Shadows of Destiny

48 Lying Tongue, Truthful Eyes.

~Tamia~

I could feel Sylvester’s uneasiness about

my trip to the western village. I did not know how to tell him I could never leave him.

After our discussion, he insisted that we visit Larry.

He wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, and I needed to figure out how to stop him from wasting

his time.

I was feeling nauseous, so I went to the bathroom to throw up my stomach’s

content.

Sylvester rushed to the bathroom, a bit

worried. He carried me to the shower and

turned on the water while he took off my

clothes.

“I noticed you were slightly warm last night but didn’t think much of it. Now you are burning up. What is

happening?” he asked me calmly, and I could see he was fighting every fibre of his being from acting

out.

“It started after we had tea and biscuits

yesterday afternoon. I threw it all up and felt better, but the nausea is back,” I managed. The water was

soothing, and I wanted to stay under it.

“Who served the snacks?” He asked, and I knew what he wanted to imply, so I shook my head.

“I doubt they did anything to the food, darling. I made the person that served it taste it,” I said,

withholding the person’s name, and he was silent. Once I was calm, he carried me to the bed.

“You can’t go to Brighton tomorrow in this condition,” he said, and I smiled

because I was already feeling better.

“Nice try, Alpha,” I said and touched his

nose. He did not smile.

Let me call the doctor?” he said, and I knew how important going to Brighton was, so I shook my head

and sat up, pretending to be strong.

“I feel better. You will be wasting your

time. I believe the stress caused it, and something might have irritated my

stomach from breakfast. Come on. Let us visit Larry.” I said, and he frowned at me for a bit before

finally accepting.

We got dressed and left the room. The moment we walked past Stephanie’s room, I became nervous.

“Where do you think your mother went to?” I asked, and Sylvester shook his head.

“I do not know, and honestly, I can’t be bothered. No matter who she brings to

plead with me to let Dominic go, I won’t listen. Sadly, she does not understand the gravity of Dominic’s

offence,” he said, and I touched his hands. 1

“I do not think your brother did it, Sylvester. I believe him. He is too proud to beg like that. Someone

wants him to take the fall. We need to question Bryce, not Larry, and you must ensure the council does

not get their hands on Dominic. If they do, he would be found guilty. I doubt they would go through the

stress of

finding the truth. See how they handled

the matter that concerned you. They did

not do any investigation to figure out what was going on. They tried to blame you for the crime. They

are either a bunch of lazy idiots or against the Volkov family and want you to step down by all means.

Which is why you can’t let them lay their hands on him.” I said, and he pulled me

close as we walked.

“If my mother only knew you meant well, ” he said and stopped to kiss the top of my head. Then he

looked into my eyes and caressed my chin.

“Do not get your hopes up, green eyes. Dominic might disappoint you,” he said,

and I smiled at him.

We left the mansion, and a Jeep was

waiting at the entrance.

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We drove to Lucland silently, and Stephanie’s trip did not sit well with me. I doubted she was going to

get help.

Whatever she planned on doing was extreme, and I knew it had to do with me.

I could not understand why the woman would blame me for this. I might have overstepped when I went

to ask her to

keep her son at home, and I might have said some things that scared her, but I have done nothing

wrong.

I was troubled, and so was Kaira.

Stephanie wasn’t a good enemy to have.

Even though Sylvester had sided with me against her, and I knew she couldn’t

make him change his mind about me, I

did not want their relationship to be

damaged.

I remembered all the good times we had had with Stephanie and wondered if she had been pretending

all along. I doubted it, though, because she seemed genuine. She loses her mind whenever it has to do

with Dominic, and I needed to know why. 1

We arrived at the Northern prisons, and to my surprise, Sylvester asked to see Bryce instead of Larry.

“You changed your mind?” I asked him, and he shook his head.

“I want us to see Bryce first, and then we can check on Larry,” he said, smiling,

I was troubled, and so was Kaira. Stephanie wasn’t a good enemy to have.

Even though Sylvester had sided with me against her, and I knew she couldn’t make him change his

mind about me, I did not want their relationship to be

damaged.

I remembered all the good times we had had with Stephanie and wondered if she had been pretending

all along. I doubted it, though, because she seemed genuine. She loses her mind whenever it has to do

with Dominic, and I needed to know why.

We arrived at the Northern prisons, and to my surprise, Sylvester asked to see Bryce instead of Larry.

“You changed your mind?” I asked him, and he shook his head.

“I want us to see Bryce first, and then we can check on Larry,” he said, smiling,

and I smiled back.

I could see he was stressed and worried,

but he hid it well.

It wasn’t easy knowing that faceless and nameless people were plotting against

him.

I just hope he handles the pressure well.

We were led to an interrogation room.

The smell of the disinfectant they used to clean the place filled my nose, and I felt

sick but held it. I knew if I showed any sign of sickness, Sylvester won’t allow me to go to Brighton.

“May I have a glass of cold water?” I linked Sylvester, and he frowned at me. I smiled at him, so he

won’t think anything

was wrong.

“Thirsty”, I whispered, and he nodded.

Four chairs were in the room, and one

was welded to a desk. I figured that wa

for the prisoner. I sat on one of the fre chairs while Sylvester paced.

The water came, and it was freezing. Drinking it made me feel better. Bryce

was ushered in a few minutes later and

kept his eyes bowed.

“Look up,” I ordered him to look into his

eyes.

He refused until Sylvester ordered him to.

“You do whatever she tells you,” he

warned the man, and he apologised to me.

“Explain how Dominic sent you the order. “Sylvester said, and Bryce looked down.

