Chapter 132

Xandar picked up from where he left off:

Q: So, after the severance, would you say that there was never an occasion where you and your sister

both went against the Crown?

A: I would never work with anyone to hurt the Queen, not even if it’s with my sister.

Q: That wasn’t the question, Cummings. Did you or did you not try to come between the King and Queen

in the past two weeks?

A: No.

Q: Not even with what could seem to be an innocent act?

A: Officer, if you already have an occasion in mind, just lay it on the table so I can explain myself.

Q: It is rumored that you attempted to gift a book to the Queen early last week.

A: That was just a friendly gesture. I remember she loved to read. She didn’t accept it, by the way.

Q: And did that make you upset?

A: Upset enough to regret I didn’t do well by her? Yes. Upset enough to join forces with my sister to

break the mate-bond she now shares with the King? No.

Q: Very well… there was also something else you and your sister both said when you visited her. You

asked Sasha Cummings if she knew something you didn’t know about your father. What did you mean

by that?

W som

me

A: Well, when Sasha asked me whether I would continue supporting my father even if he is later found

guilty, there was this…glint in her eye, like she was challenging me. I just asked her that question on a

hunch. She looked like she knew more than she was letting on.

Q: Do you think she knew more than she let on?

A: I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Sometimes, she would have threats up her sleeve but most of the time,

she just wants to look like she has the upper hand to make you lose faith in yourself.

Q: Would you regard your relationship with your sister as being strained?

A: Yes.

Q: Would you say that your relationship is strained enough to perhaps….get rid of her?

A: What are you suggesting? That I break her out of prison, transport her somewhere and then kill her

myself? Seriously? She was already removed from society when she was in police custody. I didn’t

abduct her, neither did I help her escape.

Q: Where were you between 11:30 pm to 1a.m. the night before last?

A: At home. In my bed. Sleeping.

Q: Is there anyone to confirm your whereabouts?

A: No.

Q: Not even your neighbors?

A: I moved out of the family home a day before my father was arrested. I’m now living in the penthouse

apartment on the twenty-sixth floor of my office building. I’ll gladly have my people send over the security

footage of the office floors to verify what I just said.

1. Yes, that would be helpful. As for leaving the family home, why?

A Let’s just say it was getting suffocating there.

Q.Please elaborate, Cummings.

A Well since last year, I haven’t been able to tolerate my sister the way I always could.

Q:And why is that? Is it because she has a tendency to gravitate towards the darker parts of society?

A: What? No! Sasha’s just crazy. She’s not evil. Just…crazy.

Q: Crazy enough to make the suitable connections to escape prison?

A: No, her craziness isn’t the type that attracts that form of resources. It’s just the type that drives

everyone around her crazy. If I were to be honest, escaping prison seems to exceed her own skill set and

expertise. I mean, she can’t even sneak out of our family home in the middle of the night without waking

my dad or me, or even us both sometimes. Escaping prison, with guards on all entrances and exits… it’s

just not possible for her.

1. When you think of a possible person who may help her escape, who comes to mind?

A: (pause) No one I can think of.

Q: Not even an uncle?

A: What uncle?

1. On our record, a certain Mr Richard Morland visited your sister a few hours before your visit.

Morland is your late mother’s family name, isn’t it?

A: Yes, but my mother had no brothers. Only a sister who remains a spinster, living in Iceland. We

haven’t been in touch in decades. I doubt she ever married this person who came yesterday.

Q: Is your aunt not the type to wed?

A: No, it’s not that. Aunt Carol is a homosexual, and she eloped with her bonded mate after my

grandparents objected to their union.

1. I see. Could it be one of Sasha Cummings’s friends, perhaps?

A It couldn’t have been. They were more or less like her. You know, they’d just spend their time

squandering their parents’ money on material items and drinking.

Q It would seem like you’ve met her friends. Are you familiar with a close associate of your sister’s, a Ms

Livia Aphael?

A: Y-Yes.

Q: Care to explain your familiarity with this woman?

A: Sh-She was my sister’s closest friend. They’re still very close, if I’m not mistaken.

Q: And what about you? How close are you to her?

A: I’m not

Q: Are you sure?

A: Yes. She was just my sister’s friend. That’s it.

Q: So, apart from the fact that she was your sister’s friend, she was nothing more to you?

A:…

Q: Answer the question, Cummings.

