The Dark Side Of Fate

Chapter 48

~Tamia~

I could feel Sylvester’s uneasiness about my trip to the western village. I did not know how to tell him I could never leave him.

After our discussion, he insisted that we visit Larry.

He wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, and I needed to figure out how to stop him from wasting his time.

I was feeling nauseous, so I went to the bathroom to throw up my stomach’s content.

Sylvester rushed to the bathroom, a bit worried. He carried me to the shower and turned on the water while he took off my clothes.

“I noticed you were slightly warm last night but didn’t think much of it. Now you are burning up. What is happening?” he asked me calmly, and I could see he was fighting every fibre of his being from acting out.

“It started after we had tea and biscuits yesterday afternoon. I threw it all up and felt better, but the nausea is back,” I managed. The water was soothing, and I wanted to stay under it.

“Who served the snacks?” He asked, and I knew what he wanted to imply, so I shook my head.

“I doubt they did anything to the food, darling. I made the person that served it taste it,” I said, withholding the person’s name, and he was silent. Once I was calm, he carried me to the bed.

“You can’t go to Brighton tomorrow in this condition,” he said, and I smiled because I was already feeling better.

“Nice try, Alpha,” I said and touched his nose. He did not smile.

” Let me call the doctor?” he said, and I knew how important going to Brighton was, so I shook my head and sat up, pretending to be strong.

“I feel better. You will be wasting your time. I believe the stress caused it, and something might have irritated my stomach from breakfast. Come on. Let us visit Larry.” I said, and he frowned at me for a bit before finally accepting.

We got dressed and left the room. The moment we walked past Stephanie’s room, I became nervous.

“Where do you think your mother went to?” I asked, and Sylvester shook his head.

“I do not know, and honestly, I can’t be bothered. No matter who she brings to plead with me to let Dominic go, I won’t listen. Sadly, she does not understand the gravity of Dominic’s offence,” he said, and I touched his hands.

“I do not think your brother did it, Sylvester. I believe him. He is too proud to beg like that. Someone wants him to take the fall. We need to question Bryce, not Larry, and you must ensure the council does not get their hands on Dominic. If they do, he would be found guilty. I doubt they would go through the stress of finding the truth. See how they handled the matter that concerned you. They did not do any investigation to figure out what was going on. They tried to blame you for the crime. They are either a bunch of lazy idiots or against the Volkov family and want you to step down by all means. Which is why you can’t let them lay their hands on him.” I said, and he pulled me close as we walked.

“If my mother only knew you meant well,” he said and stopped to kiss the top of my head. Then he looked into my eyes and caressed my chin.

“Do not get your hopes up, green eyes. Dominic might disappoint you,” he said, and I smiled at him.

We left the mansion, and a Jeep was waiting at the entrance.

We drove to Lucland silently, and Stephanie’s trip did not sit well with me. I doubted she was going to get help. Whatever she planned on doing was extreme, and I knew it had to do with me.

I could not understand why the woman would blame me for this. I might have overstepped when I went to ask her to keep her son at home, and I might have said some things that scared her, but I have done nothing wrong.

I was troubled, and so was Kaira. Stephanie wasn’t a good enemy to have.

Even though Sylvester had sided with me against her, and I knew she couldn’t make him change his mind about me, I did not want their relationship to be damaged.

I remembered all the good times we had had with Stephanie and wondered if she had been pretending all along. I doubted it, though, because she seemed genuine. She loses her mind whenever it has to do with Dominic, and I needed to know why.

We arrived at the Northern prisons, and to my surprise, Sylvester asked to see Bryce instead of Larry.

“You changed your mind?” I asked him, and he shook his head.

“I want us to see Bryce first, and then we can check on Larry,” he said, smiling, and I smiled back.

I could see he was stressed and worried, but he hid it well.

It wasn’t easy knowing that faceless and nameless people were plotting against him.

I just hope he handles the pressure well.

We were led to an interrogation room.

The smell of the disinfectant they used to clean the place filled my nose, and I felt sick but held it. I knew if I showed any sign of sickness, Sylvester won’t allow me to go to Brighton.

“May I have a glass of cold water?” I linked Sylvester, and he frowned at me. I smiled at him, so he won’t think anything was wrong.

“Thirsty”, I whispered, and he nodded.

Four chairs were in the room, and one was welded to a desk. I figured that was for the prisoner. I sat on one of the free chairs while Sylvester paced.

The water came, and it was freezing. Drinking it made me feel better. Bryce was ushered in a few minutes later and kept his eyes bowed.

“Look up,” I ordered him to look into his eyes.

He refused until Sylvester ordered him to.

“You do whatever she tells you,” he warned the man, and he apologised to me.

“Explain how Dominic sent you the order.” Sylvester said, and Bryce looked down. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“Look up!” I ordered the man I went to stand beside Sylvester.

I doubted the man would tell the truth, but I needed to see his eyes.

“He called me to come to the estate. Then he handed the document to me and told me that his eminence wanted me to carry out the task quickly. That the east is supposed to pay development tax, and if they refuse, I should use force.” he said, and Sylvester looked at him.

