Chapter 169: Chapter 169 Dark Truths Emerging
Draven’s POV
My son had been kidnapped for over twelve hours now. Since the moment Mabel called, I’d had to keep myself under rigid control. I wouldn’t lose it because I had to find my son. And I needed to take care of Caroline.
I had already activated all my contacts throughout the werewolf community. Many wolves were looking for my son, but I was still analyzing if there was anything else I could do. Ryan and Kyle had arranged for beds, food, and clothes. The pack house had been transformed into a search command center, and none of us wanted to leave. Kyle had set up a large conference table with chairs around it in the main hall, so many pack members were working there.
"Alpha Draven." I heard Clara’s voice and went to embrace her. "stay calm and have faith. Liam will be found safe."
"I’m so glad you came, Clara. I feel like I’m about to lose it." She was like a mother to me, and all I needed was her here to support me.
"You won’t lose control!" she said firmly, her eyes flashing with determination. "You’re a strong Alpha and an intelligent man. Being nervous and shaken is normal, but you’ll keep leading everything to find your son. Where’s Caroline?"
"Sleeping. We turned one of the guest bedrooms into a sort of dormitory, and she’s there with Eleanor," I explained, my wolf Alaric pacing restlessly inside me.
"Then, dear, go get some rest. I just got here and I’ll take care of things for a while." Clara patted my cheek with maternal affection.
"You must be tired. Go rest," I suggested to her.
"I flew first class and slept the entire flight. Tired is the last thing I am. Go. Spend some time with Caroline," Clara advised, and I went, knowing she would keep everything under control.
I lay down next to Caroline, but couldn’t sleep. My mate was resting thanks to the medication Dr. Molina had given her. Pack members were taking turns keeping watch, and at this moment, Kyle was at the main entrance monitoring communications and who came and went while Ava got some rest. Eleanor also needed medication; she was nearly having a breakdown until Nate arrived to comfort her.
I had talked to Eleanor’s parents and explained the situation, asking them to speak with Caroline’s parents and bring them here.It would be good for them to be with her now.
Alpha Gerald and his Luna had always treated Liam as their grandson, helping care for him since the day he was born. Alpha Gerald had even provided a list of his contacts in the human police force, promising it would expedite the search. My mind started to wander; I couldn’t lose my son. I would destroy whoever did this.
Kyle pulled me from my thoughts through our mind-link, telling me that Alpha Arthur had news. I got up and went back to the main hall.
"What is it, Arthur?" I asked as soon as I entered, Alaric snarling inside me.
"Dennis and Daniel came to work here on Linda’s recommendation. They’d been on the security team for five years. She did everything very carefully,there was no trace of her manipulating HR to hire them. There was no apparent connection between them," Arthur explained, his face grim.
"Explain better," Kyle requested.
"They’re Leila’s cousins, from the Social Club management. I assume you know who she is."
"Yes, we know, and we heard that name mixed up in some dirt these days," I said, remembering the conversation with Jacqueline.
"That’s exactly why I remembered them when I saw the information my team gathered. You mentioned this to me, and I also recognized the connection," Arthur explained. "The human police have already launched a search for them."
"But how did Linda manage to get them hired?" Kyle asked, her brow furrowed.
"She managed because Draven ordered their hiring," Arthur said and handed us the two security guards’ files.
"But I don’t remember this!" I said, looking at my signature on the papers. "This was five years ago. I wasn’t directly involved in security hiring and never recommended anyone to the pack security team."
I was stunned, staring at the papers in front of me. That was indeed my signature. The word "hire" was written in handwriting that looked like mine, but wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t remember signing this.
"And how did this end up in Human Resources?" I asked, Alaric growling with suspicion.
"A pack member found it on your desk and gave it to the HR director. We’ve already called both of them here to better understand this," Arthur explained. "According to this pack member, he and Linda had a brief fling, and she would often visit his desk. He found these two resumes right after she had been at his desk, and since it had your signature, he gave them to HR, who hired them without question."
"But how did I sign this?" I couldn’t believe I had done that.
"Draven, five years ago you were overwhelmed with taking over as Alpha after your parents’ death. You were working around the clock, barely sleeping, missing meals," Ryan reminded me. "Linda might have caught you on a day when you were exhausted or distracted."
"Damn it! That’s possible... I trusted her. She was my father’s assistant before mine. I used to sign many things she brought to my desk without running them by Clara." I remembered and slammed my fist on the table. "What else do we know about these two?"
"Right now, the police are tracking down every relative and friend of theirs," Ryan said. "They’re also looking for Linda, but haven’t found her yet. They searched Howard’s house thoroughly but found nothing. However, his daughter Ella hasn’t been found yet."
"I think she and Linda have my son. Moon Goddess, they’re both insane!" I shuddered at the thought of my pup with those two.
Dawn broke. We went to check on Caroline and Eleanor, inviting them for coffee. We were in the main hall having coffee and updating everyone on everything we knew. Eleanor had recovered and was already in "I’ll tear the world apart to find Liam" mode, her wolf clearly driving her protective instincts. Kyle signaled to me through our pack link that Caroline’s parents were about to arrive.
"Eleanor’s parents are with them, and so is Dr. Molina," Kyle informed me.
I braced myself, knowing I needed to be strong for Caroline when she faced her parents.
"Any word from the border patrols?" I asked Kyle quietly.
"Nothing yet, Alpha," she replied. "But we have eyes and ears everywhere. If they try to move him across any territory, we’ll know."