Chapter 120: 120-The Footage
Jaguar:
I’d been extremely anxious, but that didn’t mean I was going to leave just because they told me to.
I stayed outside. A few minutes later, they came out. He carried her to his car and gently settled her inside.
That was when it hit me.
She definitely hadn’t wanted him taking care of her, because there was no way he had made that decision himself.
It’s impossible for someone to stand in front of Verity and not want to take care of her.
’Your brother is the one,’ my wolf pointed out, and I grimaced.
"I don’t know. Ragnar’s actions really put me off," I admitted.
"Ragnar really surprised me. He always talked about taking care of women and all. Honestly, I’d call it hypocrisy," my wolf continued, making me frown.
It was the first time either of us had criticized Ragnar like that.
In other words, my wolf was openly calling him a hypocrite.
That was about the worst thing we could call Ragnar.
He had always claimed to be straightforward and unbiased.
Well, except when it came to Gigi.
He had never hidden the fact that she was different from the rest of us, that she held a place no one else did.
He was biased towards us brothers as well.
At the same time, Aster had been calling me nonstop.
Even though we were back together, things had changed.
Before, whenever we got back together after a fight, I’d be head over heels for her again until she found another way to fuck things up with Gigi.
This time, though, it was different. Even Gigi wasn’t focused on Aster anymore because she was dealing with her own problems.
"What is it, Aster?" I answered, unable to hide the exhaustion in my voice.
"I just wanted to know. When can we meet again?" she asked.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I shouldn’t have gotten back together with her when I wasn’t really feeling it.
"Aster, I’m really busy these days," I replied.
"Really? You’re busy? That’s kind of crazy because I remember Gigi mentioning that you guys were planning some sort of trip."
That was Aster’s way of calling me out on my lie.
"What exactly is going on with you, Jaguar? I’m really trying to fix things between us, but you seem so distant."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
By then, I had arrived home.
Part of me wanted to follow Roman’s trail, but I didn’t.
I didn’t want to make things worse. Verity would be furious if she found out I was going after her, stalking her.
Then again, it wasn’t as if I wasn’t already doing exactly that.
I’d already ordered my warriors to keep an eye on Roman, and so far, the reports they were sending me weren’t exactly encouraging.
"Nothing’s going on, Aster. I’ll talk to you later."
I ended the call and immediately opened the messages my warriors had been sending me.
"What the fuck?" I muttered under my breath as I read the reports several women had filed against Roman.
"What is it?"
Theodore’s voice made me shove my phone into my pocket.
It looked like Theodore and Ragnar were already home. They must have returned after meeting Gigi.
"Uh—nothing. I was just seeing if I could find any information on Gigi’s stalker."
The lie rolled off my tongue, leaving a bitter taste. I hated using Gigi as an excuse. I’d never done that before.
"Yeah, it’s crazy. Even after shutting down all the borders, we still haven’t found a single lead. All we have is one CCTV recording," Theodore replied and my heart lurched.
"What CCTV footage?" I asked.
He motioned for me to follow him to the table in the living room.
Ragnar was already waiting. One arm rested on the chair while his fingers covered part of his lips, his eyes fixed on me.
It made me uncomfortable.
Ragnar had a habit of looking at people as though he already knew exactly what they were up to.
The worst part was that he never explained himself.
He’d leave you wondering what was going through his mind, making it impossible to tell whether he genuinely suspected you or if it was simply the way he looked at everyone.
I walked over and sat beside him on the sofa while Theodore remained standing behind us.
"That’s the footage from the gas station."
Theodore did all the talking while Ragnar sat in silence.
The camera only covered the inside of the gas station, and even then, the view was limited.
It was an Omega community. Of course, their security wasn’t as advanced.
For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking that if we’d done more to help the Omega community, maybe we wouldn’t be dealing with this mess now.
What I couldn’t understand was why I was becoming so serious about Verity.
Why was she constantly on my mind? Why did every thought somehow lead back to her?
Then Ragnar finally pressed play.
The footage began with a hooded figure dragging Verity behind a pillar.
My fingers slowly curled into fists.
A strange feeling washed over me, so intense that I thought I might transition.
Watching that scene was unbearable.
The man didn’t just drag her behind the pillar. He started hitting her.
A second later, he looked up, tucked the letter into her dress, and ran.
Then I watched Ragnar rush over, lift Verity into his arms, and carry her away.
"This is bullshit."
Theodore was the first to snap. He grabbed the vase behind us and hurled it against the wall.
The sudden outburst shocked both Ragnar and me.
Maybe Theodore had realized that if this man was capable of doing something so brutal, there was no telling what he could have done to Gigi.
Theodore and Ragnar didn’t have any empathy for Verity.
I did.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.
The footage haunted me.
Every beat of my heart screamed for me to step through that screen and tear that bastard apart with my own hands.
At that moment, I found the perfect excuse.
Slowly, I turned my head toward Ragnar.
"Did you take Verity to the hospital?" I asked.
I already knew the answer, but I wanted him to say it out loud and realize his mistake.
More than that, I wanted to put him on the spot for being so cold toward a woman who had just been attacked.
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