Chapter 149

Nathan

The sun was filtering through the curtains, casting a soft glow on Olivia’s face as she stepped back into the kitchen. She looked beautiful, like a guardian angel after all of the turmoil we had been through. Whatever anger I felt toward her for running off last night had melted away by now, replaced by gratefulness that she had been the one to end this once and for all.

But there was a look of utter disbelief in her eyes as she walked up to me. In her hand, she held the morning paper, her fingers clenched around it as though it held the answer to an unsolvable riddle.

“Nathan,” she said, her voice trembling. "You need to see this."

I pushed myself up from the kitchen table, my muscles protesting after the uncomfortable night of sleep on the couch. But I ignored the discomfort, focusing on the fear in Olivia’s eyes.

“What is it?” I asked, reaching out to take the paper from her.

My eyes went wide as I scanned the headlines, my heart pounding in my chest.

Jen had been busy, even in her final moments of freedom. An email containing all the files, the very files we had fought over, were sent to the local news station. The secrets were out. Everything was exposed.

“No…” I muttered, the words catching in my throat. “This can’t be happening.”

“It’s all there, Nathan,” Olivia whispered, her hand on my arm. “Everything we feared. Everything we fought against.”

I knew what I had to do. As much as I wanted to stay with Olivia, to wrap her in my arms and protect her from the world, I needed answers. I needed to confront Jen. And I needed to talk to my father.

Without thinking, as though it was natural to do so, I kissed Olivia’s forehead, promising her that I would be back, and then I drove to the jail where they were holding Jen and Colin.

The cold, sterile environment of the jail seemed to amplify the turmoil in my soul as I was led to the visitation room. Jen was already waiting there, her eyes glinting with a cruel satisfaction.

The room was small and claustrophobic, illuminated only by a harsh, unflattering fluorescent light. Jenifer sat on the other side of a thick glass partition, a phone in her hand. She looked different, her face pale and drawn, her hair a mess.

But her eyes, those eyes were as sharp and calculating as ever.

As I picked up the phone, she smiled that twisted smile that I had recently come to associate with her.

It was a smile that spoke of secrets, of things hidden in the dark corners of her mind, and suddenly I found myself wishing that I had listened to Olivia all those months ago when she initially mentioned that there was something off about Jenifer.

“Nice to see you again, Nathan,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “I suppose you’ve seen the news already? You have to admit those reporters work fast, don’t they? When I hit ‘send’ on that email, I thought it would take a few days at least… Not less than 12 hours.”

“Cut the crap, Jen,” I snapped. “Why did you do it? Why drag Olivia into this? She’s innocent.”

Jen’'s smile widened, her eyes glinting with malicious amusement. “Didn’t I explain it all last night?” she asked, tracing her finger along the glass. “I can tell how much you love her. Ruining whatever is budding between the two of you has been a pleasure.”

“But why?” I hissed. “Revenge? Is that it? Revenge over what my father did when I was a child?”

“Revenge is never enough, Nathan,” she replied, leaning closer to the glass. “Your father ruined my life, my family. He destroyed everything I cared about. Did you really think I’d let that go unanswered?”

“You could have stopped with him,” I said, my voice low and controlled. “You didn't have to ruin Olivia’s life, too.”

She shrugged, her expression one of cold indifference. “Collateral damage. It was necessary.”

“Necessary?” I echoed, unable to contain my disbelief. “You call this necessary? I only ever loved you like a real sister, Jenifer. You think causing me pain would be necessary?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice firm. “To bring your father down, to expose the truth, it was all necessary. You know what he did to my family, Nathan. You know the kind of man he is.”

I looked into her eyes, searching for some sign of remorse, some hint of guilt. But all I saw was a steely determination, a resolve that chilled me to the bone.

“You had your revenge,” I said, my voice trembling with emotion. “You brought my father down. Wasn't that enough?”

Her smile faltered for a moment, and I thought I saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. But then it was gone, replaced by that cold, calculating gaze.

