Chapter 140: Chapter 140 The Truth Beneath the Surface
Author
Meanwhile, Alpha Enzo had invited Alpha Zack to his home to deal with the mess from the ruined mating ceremony.
"Zack, you know Selina would never bully anyone. This is all Vanessa Holt ’s fault. You know how crazy that girl is. Back then, Selina just didn’t tell the teachers. Every time she tried to stop it, Vanessa threatened her. Selina was too scared to tell me at home. That’s how the others got away with it."
Vanessa used to be part of Selina’s friend group.But Vanessa’s reputation in their pack was trash. She smoked, drank, and slept around constantly. There were even rumors she did drugs.And the Holt family had just gone bankrupt recently.
Vanessa was the perfect person to blame.
"Then why is Selina’s face in the video?" Alpha Zack asked.
Selina’s voice was soft and sweet. "Zack, you’ve heard of deepfakes, right? AI face-swapping? That person in the middle isn’t me. The one standing to the side who didn’t do anything? That’s me. I was scared, but I didn’t dare make Vanessa angry either."
Her story sounded perfect.
Alpha Zack wanted to believe it, but he couldn’t shake his uneasiness."Uncle Enzo, this whole situation is bad for business. You need to get those victims to press charges against the actual bullies. Our companies are partners now. If one takes a hit, the other suffers too."
"Yes, yes, Zack, don’t worry. I’m already handling it. Those poor girls are victims too. Someone with bad intentions made them lie about our Selina. I understand why they did it. I won’t go after them for this."
That last part made Alpha Zack frown.Something felt off, but he didn’t say anything.
After everything was explained, Selina couldn’t help asking, "Zack, can we still have another ceremony for our wedding?"
Alpha Zack paused. "Selina, let’s wait until this drama dies down."
Alpha Enzo smiled. "Now that we’ve sorted this out, Zack, when will you have Selina move into your place?"
Alpha Zack hesitated, then smiled weakly. "There’s no rush. Some furniture still hasn’t been delivered. Once everything’s ready next month, we’ll move."
"Selina will have to stay at her family’s house a bit longer."
Selina’s face went pale. She felt angry but couldn’t push him. "Alright, Zack. Whatever you think is best."
Alpha Zack left the Vance family estate and took a deep breath.
The furniture thing was just an excuse. He wasn’t ready to live with Selina yet.
As he walked down the stone path, he noticed an old storage shed in the garden. His feet moved on their own, pulling him closer.
He ran into a maid who had just finished cleaning. When she saw Alpha Zack, she bowed her head right away.
Alpha Zack looked around casually. "When you lock up, be more careful. Don’t lock anyone inside like before."
The maid looked confused.
She’d been with the Vance family for twenty years. Since when did they lock people up in the storage shed?
"Yes, Alpha Zack. We’ll be careful."
Alpha Zack had barely turned away when he heard her mumble, "Besides Miss Elara, who else has ever been locked in there?"
Alpha Zack spun around. His eyes locked onto the maid with such intensity that his wolf’s power leaked out. "What did you just say?"
The maid shook under the scary pressure coming from him. "I didn’t say anything!"
"Alpha Zack, if you don’t need anything else, I need to get back to work."
She ran away in panic, mentally kicking herself. "Keep your mouth shut! That almost caused serious trouble."
Alpha Zack was sure he’d heard right.
[What did she mean by "besides Elara"?]
As he drove, his mind kept racing. A white car suddenly cut in front of him, and he almost crashed into it.
The other driver was pissed. He rolled down his window and yelled, "Are you blind? Watch where you’re going!"
"Learn to drive, idiot!"
Then the guy hit the gas and took off.
Zack’s jaw clenched. His thoughts were all over the place. He pulled over and called Selina. "Selina, do you remember being locked in that storage shed when we were kids?"
Selina froze. Guilt flashed in her voice. "Yes—yes, Zack. I think something like that happened. Why are you asking?"
"How long were you locked in there? Do you remember?" Zack’s tone sounded casual, but he was fishing for information.
"Not very long," Selina lied on the spot. "Zack, that was so long ago. I’ve almost forgotten what happened."
Zack’s heart dropped.
[How could she forget?
He remembered that day perfectly. It was the first time they met.
He could still picture the scared look in Selina’s eyes.
Whenever Elara got under his skin, Alpha Zack would think back to that day to remind himself why he chose Selina.]
The long silence made Selina nervous about what he was thinking.
Her fingers twisted together as she called out carefully, "Zack? Are you still there?"
"Yeah." His voice was flat. "It’s nothing. Just curious. I’m still driving. I’ll call you later."
After he hung up, Selina felt like she’d just pushed him further away.
Her gut told her Alpha Zack wouldn’t have asked about the shed for no reason!
Selina rounded up every servant who’d been working in the garden that day.
She grilled each one until she got the full story.
Her expression turned ice cold. She pulled aside the maid who’d been cleaning the storage shed.
"Cassie , you’ve worked for our family for a while, haven’t you?"
"Miss Selina , I’ve been here nearly twenty years."
"That’s a long time." She smiled, but it looked anything but friendly. "Tomorrow my father will give you three months’ severance pay. Congratulations on your early retirement."
Cassie’s head snapped up. "Miss... what do you mean?"
"Our family doesn’t keep people who can’t keep their mouths shut. Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come to work anymore."
If this woman hadn’t blabbed, why would Alpha Zack suddenly ask about that old storage shed?
These longtime staff members who couldn’t control their tongues were liabilities. Better to cut them loose before they caused real damage.
