Chapter : 918
Judy’s POV
Chuck was chained from his arms to his legs so that he couldn’t go to her. But that didn’t mean he didn’t try. Taylor was quick to react, though, and stepped in front of him, snarling at him as his wolf surged forward. Taylor was strong as a Beta, and he overpowered Chuck’s natural wolf’s abilities, as did the chains bound to him.
“What’s going on?” Irene asked, tears filling her eyes. “Why is he here, and why is he chained like that?”
She turned to look at me, pleading in her eyes, and it broke my heart because she genuinely had no idea what was going on. To her, it looked like we kidnapped her mate and were holding him hostage. But that couldn’t be further from the truth; her true mate was sitting outside, waiting for this to be over. It was a nightmare for him, and soon, Irene will see that it’s been a nightmare for her as well.
“Irene, I promise, it’s not what it looks like,” I told her, trying to calm her down because I knew she was about to go into a major panic attack.
Her breathing was starting to quicken, and I could see her throat working overtime as she turned to face Chuck, the monster who had done this to her. He was growling and angry, that much was clear.
“Irene, don’t listen to them,” Chuck said through his teeth. “I love you… We were made for each other.”
“Love?” Nan asked, scoffing as she shook her head. “Is that why you cheated on her with that woman from your pack? Are you forgetting that we already found out the truth? What did you say to her to make her forget?”
“He told me that it was a mistake that the girl was insane,” Irene said, looking at Nan. “That he only ever loved me… the girl blackmailed him and told everyone that they were mates, but that wasn’t the truth. Right, Chuck?”
She turned to him for confirmation.
“Exactly,” Chuck said, still lying through his teeth. “I’m Irene’s real mate, and she’s mine.”
“What exactly are you after?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “Clearly, you need something from her to go through all of this.”
“That’s not fair,” Irene said, snapping her attention to me, tears visibly in her eyes now. “He didn’t do anything wrong. Is this why I haven’t heard from him in days? Because he’s been locked up here?”
“Yes,” Chuck said before any of us could speak. “That’s exactly right. I would never intentionally ghost you, Baby. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Irene cried. “Please, Taylor. Let him go. Does my father know about this?”
“Yes,” Taylor said, his eyes never leaving Chuck’s. “He knows everything.”
“What?” Irene asked, her voice falling flat. “Did he put you up to this? My father
never liked him, but Chuck deserves a chance. He’s my mate—”
“No, he’s not,” Cora said, her arms folded across her chest.
Both she and Esme stood side-by-side. They were both wearing deep purple and had their hair pulled out of their faces. Esme with her long silver hair and Cora with her tightly curly auburn bair Their eyes were almost an i entical shade of green, and their faces were practically flawless and gorgeous. Esme didn’t look as if she spent most of her days in a wheelchair and was mute. She looked strong and capable, like she had been walking around and talking her entire life.
When her eyes met mine, a small smile tipped the corner of her lips, and I knew at that moment that everything was going to be okay let out a breath, not knowing I had been holding it inside of me this entire time.
“W….. what the hell is going on?” Irene asked, taking a step back.
“I’ll tell you exactly what’s been going on,” Cora said, narrowing her eyes. “Chuck hasn’t been honest with you; have you, Chuck?”
“Who the hell are you?” Chuck asked, a bite to his words.
“Tell us, Chuck… how much money have you stolen from Irene? Also, what kind of personal insider secrets are you trying to get out of her? What have you already gotten out of her?”
Chuck’s face paled, and at that moment, I knew that Cora hit the nail on the head.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Chuck said, his confidence starting to wane slightly. Taylor shook his head.
“Cora here found out everything,
Chuck,” Taylor said, rolling his eyes.
“You might not have told me
everything during the interrogation, but that didn’t matter when had two incredibly talented witches who were able to do some inside digging.”
Esme searched around in the bag she was holding before she pulled out a piece of paper, a document of some sort.
“Bank transfers. This is all of the money that Irene had transferred to him in the past month alone… she must have given him most of her funds and then some.”