Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 136: _ First Revelation

Cora could only manage a weak nod in agreement with Rhett’s accusation. He could see all of her pulses throbbing as she turned back towards the bookshelf with her movements sluggish and defeated.

As Rhett watched her closely, he imagined himself in her shoes. Perhaps, this wasn’t how she’d planned things to unfold. She’d hoped to lead them on a wild goose chase, to buy herself some time. Now, with her story crumbling around her, panic nibbed at her insides. _{𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢}

Rhett could almost feel it. It felt as though he were her. He put himself in her shoes and could tell that something wasn’t right somewhere. Cora was hiding something huge.

With trembling hands, she reached behind the bookshelf and pulled out a small carved wooden toy sword. It was worn and chipped like evidence of countless imaginary battles fought by a small child.

Gently, she handed it to Aceco but Rhett caught the silent sob that escaped her lips the moment she handed that sword over. He squinted his eyes and scrutinized even closer.

Aceco accepted the sword gently, her silver eyes filled with a deep empathy. Closing her eyes once more, she focused her magic on the object. The room held its breath as the seconds ticked by. The silence was broken only by the ragged gasps of Cora’s stifled sobs.

Finally, Aceco opened her eyes, and when Rhett saw a dull emptiness in them, he knew.

"Gone," she whispered. "The boy... he’s gone too. Taken by the same darkness."

By ’the same darkness’, Aceco probably meant the same killers. Interesting.

Farkas, with his brow furrowed in confusion, blurted out the question that lingered in all of their minds. "But— if the vampires killed them all, how then did the veil lift tonight?"

Good and big question to this puzzle; Rhett thought as his eyes went blank with thoughtfulness.

"Exactly, Farkas. If the vampires killed the entire family, how did the veil get lifted tonight? It doesn’t make sense." Rhett just had to say.

It was as if he already knew the answer to these questions. The answers burned in his throat. He could already see the lies and deceptions right in his face but as the Gamma, he had to be logical.

He had to make sure that the truth, whatever it was, came out practically.

He ran a hand through his hair. Earlier, his suspicion had centered around the vampires using the children as bargaining chips and forcing the parents to lift the veil with it. But with everyone dead, that theory went out the window.

So, now. He had come to a very solid conclusion. He was 100% sure now.

"So, if the family wasn’t used to lifting the veil," Rhett continued, his gaze flickering between Cora and the open window where the first-morning dews fell, "then who did it?"

Cora, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, spoke hesitantly. "It... it must have been some of the other fairies. The ones who weren’t lucky enough to find refuge in the pack. The vampires might have captured them, forced them to lift the veil."

Farkas grunted in agreement. "That’s a possibility. We know they’ve been rounding up stragglers."

Rhett, however, wasn’t convinced. He would need something more concrete than Cora’s words to change his notion at this point.

"But why capture Aella’s family in the first place? If they wanted to use captured fairies to lift the veil, wouldn’t it have been easier to grab some random straggler rather than go after a specific family? Something doesn’t add up." He argued.

As if sensing his suspicion, Aceco spoke up. "Indeed, something doesn’t add up. Because Rhett is right. Cora is lying."

Rhett’s head snapped towards Aceco with a flicker of confirmation sparking in his eyes. He had a feeling this was coming. He just knew it.

Cora, however, recoiled as if struck. "L-lying?" she stammered with indignation. "What do you mean, Lady Aceco? I assure you, I’m telling the truth."

Aceco’s gaze remained unwavering. "Don’t lie to me, Cora."

Cora flinched under the weight of Aceco’s gaze. "No, no, Lady Aceco," she continued to stutter. "You’re mistaken. I’m telling you everything I know."

But Aceco’s eyes held a knowing glint. "When I held your hands," she said gently, "I felt a lie radiating from them. You’re hiding something, Cora."

Rhett’s eyes narrowed. He’d suspected as much and later affirmed it too. The woman’s entire act had reeked of insincerity from the beginning.

"Cora," he growled with knitted brows, "we don’t have time for your games. You’ve wasted enough of our time already. Tell us what you know, and tell us the truth."

And thus, Cora couldn’t hold it anymore, it seemed. She crumpled to the floor and a new wave of tears cascaded down her face. "Forgive me," she wailed. "I— I have sinned. I lied."

Sinned?

Rhett rolled his eyes, his patience wearing thin. "Cut the dramatics, Cora. Spit it out! If you’re holding back information, now’s the time to come clean. This isn’t a joke. Lives are at stake!"

The strict cop in him came bubbling out. He couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t.

Sniffling back her tears, Cora took a shuddering breath. "It’s my fault," she confessed. "On the day Aella’s family went searching for the... the peculiar creature, Reed wasn’t available. So, I volunteered to go with them."

Farkas and Rhett exchanged shocked glances, while Aceco listened intently. It wasn’t much of a shock to Rhett that Cora’s story was bullshit. She had told a false story before at the precinct. And then, she told another which was now revealed to be a lie.

Fey or no fey, sins dominate all.

"And then?" Farkas prompted impatiently.

Cora continued after casting a fearful glance at Farkas, her voice trembling. "We— we were ambushed by the vampires. They took us all. They... they mercilessly killed both of Aella’s kids in front of us as a warning for us to do their bidding."

Rhett grimaced; the vampires, those rutheless bastards!