Vione didn’t remember exactly how she ended up in the cave. As she recalled, she had escaped from the underground prison. She went to check on Usher, but Mireya caught her. Mireya ordered Storm to capture her. But the mysterious man arrived at the right time and she was saved.
Now doubt crept into Vione’s mind. She began to wonder. How could the mysterious man not be as evil as she thought?
This doubt made Vione wait for the arrival of the mystery man. She was sure that the mysterious man would come back to see her, as he always did, like when she was still in the underground prison.
The next day, Vione waited for the mysterious man. But the mysterious man did not come, and at that moment she realized that she had lost something very precious.
There was nothing around Vione’s neck. There was no half-moon pendant necklace.
“My necklace?” Vione touched her neck several times. “Where is my necklace?”
Panic overcame Vione. Her body grew cold. She searched the cave but couldn’t find it.
Vione sat down weakly. “How could I lose the necklace?” she asked in a whisper, filled with regret. “I lost the necklace that Usher gave me.”
Tears streamed down Vione’s cheeks. She blamed herself until her mind was distracted by something else.
“Usher.” Vione swallowed hard. Then she fought to stand. She held on to the rocky wall of the cave. “How is Usher?” Her feet moved quickly. “I need to see him. I need to check on him.”
*
It was not a good day for Mireya. Everything was a mess even though it was still morning. Unexpectedly, Usher woke up healthy and saved Garth from a death sentence. Her plan to get rid of Garth had failed.
But the failure of this plan was not the only thing that worried Mireya. On the contrary, she knew that she could think of thousands of plans to get rid of Garth. But it would all be useless if Usher was healthy and on Garth’s side.
“Strange,” Mireya muttered to herself. She walked slowly to the window and stood there in thought. “Usher looked very fit when he was weak last night. Did something happen to him?” A possibility crossed her mind. “Did Garth give him the antidote again?”
It seemed impossible. Mireya had ordered her two trusted guards to watch Usher’s room. No one could have gotten in there.
Garth couldn’t have met Usher. But Mireya was sure that someone had secretly visited Usher. “Because otherwise it would be impossible for Usher to recover overnight.” She immediately took her phone. “I have to call Torin right away.”
A knock at the door made Mireya growl. She reluctantly postponed her intention to call Torin. “Come in.”
The door opened. Greisy entered with a panicked face.
Mireya frowned. “What’s wrong?” she asked indifferently. “Are Usher and Garth still in Vione’s room?”
“No, madam. Garth has left, and it seems he is carrying out the Alpha’s orders.”
“Orders?” Mireya’s frown deepened. “What orders?”
Greisy looked anxious as she answered. “Garth called Storm and Berg and ordered them to clear out the warriors and guards. From what I heard; Alpha is worried about infiltrators.”
Mireya’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Not only that, madam. Garth has also ordered Storm and Berg to search the area around The Palace, including the Amerotha Forest.”
Mireya was too shocked to speak. She had never expected the chaos of the morning to escalate.
“Meanwhile, Garth and Cora are inspecting The Palace, madam. They are rounding up everyone and have already arrested our people.”
Mireya’s heart felt as if it had stopped beating. She could no longer hold back. Greisy’s information fueled her anger. As a result, she put aside her initial intention to call Torin. Instead, she decided to confront Usher.
Mireya went straight to Usher’s office. She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door without knocking. She walked in and the scene inside made her stop dead in the middle of the room.
All eyes were on Mireya, except for Usher, who was busy with some documents on the desk. Usher seemed to be signing some documents that worried her. She blinked, trying to calm herself, but the presence of the lawyer made her feel really uncomfortable.
“In the future, no matter what happens, if something bad happens to me, make sure all the Pack’s assets are under Garth’s control,” Usher said as he signed the last document. Then he closed the file. “Remember, Anthony, no exceptions.”
Anthony Adams nodded and immediately began to organize all the documents. “Understood, Alpha. I will take care of everything after this.”
Then Anthony left. Mireya immediately approached Usher. She decided not to be confrontational. She thought it would be better to suppress her emotions because she felt the situation was not in her favor.
“Usher,” Mireya called softly. She approached Usher with a gentle demeanor and a sweet smile. “How are you? Are you well? I wanted to see you after you finished talking to Garth.” She glanced at Garth who was standing not far from them. “But it turns out you went straight to work. Don’t you think you should rest first?”
Usher remained silent. He continued to concentrate on the company report. He ignored the string of questions, which made Mireya’s uneasy feeling even stronger.
But Mireya would not give up so easily. She tried to talk to Usher again, this time rubbing his shoulder.
“Usher, I-”
Suddenly, Usher pushed Mireya’s hand away. Her words were cut off. She was shocked.
“U-Usher, what are you doing?” Mireya asked in surprise. Usher’s action seemed to jolt her heart. “Did you just push me away?” She gaped and looked at Usher in disbelief. “How could you be so hard on me, Usher? All I care about is your health. I don’t want you to get sick again. All this work can wait. Besides, why are you working right now? Your health is the most important thing.”
Usher dramatically closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and stood up. He looked sharply at Mireya and asked back. “Is my health really the most important thing?”
Mireya swallowed hard under Usher’s intimidating gaze. “O-of course, Usher. I’m very worried about you. So, it’s better if you rest. You’ve been moving around too much, even though you haven’t fully recovered yet. Besides, what are you doing that you’re neglecting your own health?”
Usher stepped forward. He walked slowly, forcing Mireya to step back. His gaze became sharper, as if he wanted to penetrate Mireya. His expression was cold, as cold as the words he spoke. “I do what I should.”
*