelyn. You don’t need to—”

“Yes, I do,” she stated. “I never meant to hurt you like that.”

“It’s alright. I shouldn’t have manhandled you like that.”

The corner of her mouth looked like it wanted to lift into a smile. “If you’re interested, I have a really decent salve that helps with bruises.”

Oliver gave a sheepish smile and nodded his head. “I’ll keep that in mind. But in any case, Sir, what do you wish the next course of action to be?”

Alexander let out a sigh and held a look of serious conflict in his eyes.

[Evelyn’s POV]

While I was glad I took the opportunity to clear the air with Oliver, I now needed to address the major issues at hand. I was truly enthusiastic and grateful that Alexander was taking all of what we discussed earlier very seriously.

But the reality of our situations needed to be addressed.

“Alexander, you know that I ‘m glad you’re finally including me in on all of this,” I said. “But, I still need to go back home and find out what is going on with my brother. It’s alright if you need to go ahead and make a move even if I’m not here.”

Alexander gave me an appreciative smile and reached out to take my hand. I was a bit surprised that he was so willing to sow such affection even if it was in front of someone as trusted as Oliver.

“Thank you,” he said. “The thing is, normally, I would accompany you in a situation like this. However, given the recent development, I don’t believe I’d be able to do so.”

I gently shook my head. “It’s alright, I’m not expecting you to anyway. Finding out the truth regarding the car accident is just as important as what I need to do.”

He gave my hand a slight squeeze. “I know you need to head back home but I’m not too keen on the idea of letting you go alone. It’s not that I think you’re incapable of looking after yourself...”

“It’s Michael you’re worried about, isn’t it?” Oliver questioned.

I glanced between the two of them, feeling as though I was missing part of the conversation.

“I don’t want Michael to catch wind of you traveling back home,” Alexander said. “Knowing him, he’s going to try and follow you.”

“You think he would hurt me?” I asked with a tone of uneasiness.

“Whatever Michael does, he does it with the direct purpose of hurting Alexander.”

Alexander’s words from the evening before rushed to the front of my mind.

“...I have countless enemies, Evelyn. The kind that have no conscience when it comes to hurting others if it means getting to me...”

I slowly nodded my head in understanding. “Okay...Well, what if there was a way to ensure that we knew where Michael was going to be?” I inquired. From that moment on, I had both of their full attention. “Think of it as if you were setting a trap. You’d need something to lure him in and keep him preoccupied long enough to where he wouldn’t have any inclination that something was going on.”

Oliver’s features lit up with an obvious idea. “We could do it here.”

A devilish smile crept across Alexander’s face. “I could give him the one thing that he’s always wanted.”

“But no matter what, it needs to be convincing,” Oliver noted. “We can’t make Michael suspect that we have the upper hand in this situation.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be too hard,” I stated. “The last time the four of us were in the same vicinity, Alexander and I were in the middle of a horrific fight. As far as Michael is aware, Alexander and I are still not doing well. Let’s make him think that whatever he’s planning is still on track. Even if we go our separate ways, he’ll have no reason to target me, knowing that it won’t have any further purpose to harm Alexander emotionally.”

In his mind, the damage has already been done. What we needed to do next was prove that Michael’s emotional manipulation was still working.

“I think I have an idea,” Alexander said.