21 She Wasn’t Lying


    Charles‘ POV


    Seeing Aubrey nod, I sncered. This girl really was just as my aunt had said–full of lies!


    18 Fears


    “Never mind why my aunt would do such a thing: those two werewolves aren’t fools. If the scheme were exposed, they’d face the Alpha’s wrath. Besides, as far as I know, both of their families are wealthy and influential. What could my aunt possibly use to bribe them?”


    Aubrey sighed softly. “Of course Aunt couldn’t; but what about my dear sister? If money won’t do, what about… using herself?”


    “Absurd!”


    I sprang to my feet, scowling, ring at Aubrey with obvious disapproval.


    “Ms. Mary, I know you harbor resentment toward my aunt; after all, very few children get along with their stepmothers. But Bailey is only seventeen! You’re her elder sister–how could you even say such a thing?”


    Bailey was so young. How could she possibly be so ruthless, or capable of using her own body to achieve her ends? I refused to believe it.


    Aubrey blinked. Faced with my displeasure, she didn’t seem surprised in the least.


    “Whether I’m telling the truth, Mr. Charles, you can find out for yourself. After all, those two bastards are being held at the police station, aren’t they?”


    “You!” I actually hesitated.


    “How strange… there’s none of that elerated heartbeat she usually has when she’s lying,” my wolf, Soren, remarked with hesitation as well. Soren had a sharp eye for such things. When interrogating criminals, he could always spot the microexpressions that revealed a lie–a skill that had helped me countless times. And now, he was telling me that Aubrey likely wasn’t lying. Meaning her usations might well be true.


    “You’re hesitating because your subconscious already believes me. You’re just denying it because of your feelings for Bailey.


    “I must say, for a First Military Academy graduate, your instincts are still quite sharp…”


    Aubrey smiled faintly. Though her words sounded like praise, they carried a biting sarcasm that made me bristle.


    I furrowed my brows even more.


    Part of me believed Aubrey wouldn’t make such ims without reason; part of me simply refused to believe Bailey was that kind of person.


    I decided to stop arguing and turned to leave.


    “Wait.” Aubrey’s voice called softly behind me.


    I didn’t stop. I already had a prejudice against her; at this point, I certainly wasn’t about to listen to any more of her “nonsense.”


    But-


    Chapter 21 She Wasn’t Lyng


    “Mr. Charles, that unsolved murder of the headless woman from a month ago–you’re still stuck, aren’t you!”


    Aubrey’s words caught me off guard. “I have a lead. Interested?”


    I came to an abrupt halt.


    I turned back, frowning, my tone cold. “Ms. Mary, providing false leads to obstruct an investigation willnd you in werewolf prison.”


    Aubrey smiled behind her hand, rising to her feet. “Words are cheap. I’ll take you there myself. I trust you’re professional enough not to ignore solid evidence just because of personal feelings, Mr. Charles?”


    For the first time, I feltpletely on the back foot.


    Especially when Aubrey brushed past me, I couldn’t think of a single countermeasure; I could only follow.


    It wasn’t even my case. But suddenly, I needed to know what this so–called Mary family heiress was trying to do.


    Pressed for time, I handed control of my body to Soren, transformed into a wolf, and carried Aubrey straight to the ce she had in mind.


    Half an hourter.


    “Here we are. Stop.” she said.


    I stopped on instinct–and realized, to my shock, that we were at the victim’s home. If Aubrey were trying to deceive me, surely she wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to prepare.


    Seeing her dismount, I shifted back into human form and followed,


    The narrow street was lined with vegetable vendors; the ground was sticky and wet, the air thick with the smell of fish.


    I was used to it; it didn’t bother me. But Aubrey’sposure surprised me–her white heels were already stained, yet she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were fixed ahead, as though she’d walked this path countless times before.


    She ignored the curious stares around uspletely. Even walking through this filthy alley, she moved as if she were strolling through a grand hall. Her striking presence even quieted the surrounding mor, drawing frequent sidelong nces from passersby.


    “What’s wrong?”


    Noticing I hadn’t caught up, Aubrey turned back in surprise–those dazzling starry eyes made me catch my breath for a moment.


    I froze, then forced that strange feeling down again and followed her upstairs.


    The victim–a fifty–year–old female werewolf–had a difficult personality and poor rtionships with many, especially her children, who seemed to hate her. The crime scene had been meticulously cleaned, with no valuables missing.


    Our initial conclusion was that it had beenmitted by someone she knew–most likely out of hatred.


    <b>28</b><b>% </b>


    Chapter 21 She Wasn’t Lying


    * Pearls


    I’d assumed Aubrey wanted to enter the victim’s apartment. I was about to warn her that it was sealed off when she abruptly changed course and stopped at a downstairs neighbor’s door.


    She knocked–a move that left me dumbfounded. If the killer was inside, wasn’t she alerting them?


    Before I could speak, Aubrey bent down, slipped a hairpin into the lock, and within two seconds, she had it


    open.


    “Is she really the Mary family’s heiress and not a thief?” Soren eximed in my mind. My eyes widened too.


    Seeing her step inside, I gritted my teeth and followed. It appeared to be an ordinary single–person apartment. I had no idea what had gotten into her.


    Aubrey looked around, then shoved a bookshelf against the wall to the floor with a crash.


    I turned pale. “Aubrey, have you lost your mind? This is someone else’s home!”


    Before I could finish, there was a loud rip–she tore down the wallpaper, revealing a freshly painted wall.


    Her sharp gaze swept the space. She grabbed a small hammer from a toolbox in the corner and swung it at the wall!


    Her movements were so fast that I waspletely caught off guard.


    “Are you insane? This is illegal entry–and now you’re destroying property!”


    But my words stopped in my throat. With one strike, a section of wall crumbled, revealing an object wrapped inyers of white cling film.


    “See it now, Mr. Charles?”


    Aubrey smiled. Worried I couldn’t see clearly, she turned to face me and swung the hammer again.


    The heavy thud echoed in my chest like a blow.


    More of the wall fell away, fully exposing what was inside–a head. An actual human head! Oh, Lunar Oath!


    Seeing my horrified expression, Aubrey shed a brilliant smile–those white teeth gleaming like a devil’s.


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