Chapter 165
Chapter 165:
“Because it was an inside job,” I interrupted, my voice slicing through the chaotic chatter. The entire lobby fell dead silent. I shoved Vincent forward. “Sheriff Xander, this is Vincent Parrish. He was recently terminated for severe corruption. He has just confessed to sending a fake emergency mind-link to lure my Director away from the vault p>
Vincent’s face drained of color. “Adelina, you can’t do this! I’m family p>
I ignored him. I didn’t wait for human law to process the betrayal. I turned to the two heavily muscled Pack Warriors standing by the elevators.
“Warriors,” I commanded, my tone ringing with absolute Pack law. “Detain Mr. Parrish in the ground-floor holding office. Confiscate his phone and all communication devices. He speaks to no one p>
Sheriff Xander blinked, visibly stunned by the swift, ruthless display of our internal justice, but he didn’t intervene as the Warriors grabbed Vincent by the arms and hauled him away.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻
Seeing his inside man dragged off, Zack Rutledge panicked. He scrambled to his feet, clutching the broken violin neck, and made a sudden dash toward the heavy glass doors where the human press was already gathering.
I stepped directly into his path, blocking the exit.
“Move,” Zack demanded, his voice rising in feigned hysteria. “I need to speak to the press p>
“You aren’t leaving this lobby until your official police statement is recorded, Mr. Rutledge,” I replied, my eyes locking onto his.
The grieving artist mask vanished instantly. The fake tears stopped. Zack’s face twisted into a sneer of pure, unadulterated malice. He leaned in close, dropping his voice to a guttural whisper that only my wolf hearing could catch.
“You’ll regret this, little Luna,” Zack hissed, the raw, feral scent of a true Rogue bleeding through his cologne. “There are a lot of hungry wolves in the wild p>
Adelina POV
Zack’s feral threat hung in the air between us, but I didn’t flinch. I simply signaled the Warriors to keep him contained until the police finished their initial sweep. I had bigger problems to solve and a ticking clock to beat.
By 2:00 AM, the windowless Security Hub in the hotel’s basement smelled of bitter espresso and the sharp, stormy edge of my wild rose scent. Torres, my newly appointed acting Gamma, stood beside me, his eyes bloodshot as we reviewed the Alpha corridor footage for the hundredth time.
“It’s a dead end, Luna,” Torres muttered, rubbing his temples. “No one went in or out p>
“No,” I whispered. Deep within me, the dormant instincts of my White Wolf bloodline stirred — an inexplicable itch beneath my skin demanding I look closer. “Play the service corridor feed again. Zoom in on the top left corner p>
Torres frowned but complied. I stared at the screen. There, in the shadows near the ceiling, a tiny spider was spinning a web. I watched it drop, weave, and climb. Ninety seconds later, it executed the exact same sequence.
“It’s a loop,” I breathed, the realization clicking into place like a loaded gun. “Ten minutes of footage, perfectly spliced and repeated p>
Torres cursed softly. “An inside job with high-tech backing p>
“Trace the insertion point,” I ordered, my blood running cold. I already knew who was behind it. Kira Parrish and her inside man, Vincent.