“Was he the one that asked you to request development tax from Brighton too?” Sylvester asked, but I doubted that was the right question because the council-owned up to it.

“That order came from the council”, he said, and I now understood what Sylvester was doing. He wanted to gauge his reaction. He wanted to understand how he behaved when he told the truth and compare it to his mannerisms when he spoke of his dealings with Dominic. Sylvester was a master.

“Tell me how Dominic called you. When he called, and the time and day you went to the estate?” Sylvester asked, and the man swallowed.

“He called me in the evening, and I went there an hour after his call. This happened five days ago,” he said, and Sylvester was satisfied, but I wasn’t.

“You were right, Tamia; he is lying,” Sylvester linked me.

This wasn’t Sylvester’s duty. His office places him higher than this. They would normally send Kappa William or kappa Wilson to do this. Sylvester must care for his brother to do it himself.

Although Sylvester had figured out the man was lying, Sylvester’s conviction was not enough to free Dominic. The council will still ask for him and will likely sentence him. It wasn’t enough. We did not only have to know Bryce was lying. We had to prove it.

“So you went to the estate in the evening five days ago to receive the order from Dominic Volkov,” I said, summarising his explanation, and Bryce nodded.

I was mad at the bastard but needed to back him into a corner without threatening him.

If I threatened him, his confession might be seen as something made under coercion, which might make it inadmissible.

“I can see you have an excellent memory, Enforcer Golubev,” I said, and he looked down, avoiding eye contact. I did not need to see his eyes anymore.

“I am sure you didn’t sneak into the estate. You would have had no reason to sneak in because you were officially summoned. You must have gone through the gates. Will the people stationed at the gate be able to testify that you passed through that gate in the evening five days ago? Will the people stationed at the entrance into the building be able to testify that you were in that building?” I said, and he nodded.

I realised they had that part covered, so I decided to go the extra mile and lie to catch him.

“Will the newly stationed guards in the hallway testify that they saw you and Dominic that day? And since Dominic doesn’t have an office in the estate, can they testify that they saw him give you a document in the hallway or admit you into his bedroom or any room for a private conversation that the ladies in the harem weren’t privy to?” I said, and the man looked at me. Of course, there were no guards in the hallway, but he could not know that because the person that sent him did not have that information.

“I can’t remember the time of day,” He said, and I nodded.

“That is great, but as long as it happened five days ago, we do not need time. I want to know if anyone would testify to those things,” I said, and he was silent.

“I do not want to hurt you, Bryce, but I want you to tell us what happened. If you tell us the truth, then Lord Volkov would tamper justice with mercy.

We know you went to the estate but had no dealings with Dominic. Which means Dominic Volkov had no interaction with you. What we want to know now is who put you up to it and why you agreed to do it,” I asked him and his eyes welled up in tears.

“My wife is seven months pregnant. I got a note stating they would hurt her if I did not comply. I did not meet anyone. The order was sent to me via mail, and I was asked to state that Lord Dominic put me up

to it. They took my Maria during that time, and I did all they asked to get her back,” he said, and I smiled, knowing my guess was correct.

They wanted the plan to go belly up and Dominic to take the fall. I also believed this was to make Dominic the fall guy for what happened in Brighton.

Knowing Dominic and Sylvester do not see eye to eye, they thought Sylvester wouldn’t bother to dig and help his brother, and that would have been the case if I had not insisted.

“So where is Maria now?” I asked him, and he told us where his mate was.

Sylvester placed a call to Marcel to have the woman taken to safety.

“You will be transported to a cell on the estate for your safety.”

Sylvester said, and the man thanked him.

I asked Sylvester if he would release Larry, but he refused. Larry had misguided Dominic, Sylvester wanted him to suffer a bit, and I agreed.

We returned to the estate in high spirits and returned to our room.

The moment we entered, I went to lie on the couch because I was tired and did not want Sylvester to know.

“You have to stall the hearing. Do not let the council know what we know. Keep your brother in the cell. That way, whoever tried to set him up would believe he had succeeded. It will buy me the time I need to investigate in Brighton. Once I am back, we can have Bryce speak his truth,” I said, and Sylvester came to sit on the chair where I was lying. I could see he wasn’t comfortable with me going to Brighton but did not want to say no because he had already said yes.

“Who do you think is doing this?” Sylvester said, and I honestly did not know. I was more worried about what Stephanie was up to than who was trying to set Dominic up.

“You should just be cautious and don’t give too much away. Once you do not raise the alarm that someone is out to get you, the person would still think they are winning, but I suspect this is bigger than it seems. You occupy the most powerful seat in our world; it is meant to be hot,” I said, and he looked at me and smiled.

Then he stood up and carried me off the couch to the bed.

“We will be having dinner in the room. I will spend the night proving to you why you should return quickly,” He said, peeling off my clothes. “Throughout your journey, you will be wet and eager to come home when you recollect what I will do to you tonight,” He said and sucked my neck. My skin was extra sensitive, and I knew it was on. Kaira purred in my head, eager to receive Sylvester’s love.