Chapter 79

Gavin’s POV

“Every last maid was investigated, sir,” one of my gammas informed me. “They knew nothing about the crime and was astonished she would do such a thing. None of them will vouge for her though, fearing banishment.”

I nodded and tapped my fingers on my desk.

“And that maid is gone?”

“Yes, Alpha. Per your orders. We escorted her off pack property a couple of hours ago.”

“I just sent out a memo to other Alphas informing them of her crimes and that they aren’t to allow her in their pack’s either,” I said, leaning back in my seat.

“Yes, Alpha,” the gamma agreed. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Just as I was about to answer, the door to my office opened and Taylor walked into the room. He paused when he saw the gamma.

“That’ll be all,” I said to the gamma. “You are dismissed.”

He nodded and left, smiling warily at Taylor as he passed. Taylor shut the door after the gamma and turned to face me.

“Any new information?” He asked.

“None of the maids know a thing,” I murmured. “And the maid who did the crime is long gone. She isn’t to step foot in another pack.”

“Perfect,” Taylor said, a sly grin on his face. “She’ll probably be dead by sundown.”

“If we are lucky,” I muttered. “Were you able to speak with Judy?”

Taylor frowned, and suddenly, he looked uneasy. He stared at his feet for a moment, refusing to meet my eyes. I straightened in my seat and narrowed my eyes at my Beta.

“Taylor,” I said slowly, getting his attention. “What happened? Did you or did you not speak with Judy?”

Taylor lifted his gaze to finally meet mine and then he nodded.

“Yes,” he answered. “I spoke to her.”

I let out a breath of air, leaning back in my seat.

“And? Will she return to the villa and continue her job as Matt’s tutor?” I asked.

Taylor looked even more uneasy.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask, but from the sounds of it… no,” he said, returning his gaze to the ground.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” I asked, my temper rising. “Why wouldn’t she return to her job now that her name has been cleared.”

Taylor sighed and stepped closer to my desk.

“Look, she feels wronged, and she has every right to feel that way,” Taylor told me. “She wants you to apologize to her in person. I don’t think I should have been the one to see her in the first place.”

I sunk back into my seat; Taylor was right… I shouldn’t have sent him to speak with her. It should have been me. I was the one who kicked her out that night; I made her feel worse than she already felt. I asked her to move in with me, and then treated her like a criminal. I ghosted her all week. I had all her calls sent to voicemails and her texts sent to spam. I was the one in the wrong and I sent Taylor in to speak to her on my behalf.

“You’re right,” I ultimately said as I stood to my feet. “I’ll go to her house and speak with her now.”

Taylor looked uneasy once again.

“What else aren’t you telling me?” I asked, feeling even more annoyed now.

“She’s not at her house anymore,” he said as he pulled out his phone. He swiped around the screen for a minute until he found what he was looking for. “I did some research on my way back here and it turns out that her mother actually did put the house up for sale. It was sold off last week and they had to move a few days ago.”

“What?!” I growled; so, the phone conversation I heard was true. Judy’s mother truly did sell their family home and forced her and her daughter to move elsewhere. Why would she do such a thing? Was her family hurting for money?

A knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I stared at my Beta. “Then, where is she??”

“She moved into the Cash family manor,” Taylor blurted.

Fury boiled through me; over my dead body will I allow Judy to continue living in that mansion. Not after the way they treated her the last time we were there.

“Get Raymond Cash on the phone; I’m inviting myself over for dinner,” I said through my teeth.

“Yes, Alpha,” Taylor said with a smirk. “Is there a specific reason you want me to give him?”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I’m a Lycan Chairmen, I don’t need a reason,” I all but barked.

Taylor nodded and went off to do what I asked. An hour later, I was receiving an email inviting me to the Cash manor for dinner with Raymond Cash and his family.

……

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” Taylor asked as he pulled up the front doors of the Cash family manor. “If you lose your temper, it could start some issues.”

“I can handle myself,” I muttered. “But stay here, just in case.”

“Will do,” Taylor said as he watched me get out of the car and walk towards the front doors. The butler opened the door before I reached the top step of the porch.

“Alpha Gavin Landry, it’s an honor to have you in my home and having dinner with my family and I,” Raymond said with a broad smile. “I have to admit though, I was quite curious about the reason behind this meeting.”

“There’s no reason, Raymond. I figured if my daughter is going to marry into this family, I need to get to know you a little better. After all, we are all family now, aren’t we?” I said, raising my brows at him.

He looked nervous and had a small trail of sweat on his forehead.

“Yes, of course,” he said, nodding his head. “I apologize. I’m glad to have you here.”

