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Luca's POV

The weight of the past few days bore down on me like a suffocating blanket. I couldn’t shake the gnawing worry about Lia. She was out there somewhere alive, I hoped but every passing second without answers felt like a dagger twisting in my chest.

My phone buzzed, pulling me from my thoughts. Jenny's voice came through the line, calm but urgent.

“We’re here,” she said.

I grabbed my jacket and stepped out of my car, spotting Jenny and Bianca standing near the café’s entrance. They looked anxious, their gazes darting around as if someone might overhear them.

“Let’s make this quick,” I said, gesturing for them to follow me to a quieter corner of the park nearby. “What’s this about?”

Jenny glanced at Bianca before speaking. “It’s about Lia... and Dean.”

The mention of his name made my fists clench. “What about him?”

Bianca took a deep breath, her expression conflicted. “We know where Lia is being kept.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Where?”

“At the pack house,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “In the cellar.”

I froze, trying to process the information. The pack house? That was Alina’s territory, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out she was involved in this mess.

“How do you know this?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Jenny pulled out her phone, scrolling through her gallery before handing it to me. “We’ve been following Dean and Alina for days, watching their every move. This is what we’ve found.”

The screen displayed a video of Dean sneaking Lia unconscious out of the burning prison and loading her into a car. Another video showed Alina entering the cellar, her expression smug and satisfied.

“And that’s not all,” Jenny continued. “We also know that Dean killed Finn.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. “What?”

Bianca nodded. “He’s been framing Lia this whole time, making her look guilty to cover his tracks. Alina’s helping him, probably because she has her own agenda. We don’t know all the details yet, but it’s clear they’re working together to destroy her.”

Anger surged through me, my hands curling into fists. “Finn was one of my closest friends. And now Lia is suffering because of their lies?”

Jenny put a hand on my arm, her expression serious. “That’s why we’re here, Luca. We need to work together to stop them. We can’t let them win.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. “What’s the plan? How do we vindicate Lia and expose them?”

Bianca spoke up, her voice firm. “First, we need more evidence. The videos we have are good, but they’re not enough to convince the elders. We need something concrete, something that links Dean directly to Finn’s murder and Alina to the conspiracy.”

“And Lia?” I asked. “We can’t leave her in that cellar.”

Jenny nodded. “We’ll get her out, but we have to be careful. If we move too soon, Dean and Alina will cover their tracks, and we’ll lose our chance to expose them.”

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration boiling under my skin. “So, what’s the next step?”

Jenny exchanged a glance with Bianca. “We’ll keep tailing them, gathering as much evidence as we can. You need to find a way to discreetly question the pack elders. See if any of them are already suspicious of Dean or Alina. If we can plant the idea that something’s off, it’ll be easier to present our case when the time comes.”

“And what about Lia?” I pressed. “We can’t leave her there indefinitely.”

Bianca hesitated before speaking. “We’ll keep an eye on her, make sure she’s safe until we’re ready to act. The last thing we want is for Alina or Dean to panic and do something reckless.”

The plan felt fragile, like it could crumble at any moment. But it was all we had.

“All right,” I said finally. “I’ll do my part. But if anything happens to Lia—”

“We won’t let anything happen to her,” Jenny interrupted, her tone resolute. “We’re in this together.”

I nodded, though the unease in my chest remained. “Let’s get to work.”

As we left the park, my mind raced with possibilities. Dean and Alina thought they had won, that they had silenced Lia and buried the truth. But they were wrong.

Because now, they had me to deal with. And I wasn’t going to stop until Lia was free and justice was served.

___

Dean's POV

The roads blurred as I drove aimlessly, frustration boiling in my veins. How the hell had I lost them? Bianca and Jenny had been in my sight for hours, and then, like ghosts, they vanished into thin air.

I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, the car skidding slightly before I corrected it. Something wasn’t right about those two. The way they brushed me off earlier, their sudden outings—it all reeked of suspicion.

Pulling into the driveway of the pack house, I parked haphazardly and stormed inside. The house felt suffocating, its familiar walls closing in around me. I didn’t bother knocking on Alina’s door before barging in. She was standing by her vanity, fixing her hair, her reflection calm and collected in the mirror.

“What is it, Dean?” she asked, not even glancing at me.

“I lost them,” I growled, pacing the room.

“Who?”

“Bianca and Jenny,” I snapped. “They’ve been acting strange, sneaking around, and now they’re gone. I think they’re up to something.”

That caught her attention. She turned to face me, her brow furrowed. “What do you mean, ‘up to something’?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair. “But they’re not being subtle. They know something, Alina, and I don’t like it. They’ve been watching me, asking too many questions.”

Alina crossed her arms, her gaze narrowing. “Do you think they know about Lia?”

I hesitated. “Maybe. Or worse, they could have evidence.”

For a moment, silence filled the room, broken only by the ticking of the clock on the wall. Then Alina sighed, her calm demeanor replaced with a flicker of irritation.

“We can’t afford any loose ends,” she said. “Keep a close eye on them, Dean. And when they return, don’t let them out of your sight until they tell you everything they know.”

“What if they don’t talk?”

A wicked smile curled on her lips. “Then make them talk.”

I nodded, the weight of her words settling on me. I’d do whatever it took to protect what we’d built.

“Where are you going?” I asked as she picked up her coat.

“I have a meeting with the elders in a few minutes,” she replied. “They’re starting to ask questions about Lia’s disappearance, and I need to get ahead of it. Which reminds me—Lia needs to be ready for the meeting.”

“What are you planning to do with her?”

Alina smirked, a cold glint in her eyes. “I’ll make sure she stays quiet. The elders just need to see her as the desperate prisoner she is. Nothing more, nothing less. After that, we can deal with her however we please.”

Her confidence was infectious, but I couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling in my gut. Bianca and Jenny were wild cards, and if they exposed us, everything would crumble.

“What if the elders start digging deeper?” I asked.

“They won’t,” she said firmly. “Not if we play this right. Now, go do your job, Dean. Handle Bianca and Jenny. Leave Lia and the elders to me.”

I nodded again, though the unease lingered. As Alina left the room, I stood there for a moment, staring at the closed door.

This plan had been perfect. Every piece meticulously placed, every angle considered. But now? The cracks were starting to show, and I wasn’t sure if we could patch them up in time.

Taking a deep breath, I left Alina’s room and made my way downstairs. The packed house was eerily quiet, the tension in the air thick enough to cut.

Bianca and Jenny were out there, probably plotting something, and Lia was locked away in the cellar, waiting for whatever twisted fate Alina had planned for her.

I tightened my fists. I needed to get ahead of this. Bianca and Jenny wouldn’t know what hit them, and

Lia? She’d face the elders soon enough, and after that, she wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

For now, though, I had work to do.