<h4>Chapter 84: Chapter EIGHTY-FOUR: The Sudden ident</h4>


    Mason’s POV


    My phone started buzzing just as I was getting into my car after a very stressful day at work. I nced at the screen and frowned slightly when I saw Christy’s name shing.


    She hasn’t called me ever since I told her about what I found out, I knew she wasn’t happy about me letting Piper out.


    "Christy?" I said as soon as I picked up, I made sure my voice was as calm as possible.


    "Mason..." her voice trembled softly. I could detect a hint of fear in it and it made me instantly alert.


    "I... I just got a note." Sue stuttered.


    My grip on the phone tightened as I frowned deeper.


    "A note? What kind of note?" I asked her.


    "It was from Piper." she whispered softly.


    For a second, I couldn’t speak. I just stared nkly ahead, as the name echoed in my head.


    Did I really make a mistake by releasing her?


    What if this single decision of mine ends up causing hurt to the person I want to protect?.


    Lots of questions kept running through my head and I felt a slight headache.


    "What did the note say?" I forced myself to ask as my jaw tightened in restrained anger.


    "See you soon, my darling big sis... Little sister misses you." she said and I noticed that her voice cracked on thest word.


    I could hear how shaken she was, and anger boiled deep in my chest.


    "Christy, where are you right now?" I asked immediately.


    "At home, Kendrick’s not back yet. I didn’t know who else to call." she replied quickly.


    "Good," I said firmly, already pulling the car door open and sliding in.


    "Lock all the doors and don’t go anywhere. I’ will call Kendrick and my men will get there in ten minutes. Do you understand me?" I said with a very serious tone.


    She mumbled a small yes and I could tell she wasn’t her usual self.


    <fn8207> Updates are released by ?ovelFind</fn8207>


    "Christy, listen to me carefully," I said, trying to keep my voice steady even though rage was wing its way through me.


    "This isn’t just Piper ying games anymore. If she is close enough to leave a note, that means she has been watching you and testing boundaries." I voiced out my suspicions.


    I could practically hear her ragged breathing through the phone.


    "I know Mason, she found me too quickly. It’s like she is everywhere." she said weakly.


    She is usually very strong, I don’t know if it was the pregnancy hormones that were getting to her.


    I closed my eyes, and pressed my forehead against the steering wheel for a second. "I will handle this, I promise you, I will definitely handle it."


    There was a brief silence. Then she whispered, "It’s just really scary, knowing that someone is watching me."


    That word hit me like a knife and my hands tightened on the steering wheel.


    "I know, Christy, but you are not alone, okay? I’m going to fix this."


    After ending the call, I gripped the steering wheel tighter and mmed my foot on the gas pedal. My mind was spinning with questions and theories, but one thing was clear, Lydia was the key. She knows something that no one else knows and she is the only one that can help me take out the mastermind in the dark.


    I couldn’t keep this to myself anymore as things were quickly getting out of control, It was time to tell my father and grandfather about everything.


    I know they will definitely have a way of making everything work in our favor.


    I called my father immediately, "Dad, I need toe over, It’s about Lydia."


    There was a pause, then his tone sharpened. "What did that woman do this time?"


    "She has done too much this time," I muttered.


    "Come home now," hemanded before ending the call.


    By the time I got to the mansion, my heart was pounding. My father and grandfather were already seated in the study, both of them with that cold, expectant silence that meant they knew this wasn’t a casual visit.


    My grandfather, old but still intimidating in his posture, turned toward me with a calcting gaze. "You look like you have seen a ghost."


    "Worse," I said, as I slowly sat on the armchair across from them.


    My father leaned forward. "Talk."


    He is a military general, so even if he was being casual, he still sounded extremelymanding.


    I didn’t waste time. I told them everything from Piper’s release to Lydia’s confession about how she had helped cover up Christy’s disappearance when she was little.


    Every word felt heavy on my tongue, but I had to get it out.


    Grandfather’s expression darkened with each sentence, his hand curling into a fist on the armrest while my father’s knuckles whitened, veins popping against his skin.


    When I finished, there was silence, and it made the air heavy.


    Then my grandfather spoke. "That vile woman... she was part of it all along?"


    "Yes," I said coldly. "She did it for money and protection, she was working with them behind our backs."


    My father mmed his fist against the table. The sound made me sit straighter.


    "I knew she was rotten," he hissed. "But this... this is treachery!"


