Chapter 91: Her Safety.
Leonard.
I made arrangements with the psychiatric hospitals. I needed to ensure Theresa’s safety at all costs, no matter how complicated or extreme it seemed. Every detail had to be accounted for, every possible loophole sealed. There was no room for error when it came to her.
Bernard could not blame me for being ruthless. If anything, he should turn that anger inward and blame himself for acting all arrogant, for daring to believe he could lay a hand on Theresa and walk away without consequences. People like him only understood power when it was used against them.
After speaking to my doctor friend and confirming that everything was absolutely certain and properly arranged, I took a slow, steady breath. Only then did I allow myself a brief pause. I dropped my phone onto the table with a dull thud, the sound echoing faintly in the quiet room.
I leaned back in my chair, letting the weight of the moment settle over me. My back pressed firmly against the leather, and for a few seconds, I simply stared ahead without really seeing anything. My mind, however, refused to stay still. It drifted, as it always did when things were finally quiet, searching for the next problem that needed to be solved.
That was when I remembered I still had another matter to deal with—Michael.
My expression tightened slightly as I reached for my phone again. I unlocked it and quickly searched through Michael’s file, scrolling through the familiar details I had already gone over more than once.
At first glance, nothing appeared unusual. Everything about him seemed ordinary, clean, and well-documented. No inconsistencies. No red flags. Nothing that should have raised suspicion.
But I didn’t stop there.
I forced myself to go deeper, checking every section again with more attention, slower this time, until I reached the photographs attached to his records. That was when the first crack appeared in the image I had of him.
The current Michael and the past Michael did not look like the same person at all. It wasn’t a subtle difference that could be explained away by age or time. It was too obvious, too deliberate to ignore. The most glaring detail was the mark on his forehead in the older photographs—a distinct, noticeable feature that should have remained unchanged.
But in the present images, that mark was gone. Completely gone.
I narrowed my eyes, staring harder at the screen as if the truth might rearrange itself if I looked long enough. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t something that could simply disappear with time. You don’t grow up and lose something like that without a trace. Not without explanation. Not without records.
Something about this wasn’t adding up.
Slowly, I exhaled through my nose, irritation building in my chest. I removed the file from my screen and immediately dialed Marshall’s number, my decision made in an instant.
It rang only once before he picked up.
"Yes, Alpha!" he responded immediately as the call connected, his voice sharp and alert.
"Dig into Michael," I ordered, my tone tightening as I spoke. "Check if there are any records of him undergoing surgery... or anything at all. I want every single detail on him. Everything."
There was no hesitation on his end.
"Yes, Alpha," he replied at once.
The call ended, and I lowered my phone slowly.
I stood up from the chair and moved toward the window, my gaze fixed outside, though I wasn’t really seeing anything in front of me.
My thoughts were elsewhere—heavy, tangled, and increasingly restless.
I was slowly losing my breath, not from exhaustion, but from the way this Michael of a man was steadily becoming a problem I could no longer ignore. A headache that kept growing with every piece of information...or lack of it.
After a while, I picked up my phone along with the car key. Even though my brothers and I usually enjoyed driving together in the same car, we still maintained our own separate vehicles both at the company and at home, just in case any of us needed space or had to move independently.
Without wasting any more time, I headed downstairs immediately and slid into my car. The engine came alive smoothly, and I pulled out, focusing on the road ahead as I made my way to the hospital.
The drive felt slightly longer than usual, not because of distance alone, but because my thoughts kept drifting as I drove. By the time I finally arrived, I was already mentally prepared for whatever awaited me inside. However, the moment I stepped out and adjusted my gaze, I spotted Lurgard almost instantly.
He was outside the hospital.
That alone made me pause for a brief second.
I couldn’t help but wonder why he was standing out there instead of being with Theresa inside the hospital room. That didn’t sit right with me at all. My eyes narrowed slightly as I observed him more carefully.
He was also on a phone call.
That only deepened my unease.
"Lurgard!" I called out sharply as I walked up to him and tapped him lightly from behind.
He turned instantly, as if he had been expecting trouble. His expression shifted the moment he saw me, but I didn’t miss the tension still sitting on his face.
"Why do you look so tense?" I asked him immediately, my tone laced with curiosity and suspicion at the same time.
My mind began to race with possibilities I didn’t want to entertain.
Could something have happened to Theresa while I was away?
Was there something they weren’t telling me?
The thought alone tightened something in my chest.
How could two grown men like them not take proper care of a woman they were supposed to be protecting?
It didn’t make sense to me. It irritated me more than I wanted to admit.
Responsibility wasn’t something that should be handled casually, especially not when it involved someone like Theresa.
At that moment, a firm thought settled in my mind.
I need to marry Theresa quickly. I need to be fully responsible for her myself. I can’t trust anyone else to handle her safety the way I would. Not when things keep feeling this uncertain.
My jaw tightened slightly as I studied Lurgard’s face again.
"Did something happen to Theresa?" I finally asked, my voice lower now but firm with urgency.
He exhaled slightly, as if trying to calm the situation, before responding.
"Relax Leonard, Theresa is fine... I just stepped out to deal with some nuisance," he said nonchalantly, like it was nothing serious. Then he quickly added, "Let me take you to her."
At those words, the tension in my chest eased immediately. I let out a quiet sigh of relief I hadn’t realized I was holding in, my shoulders dropping slightly as the weight lifted off me.
Without saying anything further, I simply turned and followed him, falling into step behind him as he led the way toward Theresa.
