Dangerous Desires

Chapter 104

104. 104. Stacy And Regan

Tia.

Caleb was surprised that I knew what he was trying to keep from me. I knew we had lost our might. I was counting on it, so I decided to put the money into procuring weaponry instead of funding the military. The region that had stayed with us had remained even though we did not give them money. Clearly, their loyalty was absolute, and those were the people to trust. I wasn‘t happy when Luke said I would not be coming with them on the assault mission, but I understood his viewpoint. I knew he was being protective. I doubted I would be as efficient as I used to be, especially now that I was showing. Remaining behind the scenes and drawing out the plans was the best job for me. So when Luke said no, I did not push back. I accepted it and looked forward to ending Luis Moon.

The Press conference was rushed and very brief. Luke only addressed the people out of respect, but we had bigger things to worry about like the underground war.

After the conference, Kirk informed us of the arrival of the first shipment of the weapons we procured. I was glad we would have something to use against the people of Tetra. There was a time I would have kicked against wiping the place out but right now, I couldn‘t. The man was too damn dangerous. Any territory that managed to break away from us is automatically regarded as the enemy. There was a time when I would have worried that Luke was about to go to war. The fact that he was leading an assault made me at ease because this time, he had the element of surprise.

We stayed a bit in the office, talking with the Alphas still loyal to us to inform them of Luke‘s return and some of our plans to salvage what was left without us telling them about Luis Moon‘s identity or our plan to attack Tetra. As much as we were grateful that they remained with us, we could not be a hundred per cent sure they were loyal to us. So we needed to be careful. No one would know of the attack except those who would be a part of it. The island can find out after it has happened.

When it was evening, we went to eat at a restaurant.

After eating at the restaurant, Luke and Caleb dropped me off at home and went to prepare for their trip to Tetra.

I entered the mansion and sluggishly walked to the left–wing. The house was very quiet. It wasn‘t its busy old self, and I knew it missed the Stacy touch. The woman was a clown, pissing everyone off and making a fool of herself. Remembering my encounters with her at the entrance and hallway made me giggle.

I was glad Stacy had woken up, and she was fine. I was happy that Alpha Aesop would finally get the closure he deserved, and we might figure out who poisoned her. Which would expose the culprit, and we can finally eat safely in the house. I also wanted her to confirm if what Monica told us was the truth or fabricated lies. I knew Monica had no reason to lie, but I did not want to dismiss that probability.

Approaching my room, I found Kimberly at my door. I smiled at her immediately, and she hugged me,

“It is good to have you back, Tia,” she said and broke the hug to admire my clothes.

“And you managed to wear your clothes this time, not the usual Luke outfit,” she said, and I began to laugh. I let her into the room. When I asked of Emma, she said Michelle was taking care of her.

“You know you will have to get Emma a nanny eventually because Michelle will be caring for my baby,” I told her, and she laughed.

“When that time comes, Tia. Let Emma keep her busy for now,” she said, and I laughed.

“Caleb told me they are going on a trip; when do you think they will be back?” She asked me, and I smiled.

“Give them a day or two,” I said, and she raised an eyebrow at me. “I can‘t believe you are this calm, Tia. Luke just got home.” She pointed out, and I shrugged my shoulders.

“I am getting used to it, Kim. Luke is an Alpha; I do not expect him to always be with me. That would be absurd and disturbing, don‘t you think?” I asked her, and she laughed.

“She opened my mini–fridge and helped herself to some Orange Juice.

“Stacy is home.” She said, sitting beside me on the couch, and I nodded.

“Who would have guessed that that woman would survive that magnitude of poisoning? I am so happy for Caleb because I knew it was killing him.” She said, sighing and then took a sip of the juice.

“I am happy for their father too because as much as that man said he hated her, he just couldn‘t let her go,” I pointed out, and she nodded.

“I noticed too, Tia. He stayed in that hospital and refused to move. Now that they are back, he put her in his room.” She said, and I shook my head because I doubted his feelings had anything to do with it. “I guess staying with her at the hospital and putting her in his room has nothing to do with his heart. I think he is trying to protect her from whoever might have poisoned her,” I said, and she frowned at me.

