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Iwalked into my office, greeted by heavy, cloying tension. It was fucking palpable. While I carried out quick introductions, Bryce glared at Isaiah with such intensity that it made me uncomfortable. Isaiah seemed unfazed by it, though. I found it strange that Bryce was reacting so strongly to someone he had never met, but I chose not to dwell on it. There were more important things to focus on, such as Isaiah’s report.
“Isaiah.” I extended my hand to him. “Please tell me you have some news.”
“Yes, sir. I managed to find the information you wanted.”
“Great.” I picked up my phone. “Let me just shoot Liza a quick message to come and join us. We can discuss everything together.”
Isaiah shook his head at the mention of Liza, then hesitated for what seemed like an eternity. It appeared the knowledge he’d acquired weighed heavily on him. I watched as some internal debate played out in his eyes before he finally responded. “With due respect, Alpha, given the gravity of what I’ve uncovered, I would strongly advise you to listen to what I have to say first before sharing it with Mrs. Keller.”
His words immediately put me on edge, the hair at the back of my neck rising. What the hell had he uncovered? Based on his reaction and the way he had suggested we hold off on having Liza join us, I suspected he had something heavy to discuss. Trusting his judgment, I put my phone down on my desk.
I remembered my manners and gestured for them both to sit down.
They settled into their seats, and Isaiah made a subtle gesture to the right where Bryce sat, which I took to mean,did I want him to hear this report?Bryce was my business partner and closest friend. Though guilt gnawed at me for excluding Liza, I trusted him implicitly and valued his input. I nodded at Isaiah, indicating he should go on.
Isaiah relayed everything he’d discovered, and I was admittedly impressed by the sheer amount of information he’d gathered in just one day—not even a full day at that.
“I extracted more of the conversation between Cecily and Castro. It goes further back than what Nico found. From their text messages, it’s obvious they had some sort of romantic relationship during his time in Presley Acres, when he used the alias Stone,” Isaiah said. “Reading between the lines, however, makes it clear that it never became physical. Castro, as Stone, led Cecily on up until the moment he supposedly died.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Explain? Because most of the shit he convinced her to do happened after his alleged death.”
“After his death, he went on messaging Cecily from untraceable numbers—most likely burner phones—telling her he’d had to go into hiding and spewing lies about Liza. He told her Liza had set him up because he didn’t want to be romantically involved with her. But she’d continuously pursued him, insisting that he choose her as his partner. When he declined her proposal, she went with you to make him jealous.”
I scoffed. “What a fucking joke.” The sheer absurdity and ridiculousness of this situation was beyond belief. How could Cecily believe all that shit?
“When Cecily pushed back and questioned why he wouldn’t publicly acknowledge their relationship, Castro led her to think he was protecting her, that Liza would be furious that Cecily had taken him from her and would go after her. As improbable as this all sounds to us, you’ve probably guess that Cecily accepted Castro’s every word as truth.” Isaiah crossed his legs, his expression remaining neutral. “I never had the pleasure of meeting Cecily, but it seems she might’ve been desperate for some male attention, and that led to her being willing to believe anything he told her.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Cecily felt threatened by Liza because Liza is my fated mate. I can’t tell you for how long Cecily’s parents tried to push her on me. Every time we had a social event, I’d turn around and Cecily would be there. Comments were made at every pack meeting. It became almost scary how forceful they were over our potential mating and how it would improve their standing within the pack. So, Castro played right into her hands by making Cecily believe Liza wanted him.”
Isaiah nodded thoughtfully, understanding flickering in his eyes. “That explains a lot,” he said. “To her, Liza going after all of her men, one by one, eroded her ego. It was like Liza became the embodiment of her own worst fears, a constant reminder of her own insecurities possibly fed by her parents pushing her to better their place in society. And so, fueled by a burning desire to reclaim her self-worth, she vowed to get back at Liza to prove that she was not to be trifled with.”
Damn. Talk about a woman scorned. “So, her immediate response was to plant a bomb in the clock tower to potentiallykill innocent people? That doesn’t seem plausible, even for someone as senseless as Cecily.”
“Castro had her convinced that all of this had turned into some twisted game, that his and Liza’s feud would end with no one hurt.” Isaiah glanced at Bryce. “Cecily was so blinded by her rage and jealousy, she accepted everything Castro said without question. She saw the only means of getting revenge on Liza was to hurt her in return, regardless of who else might suffer along the way.”
Bryce, who had been silent up until that point, suddenly interrupted. “It sounds like Castro had Cecily wrapped around his little finger. I bet he observed her for a while, then used her jealousy to his advantage, implying that she could get even with Liza by taking something she wanted. I’ve got to hand it to the guy… Castro’s a fucking genius.”
I let out an exasperated sigh and crossed my arms as I leaned back into my chair. That narcissistic psychopath didn’t deserve any accolades. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly categorize him as a genius, but there’s no denying his uncanny ability to pinpoint and exploit someone’s vulnerabilities.”
“I’m of the opinion that Cecily had no knowledge of the bomb she planted in the clock tower being real,” Isaiah said. “Perhaps she believed it to be a prank, some trick that would scare you and Liza. But kill you? No, I don’t think Cecily wanted you dead. If she’d realized you’d have been harmed, I’m not sure she would have been so easy to sway. After all, she couldn’t have you, and she certainly didn’t approve of your relationship with Liza, so why not make you miserable along the way?”
I rolled my eyes, taken aback and finding it hard to understand how anyone in their right mind could be that clueless. I mean, seriously, how could she have not noticed all the twisted wiring snaking all across the room connecting it to the ominous-looking device? And that wasn’t even the worstpart. At the end of the wiring, there had been a bundle of fucking explosives.
“Are you positive Cecily wasn’t just acting the innocent? After all, if she didn’t know the bomb was real, she wouldn’t be punished as harshly if she were to get caught.”
“I’m not arguing with you, sir. It’s hard to accept, but the emails and texts are genuine.” Isaiah handed me a folder. I opened it and scanned the printouts. “There’s more.”
“What is this?”
“Routine deliveries made to Cecily,” Isaiah said. “Some extravagant flowers, and imported chocolates.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m assuming you don’t need an explanation for that.”