“Look up!” I ordered the man I went to

stand beside Sylvester.

I doubted the man would tell the truth,

but I needed to see his eyes.

“He called me to come to the estate. Then

he handed the document to me and told me that his eminence wanted me to carry out the task quickly.

That the east is supposed to pay development tax, and if they refuse, I should use force.” he said, and

Sylvester looked at him.

“Was he the one that asked you to request development tax from Brighton too?” Sylvester asked, but I

doubted that was the right question because the council- owned up to it.

“That order came from the council”, he

said, and I now understood what Sylvester was doing. He wanted to gauge his reaction. He wanted to

understand

how he behaved when he told the truth

and compare it to his mannerisms when. he spoke of his dealings with Dominic. Sylvester was a

master.

“Tell me how Dominic called you. When

he called, and the time and day you went to the estate?” Sylvester asked, and the

man swallowed.

“He called me in the evening, and I went there an hour after his call. This

happened five days ago,” he said, and Sylvester was satisfied, but I wasn’t.

“You were right, Tamia; he is lying, Sylvester linked me.

This wasn’t Sylvester’s duty. His office places him higher than this. They would normally send Kappa

William or kappa Wilson to do this. Sylvester must care for

his brother to do it himself.

Although Sylvester had figured out the man was lying, Sylvester’s conviction was not enough to free

Dominic. The council

will still ask for him and will likely

sentence him. It wasn’t enough. We did not only have to know Bryce was lying. We had to prove it.

“So you went to the estate in the evening five days ago to receive the order from

Dominic Volkov,” I said, summarising his explanation, and Bryce nodded.

I was mad at the bastard but needed to

back him into a corner without

threatening him.

If I threatened him, his confession might

be seen as something made under

coercion, which might make it

inadmissible.

“I can see you have an excellent memory, Enforcer Golubev,” I said, and he looked down, avoiding eye

contact. I did not need to see his eyes anymore.

“I am sure you didn’t sneak into the estate. You would have had no reason to sneak in because you

were officially summoned. You must have gone through the gates. Will the people stationed at the gate

be able to testify that you passed through that gate in the evening five days. ago? Will the people

stationed at the

entrance into the building be able to

testify that you were in that building?” said, and he nodded.

I realised they had that part covered, so I decided to go the extra mile and lie to

catch him.

“Will the newly stationed guards in the hallway testify that they saw you and Dominic that day? And

since Dominic

doesn’t have an office in the estate, can

they testify that they saw him give you a document in the hallway or admit you

into his bedroom or any room for a private conversation that the ladies in the harem weren’t privy to?” I

said, and the man looked at me. Of course, there were no guards in the hallway, but he could not know

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that because the person that sent him did not have that information.

“I can’t remember the time of day,” He said, and I nodded.

“That is great, but as long as it happened five days ago, we do not need time. I want

to know if anyone would testify to those things,” I said, and he was silent.

“I do not want to hurt you, Bryce, but I

want you to tell us what happened. If you tell us the truth, then Lord Volkov would

tamper justice with mercy.

We know you went to the estate but had

no dealings with Dominic. Which means

Dominic Volkov had no interaction with

you. What we want to know now is who put you up to it and why you agreed to do it,” I asked him and

his eyes welled up in

tears.

“My wife is seven months pregnant. I got a note stating they would hurt her if I did not comply. I did not

meet anyone. The order was sent to me via mail, and I was asked to state that Lord Dominic put me

up to it. They took my Maria during that

time, and I did all they asked to get he

back,” he said, and I smiled, knowing m

guess was correct.

They wanted the plan to go belly up and Dominic to take the fall. I also believed

this was to make Dominic the fall guy for

what happened in Brighton.

Knowing Dominic and Sylvester do not see eye to eye, they thought Sylvester wouldn’t bother to dig

and help his brother, and that would have been the case if I had not insisted.

“So where is Maria now?” I asked him, and he told us where his mate was.

Sylvester placed a call to Marcel to have the woman taken to safety.

“You will be transported to a cell on the estate for your safety.”

Sylvester said, and the man thanked him.

I asked Sylvester if he would release

Larry, but he refused. Larry had misguided Dominic, Sylvester wanted him to suffer a bit, and I agreed.

We returned to the estate in high spirits

and returned to our room.

The moment we entered, I went to lie on

the couch because I was tired and did not

want Sylvester to know.

“You have to stall the hearing. Do not let

the council know what we know. Keep your brother in the cell. That way, whoever tried to set him up

would believe he had succeeded. It will buy me the time I need to investigate in Brighton. Once I am

back, we can have Bryce speak his truth,” I said, and Sylvester came to sit on the chair where I was

lying. I could see he wasn’t comfortable with me going to Brighton but did not want to say no

because he had already said yes.

“Who do you think is doing this?” Sylvester said, and I honestly did not know. I was more worried about

what Stephanie was up to than who was trying

to set Dominic up.

“You should just be cautious and don’t give too much away. Once you do not raise the alarm that

someone is out to get you, the person would still think they are winning, but I suspect this is bigger than

it seems. You occupy the most powerful seat in our world; it is meant to be hot,” I said, and he looked

at me and smiled.

Then he stood up and carried me off the couch to the bed.

“We will be having dinner in the room. I will spend the night proving to you why you should return

quickly,” He said, peeling off my clothes. “Throughout your journey, you will be wet and eager to

come home when you recollect what I will

do to you tonight,” He said and sucked my neck. My skin was extra sensitive, and I knew it was on.

Kaira purred in my

head, eager to receive Sylvester’s love.