A: I just don’t see how this is relevant.

Q: Until I have my answer, I can’t see the relevance either. And avoiding the question would just prompt

m e to put a red flag on this particular issue.

A: We had sex. Once. That’s it.

Q: So, during the course of your intimate relationship with…

A: There was no intimacy. It was just sex. My heart had always belonged to another.

Q: During that short stint with Livia Aphael, did she mention anything about being able to do things that a

normal creature couldn’t do?

A: Like what?

Q: Break someone out of prison, perhaps?

A: No. Nothing came close to that. The only thing she’d go on and on about in the bars was how sexually

attractive the Duke is to her…

Q: The Duke, Christian Blackfur?

A: No. The other Duke, Greg Claw.

Q: I see. Anything else?

A: Well, she also loved bragging about being a relative of the Kyltons but I honestly don’t see why she

does it. They’ve been gone for years since the King refused the heiress’s hand.

Q: Did she ramble about anything else?

A: With me? No. With my sister…do you really want to know, officer? They’d just gossip about the

daughters of the other ministers. Like how one is too tall, one has no taste, one would scare any man

away. I wouldn’t be of much help here. I can’t even remember what they said about which one of them.

Q: I see. So, from your understanding. Livia Aphael and Greg Claw share a close relationship?

A: No, that would be misleading. From the way it looked, Livia may be intimately interested with the Duke

but the Duke didn’t seem to reciprocate.

Q: A one-sided interest, you mean?

A: Yes, that’s about right.

Q: So, seeing that she liked him. It’s possible that she helped him disappear?

A: Disappear? Greg Claw disappeared? Why aren’t you questioning Livia about all of this?

Q: Because she has disappeared as well, Mr Cummings.

A: When?

Q: That’s what we were hoping you could tell us.

A: How would I tell you? I mean, I would if I knew but how would I know? I haven’t spoken to Livia for

over a year! Whenever she visited Sasha, I’d leave the house! I am far from being privy of her

whereabouts, officer

Q: When was the last time you saw Livia Aphael?

A: Uh. I don’t know. Last month, I think. She came over for a gossip session with Sasha. I don’t know

how long she stayed. I was out of the house within two minutes of hearing her voice.

Q: I see. Is there anything else you feel the need to mention, Cummings?

A: (a pause) Yesterday when I visited Sasha, she was…unusually calm. Normally, when something

happens to her, something that takes away her freedom, she’d go crazy and throw a fit. But yesterday,

she was calm when we talked about the severity of her situation. It was odd.

Q: And what do you gather from that?

A: I don’t know. It’s still a puzzle to me. My best guess is that she was calm because she already knew

she wasn’t going to be in here for long. Maybe she thought I would eventually bail her out, not that it

would happen seeing that she attacked the King and…Queen. I don’t know, officer. My sister can hardly

maintain a level head throughout anything, let alone something that curtails her liberty.

Q: I see. Anything else?

A: (a pause) Nothing I can think of at the moment.

Q: Alright, then. Thank you for your time, Mr Cummings. We’ll contact you should we need any further

information.

When Xandar clicked open the document on the rogue Lycan, he felt Lucianne trying to remove his armo

n her waist so he held her tighter and asked, “Where are you going?”

She placed her phone on his lap, and said bathroom’ before breaking loose and heading for the toilet.

Xandar lifted up her phone, and saw that it was a reminder to be ready for dinner. After smiling to

himself, he skimmed through the first three pages of the report before they left for the dining hall

together.

Everyone was surprised to see the Duchess making an appearance after all these years. Seeing how

welcoming Lucianne was with Annie, the wolves welcomed her into their circle with utmost respect and

courtesy. Many of them warmed up to her almost instantly. The Lycans, however, were a completely

different story.

Some were courteous but those who remembered her from almost two decades ago forced smiles and

formal gestures as the gears in their heads turned, thinking of a subtle way to make the Duchess feel

small the same way Lucianne had made so many of their friends feel inferior in the past couple of weeks.

Lucianne was speaking to General Langford and a few Lycan warriors with Xandar by her side. Christian

left the dining hall to have a change of clothes after one of Marie Martin’s sons accidentally spilled red

wine over his white shirt. After Annie spoke to a few wolves with Luna Hale’s help, she decided that she

wanted a drink and headed for the refreshments table. Annie was taking a sip of white wine when she

suddenly felt a presence drawing near.