Free Web NovelChapter 209: Chapter 209 Signal Lost
Christina’s POV
The second the call ended, Daniel’s phone buzzed with a notification.
He opened the app and quickly tapped ’accept transfer.’
"Priya sent two thousand," he said, his eyes widening. "That’s way more than enough for the phone."
Perfect.
Now I could also ask Priya to get my message to Ysolde, who could send a text to Hudson.
Just knowing he’d hear I was safe would loosen the tight feeling in my chest.
Daniel was still staring at his screen, head down with his hair falling over his eyes.
"What’s taking so long?" I nudged him. "If you wait much longer, we’ll miss the deadline."
He blinked and looked up. "Right. Sorry, spaced out for a sec." He yawned while tapping the screen. "Ordering now."
Once the confirmation went through, I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders. Hudson would know I was okay. That was enough for tonight.
We kept walking toward the hotel. The sidewalk was dry under our feet, but the night air smelled like car exhaust mixed with fried onions from the food cart on the corner.
Daniel stopped so suddenly I almost walked into him. "Wait. That name you said before—Hudson. Was that Hudson Laurent?"
"Yeah."
"You know him?"
"He’s my husband."
Daniel’s head whipped around, eyes going wide. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"Wait—what? You and the Sabreridge Alpha? You’re married to him?"
I showed him my ring. "I thought you would’ve noticed this by now."
"Yeah, I saw it. I just... never put it together." His face darkened. "Wait, if he’s your husband, why is he hanging out with Rowan Hale? That’s screwed up. Cheating bastard—"
"He’s not like that," I cut him off with a frown.
"But the photo!"
"Could be fake. Photoshopped. Who knows."
"But that’s twice now he’s been caught with Rowan." Daniel sounded genuinely pissed, though I wasn’t sure if it was for me or his favorite singer.
"I trust him," I said simply. "He wouldn’t cheat."
"How long have you been married?" Daniel asked.
"Not long," I said vaguely. "Why?"
"Ever heard of the seven-year itch?"
"Yeah, but what’s your point?"
"Guys tend to wander even in good relationships. I’m a guy. I know how we think."
"That might be true for some people, but not Hudson."
"I’m just saying, you should watch out. The guy’s loaded, right? Alpha of the biggest pack in the North. He could easily have someone on the side—"
"I don’t want to talk about this anymore," I snapped.
Daniel shut his mouth.
We reached the hotel entrance when he stopped. "You should go up and get some rest. I’ll bring your phone when it gets here. I gave them the front desk for delivery."
"No need. I’ll wait down here. You go sleep. You look beat."
His mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but he just nodded and walked away.
I sank into a stiff velvet chair in the lobby that smelled faintly of cleaning supplies. Ten minutes later, the concierge brought me the package.
I ripped through the box, turned on the phone, connected to the Wi-Fi, and made sure everything worked. Only then did I head upstairs.
There was no SIM card, though.
None of the apps would let me log in without SMS verification. I must have added all that security without thinking about a situation like this.
I tried every workaround I could think of.
Nothing worked.
Only Instagram and X let me in.
But Hudson didn’t use either.
"He’s probably losing his mind wondering where we are," Akira whined, pacing nervously in my head.
"I know. I’m doing everything I can," I told her.
I showered and got into bed, my wet hair soaking the pillow. The hotel sheets were cool and kind of rough against my skin.
I sat up and started scrolling.
Hudson’s name wasn’t trending.
Neither was Rowan’s.
But when I searched for them directly, the posts came up right away: long threads full of screenshots, posts from gossip accounts I recognized, fans fighting in the comments.
Apparently, Rowan had put out a statement saying nothing was happening between them.
It didn’t help.
If anything, it made things worse.
One comment said: [These PR denials are pointless. Probably not even written by Rowan herself.]
Someone replied: [Actually, if it came out this fast, it might be real.]
[Exactly! Probably true. They’re just keeping it quiet for now. Next photos will be of them in wedding gear.]
[Don’t care. They look good together. I’m rooting for them, fight me.]
[Same. Save me a wedding invite.]
I stared at the screen, my stomach twisting. I knew it was just noise—strangers making up stories about things they knew nothing about—but that didn’t make it hurt less.
Seeing Hudson’s name linked with hers again, with all those people cheering them on, felt like little needles under my skin.
"It’s just internet trash. It’ll be gone tomorrow," I mumbled, not really believing myself.
I closed Instagram, then X, and tried my banking app again.
Still locked out.
After trying a few more times, I realized I could get into Venmo with face recognition.
And Venmo had messaging.
And I had Hudson saved as a contact.
I sat up straight, suddenly hopeful.
First, I checked my account. No weird transactions or alerts. All my cards were fine.
Then I found his name. And Ysolde’s.
I typed three messages to Hudson, fingers moving fast.
Four to Ysolde.
Nothing came back.
I fell back onto the bed, still clutching the phone. Nobody actually used Venmo to chat. He probably hadn’t opened it in months.
Keep trying, Akira pushed. He needs to know we’re safe.
I tossed and turned once. Twice. Three times.
Then I kicked off the covers and called Daniel’s room.
"Yeah?" He picked up right away, sounding totally awake.
"Sorry to bug you again. Can you get Priya to contact Ysolde one more time? Tell her to check Venmo. I sent messages there."
"Got it."
I left the TV on for noise, but my eyes stayed glued to the phone screen.
Minutes dragged by.
Then half an hour.
Midnight came and went.