“It’s never enough, Nathan,” she whispered, her voice filled with a dark intensity. “Not when the pain is so deep, so consuming. You’ll understand that one day.”

I shook my head, rising from my seat. “I’ll never understand you, Jen. And I’ll never forgive you. You’ve lost your mind… If you ever had any semblance of sanity to begin with.”

She watched me as I hung up and walked to the door, her smile returning, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and satisfaction. Her final words followed me out into the hallway, a haunting reminder of the darkness within her.

“You'll understand, Nathan. One day, you’ll understand.”

I left her there, her face pale and her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and satisfaction. But my confrontation was not over. I needed to talk to my father.

Colin was waiting for me, his face twisted into a sneer as I entered the room. I had the officers move him to a private interrogation room. As an Alpha, I had the right to question him myself, and I planned to use that right.

Our interrogation was long and excruciating. But my father knew that he had already been exposed, and so he told me everything.

“Of course I sent out the orders to destroy that pack,” he said, leaning nonchalantly back in his chair as though we were just at another Council meeting. “They were a threat. Their business in the clean energy industry was encroaching on our coal mining. I had to do something, didn’t I? I had to send a message.”

“So you had hundreds of men murdered and women and children abused and sent out into the wilderness?” I asked.

Colin simply shrugged. “It’s been done before. It’s just nature, Nathan. Survival of the fittest.”

I couldn’t help but scoff. “It’s genocide.”

“You’re a fool, Nathan,” he spat. “Once you’re a true Alpha, if that ever even happens, you’ll understand how good it feels to have that power. You won't want to share it.”

“I’ll never be like you,” I retorted, my voice filled with determination. “I’ll never destroy lives for my own gain. I would never murder my own brother and my wife. I would never banish my best friend for the sake of money and power.”

Colin laughed, a hollow, bitter laugh that echoed in the small room. “Just like how you ignored your ‘best friend’ Alvin for years and allowed him to turn into a monster? Don’t act as though I’m blissfully unaware of your desperate attempts to make things right and save him from being euthanized by taking part in black magic to restore his hand.”

My eyes widened. “You knew…?”

“Of course I knew, you fool,” my father hissed. “I knew all along that he was the ‘monster’. It was a test for you. To see if you would be willing to do the right thing for the sake of our town, or protect that ‘monster’ and put your people at risk. And you failed.”

“No,” I said. “I didn’t fail. The sightings stopped, didn’t they?”

My father laughed again. “Why do you think they stopped? Because of your little magic trick, or because of sharp sticks and threats wielded by my men?”

Suddenly, I stood, feeling myself overcome with rage. “You drove him away.”

“I did indeed.” My father simply nodded, a ghost of a smirk flickering across his lips. “And if that thing comes back, I’d suggest you kill him once and for all.”

I shook my head, my eyesight blurring with anger. “I won’t kill anyone, I said. I’m not like you.”

My father laughed again, raw and hollow. “We’ll see, son. We’ll see.”

…

I left the jail, my mind reeling from the encounters. Jen’s smile haunted me, her words echoing in my ears. My father’s cold, dismissive attitude cut me to the core.

I returned home to Olivia, my heart heavy with the knowledge that our lives would never be the same. She was waiting for me, her eyes filled with worry and understanding. But finally, after spending hours in those dim jail cells, I found warmth in her eyes.

“It’s over,” I said, scratching my head as I walked up to her. “They’ve said their piece. Now we have to live with the consequences. Jenifer is going to be transferred to the Bramblewood Mental Facility to be treated for her insanity. My father will never see the light of day without bars in front of his face ever again.”

Olivia lurched toward me and pulled me into a tight hug. Her arms tightened around me, her warmth a comfort in the cold reality we now faced. “We’ll get through this, Nathan,” she whispered. “Together.”

I held her close, hoping that she was right.

But in the back of my mind, Jen’s words lingered, a dark reminder of the price of power and the cost of revenge.

And I hoped, deep in my soul, that I would never be like my father. I would never let power corrupt me. I would never destroy lives for my own gain.