Cecilia’s pov
I clamped my hand over Harper’s mouth with lightning-fast reflexes, and pulled her into the elevator before she could say another word.
My eyes shot daggers at her, warning her to stay silent - or else.
As if my life wasn’t complicated enough without her adding fuel to the fire!
Harper’s eyes crinkled with amusent above my restraining hand.
She made muffled sounds against my palm, nodding vigorously in promise.
Only then did I slowly release her.
The others joined us in the elevator.
Alpha Sebastian’s deanor had shifted noticeably—his expression more distant than before. Though the change was subtle, his aura had beco distinctly unapproachable.
The suffocating Alpha pressure made the elevator ride uncomfortably silent.
After leaving the building, Harper, touched that we’d co to check on her, insisted on treating us to a late-night al.
Alpha Sebastian declined with characteristic brevity, departing with Tang in tow.
"He’s angry," Harper whispered in my ear once they were out of earshot.
"No shit, I can see that without you pointing it out!"
[The Alpha had been acting strange since the resort incident. Whatever—let him brood! ]
I quickly changed the subject. "Weren’t you offering dinner? He’s not coming, but Yvonne and I are starving. Are you still buying?"
"Of course!" Harper grinned, driving us to a hot pot restaurant where the three of us settled in for food and conversation.
Yvonne and Harper had never spent much ti together before, but they seed to hit it off imdiately.
Despite Yvonne’s theatrical personality, she genuinely appreciated Harper’s straightforward nature.
"So," Yvonne asked between bites, "did you actually find any evidence to incriminate Cici White today?"
Harper’s expression darkened. "Mrs. White is one slippery snake. After all my setup and today’s final push, she still dodged every trap. Damn it."
"That’s how these people operate," Yvonne remarked, delicately dipping vegetables in water before eating them. "The truly wicked always justify their cruelty with righteous excuses. They never think they’re wrong—in their minds, the only mistake is that their victims continue to exist."
"You have quite the insight into human nature," Harper noted with appreciation.
"Call Yvonne, please. And I’ll call you Harper if that’s alright?" Yvonne suggested with a warm smile. "We’re friends now, after all."
"Perfect," Harper agreed, smoothly producing a business card from her purse. "Yvonne, if you ever need legal advice, co see . I’ll give you a twenty percent discount."
Yvonne paused montarily before bursting into laughter. "Such an entrepreneur! I’ll keep this, and I’ll introduce you to so friends who might need your services."
Harper thanked her enthusiastically.
After dinner, Yvonne’s driver picked her up, and I drove Harper’s car back to her apartnt.
The mont we stepped inside and put down our bags, Harper pulled to the couch, excitent radiating from her as she pulled out her phone.
"Know what this is?" she asked, displaying a strange app on her screen.
"No gas. Just tell ," I urged.
"You’re no fun," Harper pouted before her expression brightened again. "This, my friend, is the key that will send Cici White to prison."
She opened the app, and I examined it carefully before breaking into a smile. "You planted a listening device in that necklace you sold to Mrs. White."
"How did you—" Harper’s eyes widened before understanding dawned. "You were watching from next door!"
I clasped my hands together in mock worship. "Madam Harper, your powers truly are extraordinary. I stand in awe."
Harper laughed, recalling her performance. "That old she-wolf is too cunning. She wouldn’t have confessed outright. So I installed a listening device in that red ruby necklace, hoping she’d give it to Cici to wear."
"I refuse to believe they won’t reveal sothing incriminating in private," Harper added with determination.
I gave her an approving thumbs up. "But how did you discover Mrs. White’s secret in the first place?"
"After Cici escaped justice twice, it felt like a personal insult to my career," Harper explained. "A friend who’s a psychologist ntioned that soone with Cici’s extre vindictiveness doesn’t develop overnight. Those calculated thods suggested practice. For her first criminal attempt, the tactics were too sophisticated."
"I wondered if she’d done sothing before," Harper continued. "So I worked two angles—looking for the doctors who provided false testimony, while also digging into her past. That’s when I found she’d been questioned by police five years ago regarding a missing male classmate."
My skin prickled with goosebumps.
"This kid was brilliant—top of his class, model student, handso boy. He disappeared five years ago and was never found. And guess who was the last person seen with him?" Harper’s eyes darkened. "Cici White."
The implications turned my blood to ice.
"To find out the truth, I followed Mrs. White once and discovered she visited Madam Amber. When Mrs. White left, I approached Madam Amber with information about Mrs. White’s secret—sothing that would help her extract more money. So we struck a deal imdiately."
I chuckled despite the grim topic. "No wonder Mrs. White treats her like a living god—Madam Amber miraculously knows secrets even the police couldn’t uncover."
Harper nodded. "Hence today’s performance."
My brow furrowed with concern. "But what about that missing boy? If Cici was clearly a suspect, didn’t his family pursue justice?"
Harper’s expression grew somber. "According to the neighbor, it was just the boy and his mother—a single-parent household. After her son disappeared, the mother confronted the White family several tis. Then one night, there was a gas explosion at her ho. She didn’t survive."
My entire body went cold.
I told Harper about Xavier visiting , demanding I sign a statent dropping charges against Cici. "That’s actually why I ca looking for you at the law office earlier."
Harper exploded."What the actual fuck?" she snapped, pacing the living room like a caged lion. "Who does Xavier think he is? That piece of shit! Has he completely lost his soul since crawling into bed with that psychotic bitch? Forgiveness? I’ll give them forgiveness when hell freezes over!"
I tried to respond, but my voice caught in my throat. My skin had gone cold.
I could handle Xavier’s threats. I’d even rehearsed what I’d say if he showed up again.
But hearing about the boy... about his mother dying in that so-called accident... it unspooled sothing deep in .
"What if sothing happens to my parents?" I whispered. "What if sothing happens to you? I couldn’t live with that."
Harper stopped pacing. Her expression twisted—part anger, part sothing softer.
"Don’t you dare be scared," she said, but her voice had lost so of its fire.
I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.
I hated that I was afraid. Hated that the people who hurt others always seed to keep winning, while the rest of us just tried to survive.
Harper muttered, "That fucking bastard Xavier... even after the divorce, he still finds a way to poison everything. Can’t so higher power just take them both off the damn map?"
Then—ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Harper froze. "Who the hell could that be at this hour?"
She started toward the door, but I moved before I could think, grabbing her arm.
"Don’t open it."
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