Chapter 215

Gavin’s POV

The rage I felt boiling inside of me when I heard Irene’s confession. I watched her retreat up the stairs and towards her room, my eyes narrowed, and my jaw clenched tightly. I was clenching and unclenching my fists, trying to calm myself down and not do something I was seriously going to regret.

“Gavin, try to calm down,” Judy said from behind me, her tone low and cautious like she was trying not to provoke the big bad wolf.

“Calm down?” I asked, turning to look at her. I could see the concern in her eyes, and it caused me to pause for a minute, but then the second I thought about what Irene had done, the anger returned to me. “How can I calm down after knowing what my own daughter had done??”

She bit her lower lip, making my eyes drift to her mouth before snapping back to her eyes.

“Irene was in a really bad place at that time,” Judy told me.

“And that makes it right?” I asked through my teeth; I couldn’t believe she was defending Irene right now. I nearly fired her because I thought she tried to hurt my son… I did fire a maid after she confessed to the crime and banished her. If it weren’t for that maid… it could have been Judy. I was thankful that the doctors were able to help Matt and that he survived, but the outcome could have been so much worse. “Whatever she was going through, whatever jealousy she was facing, it didn’t make what he did any better. She nearly killed Matt and was most likely the indirect cause of that maid's death.”

“We don’t know if she’s dead,” Judy said, trying to reason with me.

“But she could be and it’s Irene’s fault for that,” I told her, my eyes blazing with anger. “Why are you defending her right now?”

“I’m not… I’m just—” her voice trailed off as she tried to figure out what to say.

I realized at that moment what was flashing through her eyes.

“You knew it was her this whole time… didn’t you?” I asked, hurt pinging my chest as I stared down at Judys; small frame.

Judy glanced at the ground, nibbling on her lip as she thought about how to answer my question. But it was a simple answer that didn’t require much thought. It was a yes or no question. She either knew, or she didn’t.

“Tell me the truth,” I demand, my patients wearing thing. “Did you know, or didn’t you?”

Judy’s shoulders slumped and she nodded.

“I knew,” she finally admitted.

“And you weren’t going to say anything to me?” I asked, unable to hide the hurt in my tone. “You were going to take the fall for it? Or were you just waiting for someone else to take the fall like the maid?”

“I didn’t know the maid was going to take the fall,” I said quickly. “I was planning on taking the blame myself.”

“Why?” I asked through my teeth, a snarl on my lips as my wolf’s instincts surged forward, pushing us closer to the edge.

“I was trying to protect her…” she admitted softly.

“Why?” I asked again in a snarl. “Why would you want to protect her after what she had done??”

“Because she’s your daughter,” she replied, looking up at me and making my heart stutter. “She’s your daughter and I didn’t want your relationship strained because of me. She did this because she wanted me out of the way and it nearly worked… but at that moment, she had her father on her side and that’s all she really wanted. She wanted you to choose her over me and you did. I was trying to protect her and Matt. If Matt knew what his own sister had done, it would destroy him, Gavin. Completely destroy him… I couldn’t let that happen. I was going to take full responsibility, but then that maid confessed out of nowhere.”

My jaw tensed at her words as I stared into her tear-filled eyes. She was telling the truth and that’s what killed me the most. She cared more about me and my family than she did her own innocence or reputation.

“Do you know why the maid confessed?” I asked, my tone was low and charged.

Judy was quiet for a minute and her silence spoke volumes. My eyes narrowed at her, daring her to continue because we both knew at that moment that she knew exactly why the maid confessed.

“Ethan…” she finally said, her shoulders slumping. “He promised her a fortune and told her that he would provide her with protection if she confessed to the crime.”

My blood boiled at the sound of her words, and I wanted nothing more than to punch Ethan in the face for all the parts he played in this.

“Then the maid is okay then,” I said, my eyes scanning Judy’s face.

Her face paled and she nibbled on her lower lip once again, a telltale sign that she wasn’t saying everything.

“Judy,” I urged. “Tell me the truth.”

“As soon as you banished her, Ethan pulled all ties with her. He lied to her and abandoned her… so I’m not entirely sure where she is now but if I were to guess…”

“She’s probably dead…” I growled. Judy nodded, unable to form words. “And how do you know any of this?”

“He told me,” she confessed. “Irene doesn’t know about it though. At least, I don’t think she does. But Ethan gloated to me about it for a week afterward. He wanted me to know how much control he had around me.”

I wanted to punch something; I wanted to find Ethan and punch him in the face for what he had done. I remained silent for a long while, trying to process all the information I was just told.

“I should have been informed of the truth from the beginning,” I murmured.

Judy nodded; her eyes downcast.

“I was protecting your family,” she said, her voice nothing more than a whisper. Something about her whispered words made something inside me snap and the next thing I knew, I was pushing her against the wall, pinning her between my body and the hard surface of the wall.

Her breath hitched as my lips found hers and I kissed her deeply, allowing my tongue to explore her mouth greedily as if I couldn’t get enough. She tasted sweet and her breath was warm and sent a shiver throughout my entire body, but in a good way. Her body curved around mine, fitting almost too perfectly against me as my cock grew hard in my pants, making me too uncomfortable.

I groaned against her lips, not able to get enough of the contact between us. She breathed me in, her body melting against mine as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I nipped at her bottom lip, drawing it into my mouth and sucking on it like it was the sweetest piece of candy I had ever had.

She sighed contently, the kiss lingering for way too long in the middle of the villa foyer. When we both finally broke apart, our breathing was intermingled and heavy as we fought to catch our breaths. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against hers. Keeping her pinned against the wall as if my life depended on it.

“What was that for?” She finally asked, her voice coming out as a breathy whisper.

“For protecting my family,” I found myself whispering. “For being there for them even when I couldn’t be. For being you…”

My words came out before I could really comprehend them myself, but as I spoke each point, I realized how right they were... how real they sounded.

She licked her bottom lip and nodded, her body trembling against mine.

I finally stepped back, noticing her flushed cheeks and her hooded eyes. I wanted to pull her back into me and kiss the life out of her, but I chose to remain quiet as I stared around her face, searching for something… anything.

“I’m sorry for keeping this from you and that you had to find out this way,” she finally said, returning our conversation to what it was initially. “I’m sorry for that.”

I shook my head.

“Don’t be,” I said, my tone a little too gruff. “It’s okay.”

She nodded, though her cheeks still held a bit of pinkness to them.

“I should get to Matt. I’m late for tutoring.”

I nodded, running my fingers through my hair. Without another word, she turned and hurried away and owned the back parlor where she normally met up with Matt.

I sighed and looked up at the stairway; I knew I had to speak with Irene sooner or later about all of this… but I needed to know some things first.

I [pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Taylor.

“Hello?” Taylor asked tentatively; he couldn’t tell if this was a social call or a work call.

“I need you to find out information,” I told him quickly.

“Of course, Alpha,” Taylor said, realizing that this was in fact a work call. “What can I do for you?”

“That maid that I fired months ago… I need you to find her and if she’s dead, find out what happened to her. If she’s dead, bring me the rogue that killed her. If she’s alive, bring her to the villa. I have questions that only she can answer.”

Taylor raised his brows; he knew why that maid was fired and banished; he couldn’t believe that Gavin trusted her to enter his villa again.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Taylor asked, his eyes narrowed though Gavin couldn’t see his face.

“Don’t argue with me, Beta.” Gavin snapped into the phone. “I’m not in the mood. Do as you’re said. I want a full report at the end of the day on my desk.”

There was a pause for a moment and then Taylor sighed.

“Yes, Alpha.”