Gai was at my side, stone–faced. Ethan stormed in secondster,
his presence radiating heat. My wolf, Heath, stirred inside me–
impatient, ready to rip the truth out of someone.
“I’ll ask once,” I said. My voice echoed off the bare walls. “Has
anyone found Olivia?”
John, the factory manager, stepped forward. Sweat dotted his
brow. “N–no, Alpha Alexander… we’re still looking. She left the
building around one p.m.-”
“And you were the one assigned to show her around today,” I
cut him off coldly. “So you would know where she went.
Correct?”
He swallowed hard. “I escorted her to the front gate… after that,
she said she had a personal errand…”
“What if I told you I had proof that’s a lie?” I stepped forward.
“What then?”
The blood drained from his face. He opened his mouth, but no
words came out.
Beside me, Ethan moved. He was on John in a second, fist
twisting the cor of his shirt, dragging him forward like a rag
Chapter <b>41 </b>
doll. “Where the hell is my wife?”
The room erupted.
“You son of a bitch!” Ethan roared andnded a punch across
John’s jaw. John crumpled to his knees, coughing blood.
“Talk!” Ethan shouted again, fists clenched.
“Enough,” I ordered, but Ethan barely heard me.
John stammered, “I–I didn’t do anything! I just—just—”
Before he could finish, the door burst open.
Jess and Jimson strode in.
“What’s going on here?” Jess demanded, clearly rmed.
Ethan’s eyes zed. “You dare interrupt now?” He pointed to
Jimson. “Drag him out!”
Gai stepped in, calm but firm. “That’s Jimson Howard, assistant
branch manager.”
Jess blinked. “And who are you?”
Gai turned to her. “That’s Ethan Hawthorne. Olivia’s husband.”
Jess was shocked.
Before another word could be said, more men burst in–John’s loyal staff, trying to pull him away. Ethan’s men surged forward, shing in the doorway. The factory turned into a battlefield of shouting and shoving.
I ignored the noise and focused on Jimson.
He was too calm. His eyes shifted slightly when he saw me
watching.
I crossed the floor slowly, deliberately. “Jimson,” I said. “Where
is Olivia?”
He squared his shoulders. “I don’t know. Whatever this is, it has
nothing to do with me.”
“Really?” My tone dropped colder. “Because right now, your
name is the one I’m hearing the most.”
“Alpha, I… I really don’t know,” His lips twitched. “These
usations are just defamatory.”
Alexander’s POV
My palm mmed down against the metal conference table,
echoing through the tense room like a gunshot. “Where is
Olivia?” I barked.
The air crackled with energy, the pressure of my Alpha tone
pushing most of the room into silence. John dropped to his
knees, trembling.
“I swear, Alpha-” his voice cracked, “I don’t know where she is.
If you im I took her, show me the proof!”
I narrowed my eyes. “You escorted her. She never came back.
And now she’s gone. You want to see proof, John? I’ll give you
something better–the end of your career if I don’t get answers.”
I turned to Jimson, who was still standing tall with his arms
crossed like this was some petty HR matter. “And you,” I said
sharply. “You’re walking a very thin line.”
Jimson lifted his brows in faux confusion. “With all due respect,
Alpha Alexander, are you threatening your own executive
staff? For what? A missing secretary?”
That made Heath stir again. My wolf growled from within,
barely contained.
“Are you so sure I won’t find her?” I asked.
Jimson didn’t flinch.
Beside him, John gave a nervous chuckle–relief, of all things.
As if something had just been confirmed. That look sent a chill
through my spine.
Was Olivia truly not expected to return?
“You’re angry,” Jimson said, voice full of feigned hurt. “And you’re ming John and me because she vanished. But is this really the behavior of an Alpha, threatening loyal employees
over a woman?”
He nced around the room like he was looking for allies, trying to nt seeds of doubt.
“Do you even hear yourself?” I said coldly. “You think loyalty is just doing your job while helping bury my people?”
Before I could press further, Gai’s phone buzzed.
He stepped outside to take the call, and when he returned, his
expression had changed.
“Alpha,” Gai said quickly, “John confessed. He said Olivia was taken to an old mansion–his family’s, down by the cliffs near
the sea.”
My heart stilled for a beat. Heath growled louder.
I turned to Ethan. “Take your men. Go there now. Search the
house from top to bottom.”
Ethan gave a sharp nod and bolted out the door.
“Gai,” I said, “expand the search to five kilometers around the
mansion. I want aerial scans, sea patrols, everything. She`
might’ve been-” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Thrown overboard.