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I couldn’t think clearly after my discussion with Violet. I sat in Jaxon’s office and we thought the entire conversation over wondering whether she had accidentally let something slip but we weren’t any closer to finding out the culprit than we were a few days ago. All we knew was that he worked in the palace and he was going to betray us but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of anything else. Not knowing was painful and scary because we didn’t know where to direct our efforts.it was like living in a permanent state of paranoia.
Jaxon tried to assure me that everything was fine but I knew he was more worried than I was but he had years as experience being the king and he knew how to hide his emotions well. He focused on me and making sure that I was relaxed by gently rubbing circles on my back and holding me close but even his constant presence could not ease the turmoil in my chest. I had a feeling that we were getting closer to Violet’s endgame and I knew that if we didn’t get ourselves together, we were going to be hit badly and swept away.
A knock on the door forced me out of my thoughts and I turned to see Aiden walk in. He gave me what looked like a sad smile and I knew without a doubt that I was going to hate whatever he had to say next. There was a file in his hands and he placed it on the table. I was closer so I picked it up and I went through it. I realized that inside were background checks on every single person who had access to us in the palace.
“I figured I would try to make your search a little easier,” he began. “I included all the files, even mine. You can go through them and maybe you’ll find something that stands out to you.”
“You didn’t have to include your own,” it was Jaxon who spoke and I could clearly see the stress lines on his face, “You are like a brother to me, I know everything there is to know about you.”
Aiden smiled- a genuine one and I realized just how lucky we were to have him around. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to stay afloat for as long as we had. He made to leave but froze and I saw his eyes glaze over. By the time he blinked it away, his face was twisted into a sort of grimace.
“There’s something you need to see.”
The fact that he wasn’t offering any more information was what had the hair on my neck standing on end. Jaxon and I rose at once and followed him to the car. He didn’t say a word as he drove and I briefly wondered what could have happened to make him fall silent. I knew it had something to do with Violet and considering the fact that she was in a cell, I knew she had to have done it before she was captured which meant she probably banked on being captured. I couldn’t help but wonder if she planned to be captured.
Aiden drove towards a plain looking building. There were no signs or doors on the building. It was just grey walls and wasn’t until we got to a small door at the side that a woman opened it. She glanced up at Aiden and Jaxon before turni me and I instantly knew what it was. I had heard about them but I had never seen one in person.
“You guys can’t go in,” I said softly and they all turned to me. “This is a women’s shelter. For the safety of the women in adult men aren’t allowed in. It is just how things are. I will go in, check it out and come back.”
I could tell that Jaxon was firmly against the idea but even he knew better than to try to fight their rules so he nodded. H took a step back and I saw the woman offer me a grateful smile as she ushered me inside. The inside was just as plain as t outside with greying walls and simple furniture. There were so many women all around but all of them looked panicked a frantic. They were running around holding towels and bowls and I briefly wondered what happened.
“I’m Ava and I am sorry we have to meet under such circumstances, your majesty,” she murmured as she led me into the kitchens. “We think we were poisoned.”
“What happened?”
The women do their own cooking and if I am being honest, I don’t know what happened. Everyone ate dinner as usual and people went to bed fine but this morning everyone was throwing up and passing out. We have done the best we can with what we have but I fear this is bad. Three people had to be rushed to the hospital this morning and for some of them, they don’t want to go to the hospital because they don’t want their records out there. A lot of these women are running and I can’t convince them to see a doctor. We didn’t know who else to call.”
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Chapter 86
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“That’s alright,” I ran my hands through my hair. “Do you have a signup sheet? Is it okay if I look at it because I think I might know what happened here?”
She hesitated and for a second, it looked like she was going to refuse. I wouldn’t have blamed her due to privacy issues but at the last moment, she gestured for me to follow her. She led me towards a small room that I figured belonged to her. It was so small that if I stretched out my hands, I would be able to touch both walls. She led me inside and she rummaged through a folder on the bed. She retrieved a piece of paper and handed into me.
I browsed through the names yesterday and I wasn’t particularly looking for Violet’s name, I was looking for her hand writing. I knew it by heart and when I spotted it. I muttered a curse. She signed in under the name Dana and I showed it to
Ava
“Do you remember her?” I asked and she scrutinized the name for a second before nodding.
“I think so, she looked so frail and thin. She said she had been on the run from an abusive ex. She had horrible marks on her skin. She stayed her two days ago and yesterday but she left in the afternoon and never returned. I searched for her actually because I thought her ex had gotten to her. Is there a problem?”
“Yes, she’s the one who poisoned you all. She’s currently in the pack cells and I will have doctors sent over to check on the women. It will be confidential and it will not be on any record unless they want it.”
“Why would she poison us? We were helping her, she was safe.”
“She wasn’t running from an ex, it is complicated. I will have everything you need sent over. If you will excuse me.”
She nodded and didn’t say a word when I walked out of the room. Guilt filled me as I looked at all the women in their panic. I couldn’t help but feel personally responsible for what happened. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why Violet attacked a women’s shelter. Was she just looking to inflict maximum damage? Was there a logic to her attacks? I didn’t understand why she didn’t just come for me directly. These people did nothing to her and they didn’t deserve what she did
to them.
I walked out of the building to where Jaxon and Aidan were pacing. As soon as Jaxon saw me, he reached out for me. I relayed everything that happened and Aidan instantly went to handle the call to the doctors. I made sure to specify that I wanted a female only team. The least I could do was make sure that they were as comfortable as possible.
“What I don’t understand is why here and why now,” Jaxon began as he led me towards the car. “Does she have anything against women’s shelters? Does she have some vendetta against them? It makes no sense that she would just attack randomly.”
“It truly doesn’t, and that’s what battles me,” I told him. “Could it have been self-loathing? With the farmer, I understood because she wanted our attention and what better way to do it than attack the food supply but this- it doesn’t seem like something she would do. Violet is smart, she wouldn’t just act out like that. Every attack has to be carefully calculated. This seems like a temper tantrum gone wrong.”
“I agree
“Maybe if I talk to her, I can get some answers.” I offered but Jaxon shook his head. “She will be more inched to talk to me
“She is angry with you but not me. She did this to get at you Going in there will be giving her exactly what she wants and it will
prove unfruitful for us. Allow me question her. I believe shes more likely to speak to me and give us the answers we need”
I didn’t want to accept it but I knew Jaxon was right. Just as I nodded, Aidan returned and he nodded to assure me that the doctors were on their way I glanced at the watch on my hands and realized that Kieran would be on his way back from school soon
“Should we bring them to the other” I asked Jaxon who shook his head
“They don’t need to be around this. You should go home, you have done more than enough for today. Allow me finish it up.”
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I wanted to protest but his tone gave no room for complaints. He led me into the car and instructed Jaxon to drive home. I got home around the same time as the guards who were dropping Kieran off. Jaxon waited until I got into the doors of the house before he left with Aidan. I wanted nothing more than to help out at the palace but I also knew that I was needed here.
Nadia was still in the house when I arrived and as soon as she saw me, she pushed to her feet and I knew she wanted to speak to me. I led her into the kitchen so we could have a semblance of privacy and as soon as we were alone, she glanced around to make sure no one was listening before speaking.
“I’m worried about Kiara,” she began and I raised a brow. “She told me about some dreams she was having and they seemed very graphic for a child. She said something about a mean lady and a puppet master pulling strings. She said last night the puppet master almost grabbed her and she saw his face but when she woke up, she couldn’t remember. I tried to assure her that they were just dreams but I don’t really think so.”
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