Page 50 of Chain Me Knot

COLE: You're sure about department involvement?

ME: We discovered one of our own on the attack team. Carl Jones.

The list of people who will pay for their crimes against Emma is growing by the minute alongside Pack Carmichael and Axel Turns, Carl Jones is right after them. Cole won’t leave that stone unturned now I’ve named him.

ME: We need somewhere to stay off-grid. Emma’s experiencing heat spikes and is vulnerable. We don’t trust anyone else to ask.

COLE: You don’t do things by halves, do you? Okay, we have somewhere you can hole up. It’s our own private out-of-town residence and completely off grid. 4891 Riverside Drive in Benton. Entry code 47392. The house is stocked with everything an omega might need. Blankets, pillows, clothing. We left it that way in case Mira needed anything if we ever went there. Use whatever you need. I’ll organize supplies so we can contact each other. There’s a discreet drop box at the maingate of the property. I’ll have them left there so no one needs to enter. All the devices will be encrypted. Just give me a couple of hours to put everything you’ll need together.

Benton is only an hour's drive away. Relief blisters through me. I knew having money put a person at the top of the food chain and never have I been more relieved Asher made friends with Adrian Blackstone at university.

ME: We owe you.

COLE: Before you go, there’s more. I sorted through Haven’s records for anything regarding Emma. Soren, I found her death certificate dated the day our omegas escaped Haven. Mercer personally signed her death certificate and listed it as a broken neck after falling on a group hike.

I work to sit still and not throw every single terminal in reach through the café window.

ME: She was sold at one of their perverted auctions.

COLE: Exactly, but where I’ve been able to trace the money into Mercer’s account from other sales, there’s nothing relating to Emma. No money trail. No name. She simply vanished from the system.

I stare at the blinking light, grinding my teeth hard enough to snap my molars. The money trail leading back to The Haven Institute is one of the main pieces of evidence against Mercer and how we’ve managed to shut the Institute down under further investigations. No government official was willing to lose their job over it not happening. Not with the public outcry so loud. It’s our one piece of light in this whole mess. If only we could implicate Evelyn Hardwick and Axel Turns, this nightmare would be a long way toward being over for many people.

ME: There’s no trace of her being sold to Pack Carmichael?

COLE: I found paperwork, and it’s been signed off. Just not by a legible signature.

Who would have the power, apart from Mercer and Hardwick if she was stupid enough to use her signature, to transfer omega ownership?

ME: It looks like she bypassed their usual systems. There has to be a money trail somewhere. Money would have been exchanged for Emma’s sale because ownership papers exist. Is there a way you can send me the papers? I might be able to decipher the signature.

I send the message and type out another on its heels.

ME: Another thing to look into. I found a message stream between Carl Jones and an Alpha1465 who looked to have orchestrated our attack. I had to ditch the phone so I can’t give you the SIM. I know it’s not much to go on, but can you see if you can make any connections?

COLE: Done. The paperwork will be on the computer and phone with the pack for Emma. Soren, I have other news about Emma you’re going to want to know.

My stomach churns because any news Cole has regarding Emma I know I’m not going to like.

ME: Anything you have will only help. Hit me.

COLE: Mira told you Emma was the sole daughter of beta parents, and she was orphaned before being taken to Haven just after she presented as omega.

When Mira came to the hospital to see Emma, she also spent time giving us as much information about Emma as she had in a bid to help her friend, something for which we’re all eternally grateful. The three omegas were kept in Haven’s Basement and suffered despicable abuse from Mercer and Hardwick. I make a mental note to add Hugo and Lars to my shit-list. Fuckers just keep lining up. I keep my eyes on the screen as the green letters appear.

COLE: Her parents perished in an automobile accident.

I sit straighter in the chair, leaning toward the screen as my heart begins to drum a staccato beat in my chest. Mira’s parents died in a car accident. As did Thomas Richardson and his pack.

COLE: I found the incident report buried under a ton of paperwork because Emma is officially dead. It was listed as brake failure and also signed by Sylvia Mercer.

Holy fuck. That’s too much to be a coincidence. I stare at the screen, rage strobing white across my vision. I run my hand down my face, feeling the weight of the world pressing on my shoulders.

ME: Thanks, Cole. Going dark. I’ll contact you when it’s safe.

I’ll be doing my own digging with the top-of-the-line encrypted devices Cole promised to deliver. I don’t care if we’re no longer following protocol. That was ripped out of my hands when our own turned on us. The world and everything in it can go to hell if it means keeping Emma safe.

COLE: Watch your backs.

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