    "She has been lying to us for years," my grandfather said bitterly. "And to think your mother trusted her."


    I nodded slowly. "We can’t wait anymore. If she has been working with Piper, she will try to cover her tracks."


    "Call her now! Tell her toe here immediately. She owes us an exnation! ." My father stood abruptly and yelled furiously.


    I took out my phone and dialed Lydia’s number without wasting time. It rang once, twice, then someone picked up.


    "Hello?" I said, frowning.


    A man’s voice came through. "Who is this?"


    "This is Mason, I am calling for Lydia. Where is she?"


    There was a pause, and I could hear sirens in the background.


    "Sir," the man said quietly. "The owner of this phone was involved in a serious ident. She is being transported to the City Hospital right now."


    My breath caught. "What?"


    "A truck collided with her car, it was quite bad. She is still alive, but barely holding on. The paramedics are doing what they can."


    The line went dead before I could say another word.


    I just stood there for a moment, staring at the phone in disbelief.


    "Mason?" my father’s voice broke the silence.


    I swallowed hard before replying. "She has been in an ident, a very bad one."


    Grandfather stood immediately, his cane striking the floor. "Where?"


    "City Hospital," I replied quickly.


    My father grabbed his coat. "Let’s go, If she lives, she will tell us everything. If she dies..." His eyes flickered with anger. "Then she is taking her secrets to the grave."


    We rushed out, the sound of our footsteps echoing through the mansion.


    But in the back of my mind, something felt off, the ident was too sudden and coincidental.


    Lydia was the only one who could expose whoever had been pulling the strings all this time and now she was conveniently taken out.


    Someone definitely wants her silenced.


    *****


    Unknown POV — Thirty Minutes Earlier


    Lydia’s hands trembled as she shut the door of her salon office. Her mind was spinning and she looked extremely flustered.


    She could still hear Mason’s voice in her head, his cold tone when he told her he knew the truth. He had looked at her like she was an enemy and she knew it was only a matter of time before he informed the entire family about her betrayal.


    Her breathing turned shallow as she stumbled toward the desk and grabbed her phone.


    She needed protection as Mason wasn’t someone she could go against and if his father found out... she would be ruined.


    Her fingers shook as she dialed a number she had memorized years ago.


    "Hello?" a calm voice answered.


    "It’s me," she hissed, ncing toward the window like someone might be watching. "Mason knows everything, I need you to help me... Please."


    There was silence. Then the other person sighed on the other end. "Calm down...you are panicking."


    "You don’t understand! He knows about what happened with Christy, and if his father finds out... "


    "Enough," the voice interrupted smoothly. "Meet me at the usual ce, I will take care of it."


    Lydia nodded quickly, snatching her purse and car keys. "I’m leaving now."


    She stormed out of the building, ignoring the confused looks from her workers as she walked briskly to her car.


    The street was busy, but all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart and her mind was in chaos.


    She shouldn’t have gotten involved, she should have walked away when that person first came to her years ago. But greed had blinded her, and now, everything was crumbling.


    She climbed into her car, mming the door shut. Her fingers fumbled with the seatbelt as her breathing grew harsher.


    "Calm down, Lydia," she whispered to herself, gripping the steering wheel. "Just get there, you will be fine."


    She started the engine and drove out of the parking lot, her eyes darting to the rearview mirror every few seconds.


    Her palms were soaked with sweat and her vision was slightly blurry from panic. She turned onto the main road, speeding toward the meeting point.


    "Come on...e on," she muttered under her breath. "Almost there... "


    Suddenly, blinding headlights shed from the side and her eyes widened in shock.


    "No.... !" she screamed in fear as a massive truck mmed into the driver’s side of her car with a deafening crash.


    The impact tore through the car, shattering all the ss. The force of the impact caused the car to somersault three times before it screeched and rolled across the road.


    Her scream was drowned by violent crashes.


    When the car finally stopped, it was upside down and smoke was rising from the crushed hood.


    Thick blood dripped from her forehead, and covered her face.


    Her phone was beside her, the screen was cracked and still faintly glowing. She could slightly see Mason’s name shing on the screen. .


    Her fingers twitched weakly, reaching out, but darkness was already closing in.


    In the distance, faint sirens wailed, the sound kept getting louder and closer but by then, Lydia’s life was slowly slipping away.


    Mason didn’t know it yet, but the truth he was desperate to uncover had just crashed into silence on that lonely road.


    And somewhere, in the shadows, someone else was already watching and smiling viciously.