Chapter 93

Lorenzo knew he should have left the flash drive alone. With the ceremony just two days away, there was no reason why he needed to keep revisiting those damn files. What did he expect to find? What was he hoping to further gain?

He wasn’t sure—and that was what was driving him crazy. Curiosity had taken its toll on him. The ongoing feeling in his gut was telling him that if he wasn’t careful enough, he was going to end up with a lot more than he was prepared for.

He and Eleanor had already shared their findings with the Lycan Luna. All that was needed now was to compile all of the evidence they’d been gathering and present it to a high-ranking lawyer. Cruz would be taken down and Blue Moon would cease to exist.

Lorenzo recalled what the Lycan Luna had mentioned about the chance of Cruz finding a replacement should he be removed as the current Alpha. But in his mind, it wasn’t enough. The problem itself wasn’t just Sterling. The disease ran rapidly through the pack itself.

It needed to end.

So, there he was, sitting at his desk in his private office in the middle of the night. He’d kissed Eleanor goodnight and waited for her to properly fall asleep before slipping out of bed.

He scrolled on his computer for hours in the pitch-black darkness with nothing but the dim light from his screen.

Something caught his eye. His heart skipped a beat as a certain name came rolling past his searching gaze.

“What the hell?” he muttered under his breath.

His mother.

Lorenzo was faintly aware of his mother’s unbearable past. It was the whole reason why he always held such a bitter, disdainful grudge toward Blue Moon in the first place. Granted she never went into too much detail about what had happened to her when she was younger, it was unfortunately not difficult to imagine—considering the awful state Agatha and Lucy were found in.

Lorenzo knew his mother held scars of her own. He knew better than to ever ask about them. But now, he had his answers. Just seeing her name listed there amongst so many others told him everything he needed to know.

His chest filled with an unbearable sense of dread and anguish. For a brief moment, his hand hovered above the keypad that would open up the list of the men who were affiliated with his mother’s suffering.

Without giving it another thought, Lorenzo clicked the link under his mother’s name. The list came up and although it wasn’t necessarily long...It left him speechless. So much so that at first, he didn’t believe it.

His heart slammed in his chest when he came across a ‘Hendrik Amorum’.

He couldn’t begin to fathom the connection. “That’s impossible,” he growled.

Lorenzo’s rage sizzled beneath the surface. His eyes glowed in feral brutality.

All that time he was under the impression that the Royal Family knew very little of Blue Moon’s illegal businesses. The Lycan Luna even made it appear as though she had no idea what was going on... But if that were truly the case, then what fuck was Hendrik Amorum, the Lycan King himself, doing under his mother’s file?

Lorenzo leaned back into his chair and forced his eyes shut. His head began to swim with all the interactions he had with the Lycan King. The older man never appeared less than chivalrous and respectful.

However, when he thought back to the time he and the King had that one conversation where he was explaining Lorenzo’s obligations as the newly appointed Secondary Heir. He’d found it strange the King had asked so many personal questions, regarding his family.

Now it made sense why the man became so emotional about the passing of Lorenzo’s mother. The King had known her personally.

Lorenzo let out a long breath and rubbed a rough hand down his face. He didn’t know what to make of this situation. It was late and if he knew what was good for him, he would have just gone back to bed.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

He glanced to the side of his desk to see that someone was trying to call him. Cruz Sterling.

‘He knows that we have the flash drive,’ his wolf stated.

Against his better judgment, he picked up the phone and answered the call.

Lorenzo’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “Let me guess, Sterling. You couldn't sleep because you were thinking of me,” he slithered.

“Ha. Ha. Who knew you had such a stellar sense of humor?” Cruz muttered. “You know why I’m calling.”

“And you should already know my answer,” he countered.

Sterling let out a frustrated breath. “Just hear me out...”

“Go ahead, humor me.”

“I want the flash drive back,” he said. “And in return, I am willing to give you something that is exceedingly valuable.”

Lorenzo’s patience was growing thin. He didn’t have it in him to deal with Cruz’s sad attempts to gain back his only leverage.

“I’m not interested in whatever it is that you think you can bargain with.”

“I will give the girls back in exchange for the drive,” Cruz shouted in desperation. “Kara Newman and Jane Auldin. I will return them back to their families.”

“And what about the rest of the girls you’ve fucking taken?! What about them?” Lorenzo’s anger seethed.

Amongst his hair-raising anger, Lorenzo did give Cruz’s position some actual thought. He thought about what it could mean to Eleanor if he were to refuse the chance of bringing those girls back to their families. To say no, could potentially put their lives at risk.

Sterling had proved himself to be utterly unpredictable, and the last thing Lorenzo wanted was to cause more unnecessary bloodshed.

‘But to hand over the flash drive would ultimately mean we’d lose the case,’ his wolf argued. ‘Remember, the goal isn’t just to save a few lives. It’s to save all that are still there.’

The Blue Moon pack needed to end. There was no way Lorenzo was willing to lose the flash drive—not when they’d come so close to the end.

“...No,” he answered. “There is absolutely nothing you could offer me that would make me ever hand over this flash drive.”

He ended the call and closed his laptop, causing the darkness in the room to envelop him entirely.