uncers 104

Chapter 104 

FAYE 

Claim 

Alexander drove in silence, his hand steady on the wheel, eyes forward like he was counting every thought in his head before speaking. 

It wasn’t until we were well outside Blood Crescent territory that he finally pulled the car to the side of the road. My stomach twisted, not out of fear, but anticipation. He didn’t usually stop unless something mattered. 

He turned to me slowly, his expression calm, though I could see the hint of something hard in his eyes. 

“Faye,” he said. “we need to talk about what happened yesterday.” 

I tensed. Of course. My throat tightened, but I forced myself to look at him. 

He leaned back slightly, still watching me. “I know you think I’ve been too suspicious, always looking over my shoulder, questioning everyone unnecessarily lately.” 

I almost smiled bitterly. He wasn’t wrong. I had thought that more than once. I even had an 

issue with him over it. 

“But after what happened,” he continued, “you see it now, don’t you?” 

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. He read my silence easily, the way he always did. His gaze softened for a moment, though the weight of his words didn’t ease. 

“I don’t trust the walls of that house right now,” he said firmly. “Too many ears, too many eyes. That’s why I wanted us to talk here.” 

I nodded slightly. It made sense…of course it did…but hearing it from him only pressed the truth deeper into me. 

He turned his eyes back to the road briefly before facing me again. “The whole thing was obviously a set–up. A careful one. Someone wanted that moment to happen, and they wanted everyone there to see it…i believe the plan had been in place for a while now.” 

I drew in a shaky breath. The words were ones I already knew in my gut, but having him say them made them heavier, undeniable. 

He studied me for a beat, giving me space to absorb it, then added, “Whoever did this planned it down to the smallest detail. There was a spy of course. That’s how they knew about the investigation. They knew enough to spread the right whispers among the pack.” 

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Claim 

My brows furrowed as I tried to follow. “You’re saying spreading the news about the attack was because someone wanted to frame me?” 

The look he gave me said he couldn’t believe I’d even asked. “Of course,” he said quietly but firmly. “Think about it. Word of the border attack was still restricted, wasn’t it? Only a few knew the details. Yet suddenly, half the pack is whispering about it, even the ring. Why do you think that happened? To prepare them. So that when you were ‘caught‘ with the ring, everyone would already know exactly how serious it was supposed to be.” 

I froze, staring at him as his reasoning fell into place piece by piece. My chest felt tight, like I’d swallowed stones. 

“So…” My voice came out soft. “You’re saying someone made sure the whole pack was primed before it happened? So they’d all know what the ring meant?” 

“Yes,” he said simply, his jaw tight. “They wanted the pack united against you before the ring ever fell out of your bag.” 

I shook my head slowly, barely able to process it. “That’s… that’s insane. Someone really went that far, just to destroy me?” 

His silence was answer enough. He let me sit with the thought for a moment, his eyes still on me. I had been the center of the whole thing all along but I was too naive to see it. Or maybe the fact that I wanted to be accepted crippled my instincts. 

Then he said, “I asked for your belongings to be brought to me. Everything that was confiscated yesterday.” 

I swallowed, waiting, my fingers twisting nervously in my lap. 

“I checked the purse,” he went on. “And it was obvious the strap didn’t slip by accident. It wasn’t wear and tear either. It was cut. Cleanly.” 

My heart skipped. “Cut?” I echoed, barely a whisper. I was so confused by the whole thing that instant that I couldn’t even think or notice anything like that. I didn’t check to see why the bag slipped. I didn’t even get the chance to check. 

“Yes,” he said, his voice clipped with certainty. “Whoever planted that ring wanted it to fall out at the right moment. They cut your strap so it would give way at the perfect time, spill your things across the floor, and there it would be–convenient, undeniable evidence.“. 

My pulse quickened, a rush of fear flooding through me. “Who would… who would hate me that much?” 

He didn’t answer. His eyes narrowed slightly, like he had ideas but wasn’t ready to share them 

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yet. Or maybe he didn’t want to burden me with names until he had proof. Either way, the silence told me enough. 

Claim 

He looked at me like I was asking the wrong question. “Who has access to your room, Faye? Who could go in even when you’re not there?” 

I almost laughed. A sharp little smirk tugged at my lips before I could stop it. “No one,” I said quickly. “No one has that much access. I mean, sure…I have the habit of forgetting to lock it sometimes while I’m inside, but I always lock it when I go out. Even if it’s just for a short 

while.” 

The words came out with confidence, but halfway through them, something snagged in my memory. A tiny detail. My breath caught, and I faltered. 

I could have sworn I locked it yesterday before leaving. I always did. But when I walked back in… Maya was already there. In my room. She’d been folding laundry, smiling like it was the most normal thing in the world. I hadn’t even questioned it. 

The realization hit me like a stone dropped in my stomach. My smirk faded, and I must have gone pale, because Alexander was studying me sharply now. 

“What is it?” he asked. His voice was low, searching. “What just crossed your mind?” 

I hesitated, guilt pricking at me before I even spoke. Saying it felt like betrayal, even though I knew I had to. My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. 

“Maya,” I said softly. “She was in my room yesterday. I thought I’d locked it, but when I came back, she was inside already. She said she brought laundry.” 

The look on Alexander’s face didn’t change much–if anything, his eyes narrowed in a way that told me he wasn’t surprised. He leaned back slightly, almost like he’d been expecting me 

to land here sooner or later. 

I rushed to add, “I feel terrible even saying her name in something like this. She’s the only one who goes in there, and she does it all the time, but…I don’t want to believe she’d ever-” 

Alexander’s mouth curved. 

And in that instant, I knew exactly what he was remembering. 

How I’d been angry with him before. How I’d snapped when he questioned Maya, insisting she was harmless, insisting he was being paranoid. 

Now here I was, saying her name myself. The irony burned hot in my cheeks. 

“Could she possibly be involved?” I asked him. 

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