“Well, hello there, Alpha,” Kelsey, the 18-year-old Cash daughter said as she made her way down the stairs. “When I heard you were joining us for dinner, I had to get the perfect dress for the occasion. Do you like it?”

It was a shimmering gold dress that sparkled under the crystal chandelier.

“Hmm,” I murmured.

“Meredith and Kelsey will take you into the dining hall,” Raymond said. “I have a quick call to make and then I’ll join you shortly.”

I nodded and went with the girls into the dining hall. I paused when I saw a woman seated at the table. She was wearing a casual evening gown, and her dark hair was pinned out of her face. She looked up at me with familiar warm eyes and a smile tipped the corner of her lips.

“Alpha Landry. It’s so good to see you again,” she said.

“Mrs. Montague,” I said, taking her hand and bringing it to my lips. She chuckled at the gesture but when she saw the scowl that Meredith was sporting, her smile turned into a deep frown as she pulled her hand away.

“Shelly, I didn’t think you were joining us this evening. You know we were expecting an important guest,” Meredith said with a fake plastered smile.

Michele Montague’s face reddened as she glanced at her empty plate.

“I’m sorry; nobody informed me that I wasn’t invited. I have been eating dinner with your family every night these last few days,” she said softly. “I can go if—”

“I’d like it if you stayed,” I said sharply. “Please.”

She looked surprised, as did the others. But nobody would go against me, which was why I spoke it like an order.

“Of course,” she said, relaxing in her seat.

“It’s not a problem at all,” Meredith murmured. “Please, take a seat, Alpha.”

She motioned for the spot directly next to Kelsey, who kept staring at me and batting her lashes. I felt sick being this close to her, but I took my seat anyway. Seeing Michele here was proof that Judy was also here. It wouldn’t be much longer before she also joined us for dinner.

Raymond entered the room shortly after and whispered something to one of the maids. She nodded and went with a few others towards the kitchen.

“Sorry for the delay. She’s going to start bringing out our meal now,” Raymond said as he took his seat at the head of the table.

I frowned.

“But not everyone is here yet,” I said, glancing around the table and noticing that there wasn’t an empty chair left.

“Oh, were you expecting someone else, Alpha?” Raymond asked with a frown. “I wasn’t aware. Your Beta didn’t inform me…”

I glanced at Michele Montague who looked a bit sheepish. I got the feeling that she knew who I was talking about. She bit her bottom lip and stared down at her plate, refusing to meet my eyes.

“I guess not,” I murmured, still confused, keeping it quiet for right now.

Soon, the maids were returning with our food, and they served us both the meal and wine.

“Daddy, the maids have been working so hard. I think we should give them the rest of the evening off,” Kelsey said as she nibbled on her steak.

“And who will clean up after dinner?” Raymond asked, raising his brows.

“I’ll take care of it,” she said, shrugging. “It’s honestly no problem. It’s the least I can do.”

Raymond thought it over carefully before relenting and nodding.

“Okay,” he said, taking a big bite of his food. “If you don’t mind.”

She grinned as she continued to eat her food.

We spoke casually for most of the meal; I couldn’t help but worry about Judy though. She was somewhere in this manor… I could smell her as if she was right next to me. Her mother kept avoiding my gaze and continued to eat without contributing to the conversation. Kelsey continued to brush against me and a few times, I felt her foot on my leg. I had to keep shoving it off and positioning myself away from her.

Raymond spoke mostly about the advantages of his pack and how excited he was that his son was going to be the Alpha. It was a long time coming and nobody deserved it more than Ethan. He expressed how Irene fit right into the family. Meredith chimed in at that point and said something about Irene, inviting them to the country club for brunch at some point next week.

After the meal concluded, Raymond stood to his feet.

“How about we take this conversation into the parlor, and we can have some coffee and dessert?” He suggested.

We walked out of the dining hall and towards the parlor. Kesley stayed behind to clean. As we waited in the parlor for our coffee and dessert, we continued the conversation. My stomach was twisting and for some reason my wolf was agitated.

He wanted to return to the kitchen.

I looked in the direction of the door and my brows furrowed.

“Is everything okay, Alpha?” Meredith asked.

“Kelsey has been awhile,” I pointed out.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s fine. There were a lot of dishes,” Meredith said, sipping on her coffee.

“Still, I’m going to check on her,” I said, standing to my feet.

“Such a noble Lycan he is,” Raymond laughed, Meredith laughed as well but it was more forced and awkward.

I ignored them both and made my way back toward the dining hall. But as I reached the door, I heard Kesley’s voice sneering, which made me freeze.

“You are nothing but a useless bitch! Only good for being a slave and cleaning up after my family’s meal. How does it feel to be a nobody?”