“Does he think someone tried to kill her?” She asked me, looking worried and confused.

“Yes, it seems like it because the letter found in those envelopes was not written by her,” I explained to Kimberly, and she was in shock. I went further to tell her of the guy poisoned in the mansion.

“Goddess, This house is not safe,” she exclaimed, and I nodded.

“We have been eating out pending the time we figure out who the culprit is,” I said, and she nodded lightly.

“Have you seen Stacy?” I finally asked her, and she nodded.

“At first, she seemed slightly off, but I later realised it was the meds. Now that it has left her system, she is getting better. She knows my name but did not ask of Emma. That was how I knew she wasn‘t quite there yet.” She said to me, and I was glad things were looking up.

Kimberly and I spent two hours watching a movie. Deep down, I prayed to the Goddess to keep our men and their team safe. It wasn‘t long after the movie ended when someone knocked on

my door. I went to answer immediately. I knew it was Bart because he had linked me. He

sounded a bit frantic too. I opened the door and saw he looked worried.

“Luna Tia, you need to come to the right–wing. Something is going on there.” He said, and I frowned but left with him. Kimberly followed me. He led us towards the bedrooms on the left wing

“How could you do this to me!” I heard Alpha Aesop‘s angry growling voice coming from his bedroom. We entered and saw Stacy sitting on the bed and crying. The man looked at Kimberly and me. There was rage in his eyes.

“Where are your mates?” he asked, and I told him they had gone on a mission. He understood why. I didn‘t emphasise, and he nodded.

“Alpha, what is going on?” I managed to ask my father–in–law, and he looked at Stacy. “Everything Monica told us was true.” He said, and my heart sank. His red eyes showed his heart was breaking. Stacy was crying; she shouldn‘t be because she was just out of the hospital. She should be resting. I went to sit beside her to calm her down.

“You need to take it easy, Stacy,” I said, and she hugged me. It was sudden and unexpected. I froze and then gently embraced her. She was frail.

“I am tired, Tia,” she said, crying, and I knew she was holding so much in. Breaking away from the hug, she looked at Aesop.

“You should have pulled the plug. You should have left me to die. At least I will be at peace. I have been fighting all my life, trying to get out of a bind. For thirty years, I have tried to survive. I can‘t do it anymore. I am tired. My children can survive without me. I do not want to continue living anymore.” she said, and I figured she might have tried to kill herself, but why did someone else write the letters?

“Why did you not tell me?” Aesop asked her calmly, “Why did you lie to me?” he said and ran his fingers through his hair. He was trying to handle his emotions, and he was doing a good job too. “I married you, Stacy. I claimed you. Where is his mark?” he finally asked, and she looked like her life was going to end. “At the back of my shoulder covered by the tattoo,” she confessed, and he punched the wall. Vibrating with anger. I felt his pressure; we all did. Aesop was an Alpha, and we were feeling his might.

“Please, you need to calm down, Alpha,” I said, touching my bump because the pressure nauseated me. He relaxed a bit, and I looked at Stacy.

“Regan forced me into marriage because I had already run away too many times. Claiming me was a form of insurance. When I got pregnant, we went to Cleeve. He was pursuing someone there. Something about his power moves. He pimped me to all sorts of men to gain favour and have them on his team. I was subjected to all forms of abuse, Tia. He left me alone when my pregnancy started showing and did not look back. When I gave birth to Monica, he came for her. She was an inconvenience to him, a plan spoiler, and he wanted to get rid of her so he could continue his secret conquest. I begged him to send her to my parents, and he finally agreed, saying he would not be responsible for her. The guy was a terror, and everyone was afraid of him. No one would help me, so I had to keep working for him while I picked up other jobs secretly to make enough and send home to my family for Monica and my father‘s care.

