"What happened between Prince Casaio and Zilia?" Amelie asked again, sitting at the edge of the bed, her curiosity evident.
Gabriel leaned back slightly before answering, "Zilia turned out to be a spy."
"What?" Amelie gasped in disbelief, her eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to process the revelation. "How could she...?"
"The biggest red flag in their relationship was her persistent refusal to marry," Gabriel explained calmly. "I understand that not everyone is ready immediately, but Zilia kept postponing it for ten long years, always giving the same excuse — that she wanted to focus on her career. It wasn’t like Casaio would have stopped her from doing her business. Casaio sensed something was wrong deep down, but he loved her so much that he ignored all the warning signs."
As Gabriel spoke, Amelie finally understood why Casaio had looked so devastated the night before.
"For whom was she spying? And... what will happen to her now?" Amelie asked softly, still struggling to believe that the sweet woman she had met at the gala had betrayed them.
"The man we caught with her was from the Blood Dominion Pack," Gabriel revealed. "It turns out Zilia was working for its Alpha. As for the next steps, Casaio insisted on leading the investigation himself. He’ll begin once our wedding is over."
"Dad will decide her punishment, not my brother. A spy typically faces a death sentence, but I know Casaio won’t allow that," Gabriel explained.
"Maybe Zilia didn’t want to betray Prince Casaio. That’s why, for ten years, she kept postponing their marriage without ever doing anything to harm him," Amelie suggested thoughtfully.
"Spies are only loyal to their masters," Gabriel replied firmly. "But don’t worry about all of that. Just focus on our upcoming wedding," he added, offering her a reassuring smile.
Checking his watch, Gabriel continued, "I have some work to take care of. You can go out with Kate for lunch later."
"Hmm. Are you going to the company? You haven’t let me get involved with any work there," Amelie said with a slight frown.
"Not the company, but somewhere else," Gabriel answered. "I didn’t let you get involved because there’s no work at the moment. Karmen has everything under control," he explained.
He stood up to leave, but stopped. Leaning down, he kissed Amelie’s cheek. "What you said on the breakfast table fluttered my heart. You handled Nick’s question really well."
"That’s what I feel in my heart," Amelie admitted.
"Hmm. I know. I’ll see you in the evening." Gabriel took a few steps back before disappearing from her sight.
~~~~
Gabriel exited the car, right in front of Eric’s house and looked at it with an intense gaze. Then looking straight, he walked ahead and pressed the doorbell. Karmen followed him closely with an envelope in his hand.
Sliding his hand into the pocket of his trousers, Gabriel waited for the door to open.
After a minute the door opened. Eric yawned, but the remaining sleep from his eyes disappeared upon seeing Gabriel before him. He slammed the door but Gabriel brought his hand in between.
"Eric, you should greet me instead of slamming the door right at my face," Gabriel said with a smirk before using his strength. The door flung open and Eric fell on the floor.
Eric stumbled backward in fear as Gabriel slowly advanced toward him. Without a word, Gabriel brushed past Eric and made his way into the cramped, disheveled living room. He found a spot on the couch and settled in comfortably, as if it were his own space.
Karmen grabbed Eric by the arm and yanked him inside, forcing him to face Gabriel.
"Tell me, Eric," Gabriel began, his voice low and menacing, "why did you hire someone to dump a dead wolf at my mansion? Was it meant to scare me? Or were you trying to challenge me?"
Eric, despite his fear, held Gabriel’s gaze, his voice trembling but defiant. "Prince Gabriel should have killed me by now. But he hasn’t. Why?"
Gabriel smirked, his violet eyes never leaving Eric’s. "Killing you is no fun, Eric. I enjoy seeing the fear in your eyes."
He extended his hand, and Karmen quickly placed the envelope into his palm.
Eric stuttered, his confidence slipping. "If you think I will tell you the truth, then–then you’re wrong," he faltered, but he knew he should remain silent.
Gabriel clicked his tongue in irritation. "I already know what you’re up to. This envelope contains the evidence of your little schemes, Eric." He tossed the envelope at Eric’s face with a snap. "You begged for mercy the last time I destroyed the rogue group you created. I made a mistake by showing you mercy then. It won’t happen again."
Gabriel leaned forward. "Open it, and see for yourself what you’ve been doing right under my nose, thinking I wouldn’t find out."
With trembling hands, Eric opened the envelope. He took out the document with his call details and some photographs as well, but not him. It was of his little sister.
"Don’t harm her, Prince Gabriel. I swear I will do what you want me to," Eric pleaded.
"If I remember you said the same thing to me last time," Gabriel reminded him.
"She’s just 12. You can’t harm a kid," Eric said.
"I know. I’ve decided to make it happen with your very hands. However, I think you deserve one more chance, Eric. You seem to talk to someone in the Blood Dominion Pack. I can see you have talked quite a lot of times with this person. Why don’t you be useful for me this time? Why don’t you spy for me and in return, your younger little sister will remain safe."
As Gabriel offered a deal to Eric, he couldn’t refused for it.
"Sure. I will do that," Eric said, lowering his head.
"Now, tell me why did you dump a wolf in my mansion?" Gabriel asked.
"It was a part of ritual. I wanted to weaken the prince with a witch’s help. She suggested me I should do it. However, before I could even start, everything was ruined," Eric said, fisting his palms.
"Then, I must not trust you. You tried to harm me," Gabriel muttered and rose to his feet.
However, Eric was swift to grab his feet. "Please forgive me. I was angry because I–I got ruined. I know it was my fault, but I hoped Prince Gabriel wouldn’t stand with the pack’s alpha to banish me and my sister. It was my anger toward you. I did nothing wrong in my eyes. I still believe that I was right."