Raphael’s POV
Honestly, seeing her swollen face truly improved my mood. If I knew who beat her, I would pay for custor service. Alia’s eyes watered, and she didn’t look great crying in this state. If anything, she looked grotesque.
She collapsed into my mother’s arms, and Natalia imdiately wrapped her arms around her, murmuring soft reassurances. "You’re safe now," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "You’re safe. No one will hurt you."
I nodded slowly, processing the information. "Oh," I said after a second. "So that’s why you were blowing up my phone." I muttered, finally understanding the situation.
My expression shifted slightly, though there was no real concern behind it. "Why did you call ?" I asked. "I’m not your husband. Or the police." I said seriously. Did she want to get beaten up with her? I already had enough problems as it stood.
The silence that followed was heavier this ti. My mother stiffened, her hands trembling slightly as she held Alia.
"How can you sound like that?" she demanded, her voice rising. "Look at her. Look at the state she is in."
I did. I took a good look again. I let my gaze travel over Alia, noticing every bruise, every mark, every sign of what she had been through. Then I gave a small nod.
"Yeah," I said calmly. "Best Christmas gift I could ask for." I added, honestly, just to spite her.
My mother’s breath hitched violently, her hand flying to her chest. "You will be the death of ," she said, her voice shaking with rage.
Alia broke down even harder. The look on her face was gold.
"Have so sympathy, Raphael," she cried. "I lost the baby."
The words landed, and for a brief mont, everything stilled.
I frowned slightly, the information settling in. Was I sad? Not really. Maybe just a bit of disappointnt, but what was the need? The company was at a crossroads, and an heir might not be of much importance.
"That makes things better," I said after a pause. "But why didn’t they take care of the mother too?" I added genuinely.
The reaction was imdiate. Pin-drop silence. Mrs Sinclair reacted first. She stepped forward, her face twisted with fury as she raised her hand to slap . I caught her wrist before it could reach .
My grip tightened just enough to stop her, my expression turning cold. She winced, her face shifting as she clearly hadn’t expected to stop her.
"What?" I asked quietly. "You expect to cry over a child that destroyed my marriage?"
Her eyes widened in shock.
"If anything," I continued, my voice dropping lower, "it’s a sha that baby didn’t die before Lynn left."
The room went completely silent. Even Alia stopped crying for a second.
I released Mrs Sinclair’s hand slowly, letting it fall back to her side as I looked around the room. Not one of them spoke for a long mont.
Mrs Sinclair lost it. She looked like she had suffered a great injustice, while Alia started wailing again. Natalia finally spoke up.
"You can’t say that, Raph. Alia just lost your child. Her emotions are fragile," Natalia said softly.
Mrs Sinclair cut in imdiately, pointing a finger at my face. "How dare you say that? You were the one who impregnated her."
That was a valid crash-out. I was indeed the scumbag who thought he had everything under control, only to destroy everything.
"That’s right," I said calmly. "I was a scumbag to have gotten into an affair with your daughter, and I have no right to act righteous." My words left all of them silent.
My eyes fell on Alia. A soft smile touched my lips, one that clearly terrified her.
"But why don’t you ask your daughter how she got a married man into her bed? One she called her brother..."
As soon as I spoke, Alia lost it.
"That’s enough, Raphael. If you have nothing good to say, you shouldn’t have co!" she scread.
I was a bit stunned, but I guess she didn’t want the room knowing she had sexually assaulted .
I smiled, then took a seat across from them. "Trust , I had no plans of spending my Christmas morning looking at your face," I groaned, massaging my temples. God, I was exhausted.
My voice ca out strained, while everyone else looked horrified by my reaction. My father could barely hold back his amusent, like this was so kind of show.
I crossed my legs, my tone turning serious. "Let’s get to the important part. You said you were attacked. By who exactly?" I asked.
No matter what, Alia was still under the Volkovs’ protection. I was curious who did it. Were there more enemies than I had imagined?
Alia’s grip tightened on the sheets, and her lips trembled as if the mory itself terrified her.
"Who else would want your child dead if not Lucien?"
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over .
My entire deanour went cold. Lucien? It wasn’t impossible. Considering he had sent the divorce papers, Lucien was exactly the type of person who loved to corner his prey. And he was the one person who hated Alia’s guts, aside from Braelyn and .
Was this a threat? A way to force my hand? He truly wasn’t giving a choice.
I didn’t lash out imdiately.
"Are you certain it was him?" I asked quietly.
Alia gulped, then nodded. "There were no caras where I was attacked, but the area they kidnapped from had caras. There must be a way to see the wolf tattoo the Orlov n have on their forearms..." she said, then paused.
"The lead said that you were being stubborn and refused to listen to his boss’s demands. He didn’t explicitly say Lucien’s na, but he left a ssage..."
Alia nodded at Natalia.
Natalia sighed, then walked to a bag in the corner of the room. She pulled out a bloody top and held it up.
SIGN THE DIVORCE PAPERS. TAKE THE DEAL
was written in blood.
My fist clenched for a mont. Then my mind went eerily calm.
"This is the clothing Alia was wearing. Who else wants you to desperately divorce Braelyn?" Natalia asked.
I glanced at Alia. She also wanted to divorce Braelyn, but I wasn’t going to rush to conclusions yet. Still, the coincidence was too strong. Alia had no idea Braelyn had asked for a divorce or about Lucien’s deal.
There was a high possibility it was Lucien.
"Where were you kidnapped from?" I asked her.
*******
A few minutes later, I stepped out of the room, already texting a private investigator. If it was Lucien’s doing, the Orlovs hardly left evidence, but the place Alia was kidnapped from should have caras.
Raphael: I need you to look into so surveillance caras. Confirm if Alia Sinclair was kidnapped by any syndicate tied to the Orlovs.
By the ti I sent the ssage, I was unusually calm.
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