CHAPTER 72: 72-A LEAD

Clementine:

"Really?" Haiden said, following my gaze.

"Yeah, I noticed the old woman pointed at my father, and then the daughter would shake her head and hug herself. There’s something going on," I whispered under my breath, trying to act casual but kept breaking my character.

And just like that, I watched the young girl return to the kitchen. That was when I knew I had to follow her. I had to confront her and ask her what was going on.

"Haiden, you stay here and keep an eye on everyone. Troy, you come with me. Stand next to the exit of the main hall, so that you can let me know when somebody is trying to head to the kitchen where I am," I told Troy.

But before I could walk away, I heard Yorick utter.

"What about me?"

I looked at him, then didn’t say anything and walked away. It was malicious, I just didn’t have a task in mind for him at the moment.

I briskly made my way through the corridor to the kitchen, which was at the back end of the mansion.

We were on the first floor, which was the floor for the Omegas.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, the young maid didn’t realize it was me and started speaking.

"Mom, I told you, I will not sleep with that old man. He grosses me out."

The minute she turned around and realized it wasn’t her mother but me, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"It’s all right. I’m not going to tell anyone," I said to her, instantly moving my hands up to show her that it was all fine and that I did not mean any harm.

"No, I was just saying—" she began to stutter and couldn’t even finish the whole sentence.

"Hey, look, it’s all right. You can tell me what is going on," I started to speak very softly and calmly to her, but she kept shaking and fidgeting with her fingers.

"No, I will get punished if anybody finds out I was speaking about it," she said, looking terrified.

"Just let me know what is going on, and I will help you," I said in a much softer tone.

"You’re a crusader. You’re a fighter." It was almost as if she was reminding herself that she could trust me.

"Exactly. I fight the monsters, no matter where they are. So tell me." I paused as I stared at her name tag.

"Tell me, Lydia. Why is your mother asking you to sleep with my father?" The way I had already put two and two together, I guess it surprised her, because her eyes widened.

"Tell me," I insisted, and she began to gulp.

I quickly offered her some water so she could relax before she even spoke up. And while she was drinking, I stood in the doorway, checking if anybody was walking down the corridor. Although Troy was already waiting at the entrance, I knew I was fine.

Once she had calmed down, I approached her again, held her hand, and started to rub the back of it.

"Now tell me everything," I insisted.

"I won’t be the first one who is asked to sleep with your father. Every time your father’s eyes land on a woman and he wants her, he takes them to his bed, with or without their consent. And now his eyes have landed on me. He has asked my mother to bring me tonight to his bedroom or else she—" But she did not even have to finish it. I already knew what was coming afterward.

"He will punish you," I said, and she nodded.

"Well, Lydia, let me tell you something," I said, and she began to straighten her spine.

"I don’t like my father either, and I don’t like his ways. So you can trust me. I will not let you sleep with that man." The minute I cut ties with him and did not mention him as my father was the exact moment a smile placed itself on her lips. A smile of hope.

"But how? You will leave after a few days, and then what would I do?" she uttered, her eyes shining with tears.

"I’m not leaving until I deal with the monster called my father," I hissed.

"I’m going to ask you a question, Lydia, and please answer me with all your honesty. Do you know any woman that my father brought from another pack? More specifically, from the Magical Fangs pack?"

I mentioned it, and she instantly started to shake her head.

"I don’t know much. I don’t even know the names of the other packs," she replied.

As I began to lose hope, she suddenly added,

"But my mother does. She has been working closely with your father for a very long time. In fact, my parents used to do some dirty deeds for your father," she uttered so confidently and so boldly that I felt proud of her. She did not hide her parent’s name, and I liked it.

"Okay then, I would like to have a word with your parents," I said.

But I noticed her smile fade.

"My father is no more. I only have a mother. But please, can you not punish her? You see, your father used to threaten them with my life, so they had to close their eyes and do whatever he told them. But trust me, they didn’t hurt anyone. They would just bring food to the victims," She insisted, and I began to nod.

I knew how an Omega could be forced to do the dirty bidding of an old, ugly man like my father in power.

"Lydia, you’re going to bring your mother to the Royal Garden in the next few hours. I would like to have a chat with her, and then I promise you, you’re not the one sleeping with my father tonight. In fact, my father is not sleeping peacefully after tonight, ever." I gave her my word before I walked out and headed straight down the corridor, where I met up with Troy.

"What happened?" he asked me.

I then looked over to my other squadmates, finding Ian busy in drinking, while Haiden was trying to distract the council members. However, Yorick had one hand in his pants pocket, with the other holding a wine glass, and he was looking straight at me from afar, his head down and eyes up.

"I found a little lead. Hopefully, we will get some information tonight, in the next two hours," I said to Troy, whose face started to form a smile.

But before we could go deeper into the topic, I added,

"You purchased this?"

I touched the necklace, and I watched his body tense up.