One day he asked me to join him in Neev that he had a job for me. I wasn‘t enthusiastic about it, but I had no choice. I had to go. I did not know anyone that would help me get out of the bind I was in with the

monster. When I saw Aesop was the job, I was elated because he remained burned in my mind from my first encounter with him, but Regan told me it wouldn‘t be the usual. I was to get close enough to marry him, kill him and Luke, and then hand over all I inherit to Regan. He let me know what would happen if I didn‘t do it. I refused at first, but when he took my parent and our daughter to a hidden place, I complied. It was difficult, but I had to comply. Luke took to me quickly, and within the three years of trying to gain their trust, I fell in love, but Aesop‘s heart belonged to Chloe. I would have walked away because love never brought me anything good, but I couldn‘t. So I took my chances and called Regan‘s bluff. With Aesop protecting my parents, Regan did not have the might to do anything, and that was when the blackmail started because he knew Aesop would throw me out once he found out that I have a mate.” she said and began to sob.

“I love you, Aesop, but I won‘t be mad if you want to end it. My marriage to Regan wasn‘t consensual. I was shackled into it, and I dreamt that a strong man would one day rescue me from that nightmare. I have been a handful, but it was out of jealousy and nothing else. I love you and Luke, so I could never bring myself to do what I was asked to do. I would rather die than kill you or your son. Please. My tantrums and schemes were out of jealousy and nothing more. I am so sorry I lied to you,” She pleaded with him, and he did not say a word.

“I think I should leave,” she said, and I knew she was too frail for that.

“You can‘t leave in this condition,” Aesop said calmly.

“Then at least let me go to my room.” She said, and he was silent. That was when it clicked for me to ask.

“Did you try to poison yourself?” I asked, and she looked at me, afraid to tell me the answer.

“Please, Stacy. Stop keeping things from us. You graciously said goodbye to all of us and left notes for your children. We need to know because a staff member was poisoned too,” I said, and tears began to fall from her eyes. Whatever she was trying to say was difficult.

“I said goodbye to everyone because I was going to leave, Tia. I had sold everything I owned and split the money three ways. One for Caleb, the other for Monica and the last for me. I paid an assassin to help me catch the bastard and kill him. I do that every year, and it always yields nothing. But this one felt sure. He knew where Regan was and assured me he would succeed. I made the mistake of telling my plans to someone, and it went belly up. I was saying goodbye because I believed the assassin would succeed and I would be free of the bastard. Little did I know that the walls had ears, and he would find out. When I realised what had happened, I was stuck and confused. That was why I did not come out for days. He sent me messages about how he was coming to get me. I was tired,” She said, and I figured she did attempt suicide. “So you chose to end it,” I completed, and she shook her head. “I love Caleb, Monica and Emma. I want to live for them. Not really; I planned on running away still.” She said, and I was confused.

“Then what happened, Stacy. You had a lethal dose of silver in your blood. You were not allowed to leave the mansion, so definitely, someone brought it in and tried to kill you with it. ” I said, and her dancing teary eyes said it all. She knew who had tried to kill her but was afraid to give the person up. It had to be someone she loved dearly and would protect with her life.

“Monica,” I said, and her tears rolled down. I was in shock.

“She‘s confused and angry, that is all,” Stacy tried to explain, but it all began to click. Stephen must have brought Monica the poison and cleaned up after her. Why would Monica position her mother the same morning that we were attacked by Luis? I felt like a fool. Regan is using Monica. It made me conclude that Regan was Luis, but I had to be sure. Thankfully, Luke had sent me the picture of Luis.

“Stacy, I need you to identify someone truthfully. Can you do that?” I asked her, and she nodded, looking confused. I took out my phone and showed her Luis‘s picture, and she began to scream. She looked like she was living her worst nightmare, shaking and screaming. Aesop had to come to hold her. She pointed at my phone with a shaky finger. “Monster! Monster!” she screamed, looking like a little scared child. The abuse must have been incredible for her to lose herself the way she did. She had confirmed what we all

suspected. I sighed and looked at Aesop. “Regan Adhit is Luis Moon. The L in his name must stand for Luis.” I concluded, and he was stunned: We were all stunned. We sat in silence while Aesop tried to calm Stacy down. She was terrified, and I could only imagine what she had to endure with the psychopath..Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.