Page 17 of Knot in My Wildest Dreams: Part 2
I opened my mouth, desperate to deny it, but the truth was already there in my hesitation. The loyalty, the years of brotherhood with Elijah… I couldn't just turn my back on him.
Pain tore through me as she turned away. “Go, Dante. Until you know where you stand, I can’t have you here.”
The rejection hit like a bucket of ice water. I’d felt her warmth, her acceptance, her love, and now it was ripped from me, leaving a hollow ache that made my knees weak. I swallowed hard, my pride splintering as I forced the words out. “I’ll figure this out. One way or another.”
Her voice was calm, final. “That’s fine. But I can’t accept you without trust.”
I staggered back, my pack’s eyes heavy on me, their pity burning worse than anger. My heart screamed to fight, to fall on my knees and beg her to take me back. But another part of me was at war. I felt the pull between the friend I’d once sworn to trust with my life, and the mate my soul demanded I protect. It was an impossible choice, but Celeste had made it for me.
So I turned, each step away from her tearing something vital from me. And for the first time in years, I felt utterly lost.
Chapter 19
Liam
Dante was banished. I felt his pain through our bond, but I also felt the flicker of doubt he had toward Celeste. She still hadn't kicked me and Vigo out, so I felt like we could still fix this. After a member of Pack Valence walked Dante away, Sterling went on as if it were only a minor distraction.
“We need to talk about next steps. You’re in extreme danger.” Sterling said, and I could tell by the way he looked at us that he was serious.
I sighed, realizing our lives were infinitely more complicated today than we ever realized. “Tell us more.” Vigo and I stood together, uneasy as Sterling explained the part he played.
“Gideon and Elijah have been working together for years. Gideon played along when Celeste first wanted to be in charge, figuring she’d burn out quickly. But when she started to succeed, he changed strategies. He has been secretly setting up the old contracts and running things behind her back, keeping everything on the down low and making documentation that forged her signature as a failsafe. If anything were to get out publicly, it makes Celeste look like the bad guy.” He explained, and I looked at Vigo.
“Like the Tedena incident.” He said, and Celeste nodded.
She looked at us for a moment before speaking. “I found out about that one by accident. I was doing a surprise visit to Tedena, and found that local fire regulations were not being followed to save money. Then, there was the coverup after the accident. That was all my uncle’s doing, but he had my signature forged, using Arnault as a witness.” I processed her words as a realization flooded me. This was how Celeste was being used - as a scapegoat in case anything was uncovered. “At the time, my uncle didn’t realize I was going around doing my own research on our practices. He became much craftier after that.”
Sterling nodded, filling in the gaps. “Gideon used people under him to do his dirty work. Arnault was one of them. Then, me.” He admitted.
“How could you do that?” Vigo practically shouted. I wanted to know as well. Working for Gideon was making a deal with the devil, if this was to be believed. Sterling looked down, the shame apparent on his face.
“I did it because I wanted to move ahead. It was wrong, and it probably would have ended up eating me alive. Finding out Celeste was my scent match changed things.” He said, looking at her with a type of adoration I’d never seen. “But still, the more I learned, the worse Gideon became. It started off small, planting stories with the press. Making sure she was always seen with a drink in her hand, giving an anonymous tip that she was partying to excess.”
The research we’d done came flashing back to me. All this time, Celeste had been known as a party girl. But when she lived with us, she barely drank a sip. I’d only ever seen her work hard. But her reputation was of a notorious, vapid socialite. Sterling continued.
“It started to get worse. Initially, I tried to gather evidence, but Gideon covers his tracks so well. I was able to intervene when I could, but it was dangerous. Like at the Darlington Ball.” I remembered wondering how it could possibly have gone so wrong. It seems we were never in control of that.
“When I found out what he was ultimately planning, I had to try to find a way to get her out of all this.” He said.
“I don't get it. Why didn’t you just talk to her?” I asked.
“Arnault tried to talk to her once. He tried to get Gideon to stop, threatening to go to Celeste. But Gideon took care of him, permanently.” I got chills at his words. Gideon, it seemed, was much more dangerous than I realized.
“So, I let things play out, trying to get the full picture. Now, he and Elijah came up with a master plan. Use the Tedena documents to force Celeste’s hand, under the guise of helping you fix your reputation.” My memories came back to that time when Elijah had come to us, with evidence we thought was gold. The plan, seemingly a miracle opportunity. Was it really a setup this whole time?
Vigo leaned forward, “And Elijah, what is his role in all of this?” He asked carefully. “Why would he betray us?”
Sterling sighed. “About that - from what I’ve gathered, he believes you are being held back by your ideals. He thinks the company would do leaps and bounds better if you didn’t adhere to wanting to do things so ethically.”
Well, that part was true. We’d be able to do a lot more if we cheated and schemed. But I still couldn't believe Elijah, our friend for so many years, would betray us. “What does he get out of it?” I asked, my blood boiling at the thought of his betrayal - and how he’d helped to manipulate our mate.
“Gideon has convinced him that with Celeste and your pack out of the way, the two of them would work together, effectively growing the two companies and working in tandem to become monopolies. Gideon has offered him unfettered access to power.” He said.
“What do you mean, with Celeste and us out of the way?” Vigo growled, his eyes burning.
“Because having Celeste and your pack focused on each other would free up Gideon to finish up a few more of his schemes, with Celeste distracted and away from the house. Again, everything done under the table would be linked back to her, and me. There would be no way he’d ever get blamed if anything went public. But all of these under the table deals - they benefit Gideon’s vision for Harringday. Then, after he was done setting everything up, he was planning on your pack to release the leaked files once they were found.”
My mind raced to keep up. The documents Dante had found… was that a setup too?
