Chapter 182

Aiden’s POV

“Aiden!” Katrina gasped as if she was just seeing me standing there for the first time. Her face had gone red, and she bit her lower lip as she gave me an innocent look. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Bullshit,” Fiona growled, her eyes red with menace. “The second Carol goes missing and you throw her stuff out and move your stuff in! It’s not a coincidence.”

“I’m not moving in!” Katrina tried to explain, the look of pure panic on her face, but it was gone before I could even blink. “I was just—”

“Katrina, where did you want this weird trinket of yours?” Sabrina asked as she walked into the penthouse, completely oblivious to what was going on. She completely froze when she saw me standing there though and her eyes grew as big as saucers. “Alpha…” she gasped, her face going completely red as her eyes darted from me to Katrina.

“Sabrina,” I greeted, trying to keep my temper at bay. “What are you doing in my penthouse?”

“I uh…” she stammered.

“She was helping me redecorate your apartment,” Katrina said, giving Sabrina a look that didn’t go unnoticed by me. I scowled at Katrina, knowing she was keeping something from me. I knew Katrina better than I knew most and I knew when she was keeping secrets. I also knew when she wasn’t being truthful. It was written all over her face and I couldn’t help but scowl at her.

“We really weren’t doing anything terrible, Aiden. I promise,” Sabrina said, chewing on the inside of her cheek, a tell that she was also not being completely truthful.

“I don’t believe a thing either of them are saying,” Fiona said, folding her arms across her chest. “They are both liars and I have a feeling they know more about Carol than what they are saying.”

They both gasped loudly, Sabrina staggering backward and Katrina keeping her ground.

“That’s a stretch,” Katrina said, shaking her head. “Why would you think we had anything to do with that? We aren’t murderers.”

“We never said anything about Carol being dead,” I hissed, hating those words from coming out of my mouth, but I knew it was everyone’s fear. She was so badly injured that she wouldn’t make it through. Or maybe it was already too late; a tight knot formed in the pit of my stomach.

“Isn’t it implied,” Katrina asked. “Do you really trust Allen? If you don’t think she ran away to be with him, then he probably killed her by now. Either that or she ran away to truly be with him and their baby…”

“It’s not his baby!” I growled.

“Maybe not… but from that picture all over the media, they looked like a pretty happy family. You have to face it, Aiden. Carol isn’t who you thought she was. She’s either dead or with someone else. I was just trying to help you move on and clear out some of her stuff.”

“You had no right to touch any of her stuff, Katrina,” I growled. “You overstepped your welcome in my home.”

She pouted and wrapped her arms around her body like she was trying to hold herself together.

“There was a point in time that you always made me feel welcome. You never minded when I changed things around before but now it’s suddenly an issue?”

“Things were different when we were kids, Katrina. We aren’t the same people anymore. Carol is my wife and your Luna. You need to respect her. Throwing away her things is not respecting her,” I told her.

“Can I please kick her ass now?” Fiona asked; she was seconds away from lunging at Katrina again, but thankfully Oliver was holding her back. Though, he had a smile on his lips as he looked down at his mate.

“Katrina, I’m going to ask you again… why are you doing this?” I asked her, trying to keep a calm and level head. It wasn’t good for anyone if I lost my calm.

She shrugged and tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear.

“I thought it would help you move on,” she murmured. “It’s obvious Carol doesn’t want you anymore… so I thought I could help you by pretending she never existed. Then, maybe we could continue where we left off.”

“We were only friends before,” I reminded her.

She rolled her eyes.

“I was going to be your Luna, Aiden. You can’t deny that everybody, including your own family, knew of this.

“Then why are you moving your stuff in?” I asked. “Because I know you aren’t just redecorating. I’m noting some of your pictures are on the mantle.”

She frowned and chewed the inside of her cheek as her gaze found some of the photos she’d placed around the house.

“I thought maybe I could stick around for a while and help you move on fully,” she admitted. “Is that really such a crime?”

“Ask her about Carol,” Fiona urged.

I took a deep breath and looked into Katrina’s eyes. She could never fully lie to me while looking me in the eyes; even when she thought she was hiding the truth, she had obvious tells that only I could decipher. I never truly told her this though.

“What about Carol?” Fiona asked, sneering at Fiona before glancing up at me and meeting my eyes.

“Do you know where she is, Katrina?” I asked her, keeping my voice level. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“No,” she said without missing a beat. “I don’t know where she is and I don’t know what happened to her.”

She spoke each word slowly and there was a bite to her words, but that wasn’t her tell. Her pupils grew small with each lie she spoke and the moment I saw her pupils shrinking, my nostrils flared.

She was lying; she knew something and she wasn’t going to tell me.

“I would never do anything to hurt you or anyone you love,” Katrina added, giving me a small smile. “I promise.”

I felt completely sick to my stomach as she grabbed the trinket from Sabrina and walked into the bathroom. She was still intent on moving her things into the penthouse even after I told her it wasn’t a good idea. Fury rose inside of me.

“I should go,” Sabrina said, giving me a pained look. “I’m sorry to such a bother, Alpha.”

I didn’t say anything as she quickly left my apartment. I looked at Fiona and Oliver; Fiona was still fuming.

“I don’t trust her,” Fiona hissed.

I nodded, also not trusting her.

Then, I heard a ding. I quickly turned and saw a cell phone on the couch. I frowned when I looked at it, not recognizing it.

“Is that yours?” I asked Fiona.

She shook her head.

“I saw Katrina on it when we first got here,” Oliver said. “She threw it on the couch, and she must have forgotten about it.”

I scowled and grabbed the phone off the couch. It was passcode protected, but I didn’t need to unlock the phone to see the name of the person who texted her.

My heart fell deep into my stomach as the message flashed across the screen.

….

Carol’s POV

“You don’t need to come here; I have everything handled,” I heard Allen speaking to someone on the phone, waking me out of my sleep. I felt worse than I had when I fell asleep; now I just felt groggy and gross.

My stomach growled angrily at me because I hadn’t eaten. I stared down at the tray of food that Allen had given me earlier; as hungry as I was, I refused to eat anything Allen gave me. I tried to focus most of my attention on his conversation, wondering who it was he was talking to.

“Look, I told you I would deal with it, and I am. You can trust me, babe. You know I would never do anything to break your trust,” he murmured into the phone.

My brows furrowed.

Was he talking to a lover?

So much for loving me, I thought with an eye roll.

“She’s already dead. I’m going to get rid of the body. Once you get what you want, don’t forget about me, okay? Remember, we are in this together. We always have been.”

There was a pause as he listened to whatever this person on the other end had to say.

“You know I love you, baby,” he whispered, but it was still loud enough that I could hear him. “Soon, it’ll be you, me, and the Cruz fortune.”

My heart weighed heavily in my chest as I hung onto every word he spoke with a sickening feeling in my belly.

“Are you still there?” He asked, a bit worriedly. “Babe?” He asked again. Then, a bit louder he said, “Katrina babe, where’d you go?”

My heart fell deep not my stomach, and I suddenly felt dizzy.

He was working with Katrina?