Chapter 317. A Wretched Deal II

Chapter 317: 317. A Wretched Deal II

Maisie

"Can you identify both men, ma’am?"

"Yes," I whispered.

The video was eight seconds long.

The technician had hit the play button a total amount of twenty times. A hundred and sixty seconds, I sat in the chair, unmoving.

The evidence was in a small flash drive. And it was real. It clearly showed the black car, though, there was no plate number attached behind it. It showed the moment I fell out, going up to the moment I was grabbed by the two rogues.

My hand trembled under the seat, as the technician zoomed in on the shadow catching up in the woods. I caught a glimpse of wolf-golden eyes, and knew it was Lyon.

The feed got cut off shortly after my garbled cry.

It got off before the rogues dropped me at Tessa’s feet. I stared at it, chasing the suspicion.

It showed two men who were already dead. Two men who could no longer give testimony of who had hired them and who was on that cliff.

The clip itself was more than enough to account for my innocence in Lyon’s death, proving the dead rogue’s statement, as well as discrediting Lana’s accounts on events and my supposed plot to bring down the Night Shade.

It was a huge change in my case, as the pause on the trial depended heavily on a dead man’s statement and a doctor’s report that could be contested if the Councils realized that hadn’t been Levi.

It all hung on a dangerous precipice and this was the first real, unrefutable evidence we had gotten our hands on.

It got cut off before Tessa showed up.

It only meant that whoever turned it in meant to protect me. And her.

Another sentry entered, dropping an evidence bag with a fat syringe in it. My body froze up at the sight of it and my sensitive hearing picked up on the words being murmured between the officials.

"...it checks out with the sample we received from the hospital at Munich..."

Pitiful eyes glanced at me. "Have no damned clue how she survived a concentration that high..."

"... it’s been nine months. You don’t think it’s fucking stupid that he’d keep evidence of his crime for that long? In his home?"

"... maybe he kept it as a trophy? You don’t get your hands on a Lycan female often. Not to speak of a royal. Or maybe he planned to use it for blackmail. We still don’t know who hired him--"

"What is going on?" I asked no one in particular, even as it slowly began to piece itself together.

The lead investigator, a half-breed named Shaun, smiled kindly at me. "Shortly after the new evidence was turned in, forensics did another sweep of the deceased rogue’s home. Though nothing was found the first time, a closer inspection found an unregistered syringe hidden underneath his floorboards containing trace amounts of ash, matching the suspected compound of ash found in your blood by Levi Sommer." He lifted the evidence bag. "See the crusted blood at the needle? The tests came back positive with your DNA. His prints are all over the needle."

"No one else’s?" I asked, feeling the room start to spin around me.

Mr. Shaun frowned. "Yes. Should there have been someone else’s? Was someone else present there that night?"

Oh God.

It had been wiped clean of Tessa’s fingerprints, same as the footage being wiped clean of her. What were the chances that the first investigation found nothing, but the second conveniently found the syringe in the dead rogue’s home?

Maybe he hadn’t kept it at all.

Maybe it had been planted to be found. And not even Gruer would have access to that. Only someone who was present at the scene would.

The chair screeched as I stood on rubbery legs, feeling faint as I recalled Tessa’s smug smile at the cafeteria.

It was her.

Either Tessa had done this or the Queen had. But why would they...

I told you he would always come back to me.

My breath hitched in shallow, ragged gasps, and I clutched the edge of the table to keep my wobbling feet under me.

He wouldn’t. Surely, he wouldn’t do that.

My gaze flicked to where Soren stood, speaking softly to a different member of the Council whose head was hung in deference.

"... moved the motion to dismiss the charges based on exculpatory evidence," I heard the Councilman tell Soren and Alden, but Soren’s violet gaze was fixed on me.

Waiting. Waiting for me to connect the dots.

The tense, agitated line of his shoulders confirmed every single one of my worst fears.

Mercer had done something horrifying. He had traded something, not just to buy me time for my next trial or buy me freedom. He bought my innocence. He bought my life back.

Oh goddess, I was going to be sick.

I pushed off the table, my legs trembling as I crossed the marble floor, ignoring the investigator’s talk about official release papers.

I stopped right in front of Soren, my hands balling into fists at my sides.

"Where is he?" I demanded, my voice cracking under the weight of the panic clawing up my throat. "Soren, where is Mercer?"

Soren’s jaw tightened. He didn’t answer right away and it gave away the knowledge that he knew exactly where Mercer was but was weighing the risks of telling me.

"Tell me where he is!" I choked out, grabbing his sleeve. "I need to talk to him right now. He can’t do this, Soren. Whatever deal he made with her... whatever he gave up to get this... it’s not worth it!"

Everyone in the hall glanced towards us at my raised voice.

"Adams," Soren said, pulling me to the side. "I don’t like this anymore than you do, but this... this is better than anything we could’ve imagined--"

"No," I cried. "He had to have given something. Don’t you understand? The Queen wants me dead! If she agreed to a bargain, it could never be to my benefit! This is a mistake! You will take me to him right now!"

Soren shuddered at the command, his eyes flashing temporarily black for one second, before he shook his head, looking both confused and disoriented.

But he nodded after a moment and handed me a pair of keys. "Wait for me in the car."