Free Web NovelChapter 68: Chapter 68 Now Alone
Jade’s POV
Linda..
The name echoed in my head like something said wrong, like a word mispronounced so badly it made my ears ring.
I stared at Alpha Ashford, my chest tight, my thoughts scrambling to make sense of it. Linda. Of all people. My mother had no business anywhere near Linda’s quarters. She didn’t serve the guest wing. She never had. Servants were assigned specific areas, and my mother was meticulous about rules, about not overstepping, about not drawing attention.
“Why,” I said slowly, my voice sounding distant even to my own ears, “was my mother delivering breakfast to Linda?”
Alpha Ashford didn’t answer immediately. His gaze flicked, just for a fraction of a second, away from me, toward the house. Toward the stairs that led to the guest wing.
“She requested it,” he said finally. “Linda has been unwell.”
Unwell.
The word scraped against something inside me.
I laughed. A short, broken sound that didn’t feel like it came from me at all. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Jade,” Ronan said quietly, stepping closer, his voice low, cautious, like he was approaching a wild animal. “This isn’t the time....”
“No,” I cut in, shaking my head. “No, you don’t understand. My mother wouldn’t....” ƒreewebɳovel.com
“She was asked,” Alpha Ashford repeated, firmer now. “And she had no choice but to agree. That is all there is to it.”
I looked past him, at Ronan. Then Renzo. Their faces were tense, unreadable. Not defensive. Not agreeing. Just... caught. Like men standing in the middle of a bridge as it burned from both ends.
They weren’t backing me.
They weren’t defending Linda either.
They were just standing there, helpless and torn, and that alone told me everything I needed to know.
“Where is she?” I asked.
Alpha Ashford’s brow furrowed. “Who?”
“Linda.”
“She is resting,” he said. “She is not to be disturbed.”
That was it.
That was the moment something inside me shifted, not snapped, not broke, but went cold and sharp and painfully clear.
You’re lying.
I didn’t say it out loud. I didn’t need to. The realization settled deep in my bones, heavy and undeniable.
Someone was lying.
And someone had killed my mother.
I turned away before anyone could stop me.
“Jade,” Ronan called after me.
I didn’t answer.
I walked, no, I marched, back into the mansion, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might split my ribs apart. The corridors blurred as I moved, my feet carrying me on instinct alone. I knew where Linda’s guest room was. Everyone did. It was one of the best guest rooms in the estate. Sunlit. Spacious. Close to the Alpha’s quarters.
I pushed open the door without knocking.
The room smelled faintly of herbs and something medicinal. The curtains were half drawn, letting in pale light. Linda lay on the bed, propped up against pillows, her skin pale, her lips dry. She looked... fragile.
Too fragile.
Her eyes flicked toward me, widening slightly.
“Oh,” she said softly, her voice thin, husky, like she’d practiced sounding weak. “Jade. You’re back?”
I didn’t move.
“I didn’t know you were all returning today,” she continued, coughing lightly into her hand. “Why did you come back so early?”
I stood there, watching her.
Watching the way her chest rose and fell a little too evenly. Watching how her hands, though trembling, clenched the sheets with strength she shouldn’t have had if she were truly as sick as she claimed.
Watching the lie sit comfortably on her face.
My mother’s face flashed in my mind. Her lifeless face. Her calloused hands. The way she always tucked her hair behind her ear when she was nervous and... alive.
Something dark surged up from my chest, fast and uncontrollable.
I crossed the room in three strides.
Before Linda could react, my hand connected with her face.
The sound was sharp. Satisfying. Horrifying.
She screamed.
I didn’t stop.
I slapped her again, then again, my vision blurring with tears and fury as words tore out of me.
“You did this,” I shouted. “You killed her!”
I shoved her, my fists flying, hitting whatever I could reach, her shoulders, her arms, her chest. She cried out, her voice high and piercing, but she didn’t fight back.
That only made it worse.
“Jade!” Renzo yelled.
Strong hands grabbed my arms from behind, pulling me away, but I thrashed wildly, kicking, reaching, trying to get back to her.
“Let me go!” I screamed. “Let me go!”
Ryder and Ronan were there now too, holding me back, their faces pale, panicked.
“Jade, stop!” Ryder pleaded. “This isn’t helping!”
“She deserves it!” I cried. “She deserves worse!”
Linda was coughing violently now, curling into herself, her body shaking.
Then suddenly....
She convulsed.
Her back arched sharply, her limbs jerking as a horrible, wet sound escaped her throat. Blood spilled from her mouth, staining the white sheets.
I froze.
My breath caught painfully in my chest.
What...?
My hands went limp in the boys’ grip as shock sliced through my rage. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t...
“I didn’t....” I started, my voice cracking. “I didn’t hit her that hard...”
But no one was listening.
“Linda!” Ronan shouted, rushing to her side.
Ryder and Renzo released me instantly, moving to the bed, trying to steady her, calling her name over and over.
Her eyes rolled back.
“Get her to the infirmary,” Alpha Ashford barked as he stormed into the room. “Now!”
The boys didn’t hesitate.
They lifted Linda carefully, urgently, fear written plainly on their faces as they carried her out of the room.
They didn’t look back.
Not once.
I stood there alone, my arms hanging uselessly at my sides, my heart pounding in confusion and horror.
Alpha Ashford turned to me slowly.
His expression was cold.
“This,” he said sharply, “is enough.”
He stepped closer, his presence heavy, suffocating. “Whatever grief you are feeling does not give you the right to assault someone under my roof.”
“She’s lying, I didnt beat her that much” I whispered, my voice trembling. “And she definitely did something to my mother.”
“You have no proof,” he said flatly.
“She wasn’t that sick,” I insisted. “You saw it, she was pretending....”
“Enough,” he snapped.
He turned toward the door. “Guards.”
Men stepped in, their boots echoing ominously against the floor.
“No,” I said, backing away instinctively. “You can’t, I’m your sons mate!”
“Take her,” Alpha Ashford ordered. “To the dungeon.”
The guards moved toward me.
My knees weakened.
The last thing I saw before they grabbed me was the empty doorway, where the boys had disappeared with Lisa.
And the terrifying certainty settling deep inside my chest
I was alone now.
