Chapter 96


    Agnes was taken aback with what Lucianne just said but she stubbornly insisted, “No, I did. It was me.


    Please. I’ve always h-hated Ellia Morgan, a-and I wanted her j-job, a-and…”


    “Who do you love most, Agnes?” Lucianne interrupted her with a seemingly-unrted question.


    Agnes was confused but seeing Lucianne’s warm, encouraging smile, she nodded with uncertainty and


    uttered, “M-My child, your Hi-Highness.”


    Lucianne smiled wider and leaned closer as she asked, “A boy or a girl?”


    “G-Girl.” She was still lost.


    “What’s her name?”


    “B-Bethany… we call her Beth.”


    Only then did the men know what the Queen was doing. She was getting Agnes to trust her enough to


    open up. But Lucianne wasn’t done yet, and she asked with interest, “How old is she?”


    “Four. Well, five next month, my Queen.” Agnes said, stuttering and fidgeting less than before.


    “Is there anything in particr that Beth likes?” Lucianne asked, and when Agnes looked into her eyes,


    she saw no maniption, no hidden agenda. It looked like Lucianne was genuinely interested to know


    about her little girl.


    Agnes cleared her throat before she offered a small smile and said, “Chocte, especially fondue.”


    “Oh, so does my niece! We always got her chocte fondue instead of a cake for her birthdays.”


    Lucianne shared.


    Agnes was sucked into the conversation so she said, “That’s actually a good idea. Peter and I never


    thought of that. Probably time to do away with the cake tradition.” Lucianne chuckled lightly, encouraging


    Agnes to smile wider.


    Agnes suddenly remembered where she was and what she was doing. Lucianne caught her regaining


    awareness too so she reached for her hand again and said, ‘Agnes, we know you didn’t d o it. It’s okay if


    you don’t want to tell us who asked you to do it but I need you to tell me something.” This piqued Agnes’s


    and everyone else’s curiosity. Wasn’t finding the culprit the whole point of questioning Agnes?


    Lucianne peered into the woman’s lc eyes and asked in worry, “Beth and Peter, are they safe?”


    Agnes’s eyes widened and she was going to break down again but Lucianne leaned closer towards her


    and said with determined eyes, “Agnes, tell us where they are. We can protect them. We‘ve been looking


    after Ellia and the others for days. They’re all safe. The three families are safe. We can offer you the


    same protection. But you have to let us help you. You don’t have to tell us anything yet. But we need to


    know where your husband and child are.”


    Agnes was terrified and shocked at the same time, “H-How did you…”


    Lucianne said sadly, “Your colleagues were forced to do things they didn’t want to do because they


    wanted to keep their families safe, too. Agnes, were you given a timeline to make this false confession?”


    Agnes blinked and furrowed her eyebrows as she uttered, “Uh…. I have until three in the afternoon, she


    said. What time is it, by the way?” Everyone caught the word ‘she’, and the three of them knew exactly


    who they were after. 1


    Xandar’s eyes zed over as he linked Christian, ‘I want Helena Tanner arrested.’


    ‘On it, cuz.’ Christian immediately conveyed Xandar’s order to Chief Dalloway, and he disappeared into


    his office to assemble a team, give instructions and deploy them.


    Lucianne checked her phone and said, “It’s one in the afternoon. There’s still time. Now, Peter and


    Beth…”


    Before she could finish, Agnes willingly said, “Peter is at work in Gauss Enterprises. Beth is in Pokey


    Oaks, about a ten-minute drive from Peter’s ce. I didn’t tell him about any of this.”


    Lucianne nodded in understanding, “Okay, we‘ll go get them.” She tumed to Xandar, who gave her a


    head nod as he linked, ‘I’ve just got Christian to send people to go get them, Lucy.’


    When Lucianne’s eyes cleared from Xandar’s link, she looked at Agnes again and asked, “Is there


    anything you need while you wait? Food? Or water?”


    Agnes shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body. She got lost in thought for a moment


    before she said in despair, “I just… really need them to be safe, you know?”


    Lucianne matched her despair as she whispered, “We all do, Agnes. What’s being done to you isn’t


    right.”


    Agnes’s eyes locked with hers again as she said, “If you have Ellia and the others, it means that… you


    already know who’s doing this.”


    Lucianne gave a small smile and uttered, “We have a good guess but until we hear it from you, Agnes,


    it’s just a gue…”


    “Helena Tanner.” Agnes said.


    Lucianne nodded sadly, “Yeah.”


    For the next agonizing fifteen minutes, the room was in dead silence, with Agnes taking audible, anxious


    breaths from time to time. Then, Xandar’s eyes zed over for a moment before a smile graced his


    features. He walked over to Lucianne and caressed her shoulders lovingly before turning to face Agnes


    as he said, “We got them, Agnes. Your husband and daughter. They’re on their way here.”


    Agnes let out a sigh of relief, and tears started flowing down her cheeks. The weight she had been


    carrying from the moment she was threatened is now easing. Lucianne held her hands before locking


    eyes with her. “You did the right thing, Agnes. You saved your family.”


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    Another fifteen minutester, there was a knock on the door and Christian held it open before


    allowing Peter and Beth into the room. The couple embraced, and Agnes then wrapped her arms around


    the little girl who called out, “Mommy!”


    Everyone else left the room, giving the family some privacy. Outside the interrogation room, Chief


    Dalloway had bad news. “Tanner is not at her office. Our team at her house couldn’t find her there either.


    We tried contacting her husband and sons but they seem to have vanished. Neither of them turned up


    for work, and no one has heard from them since yesterday.”


    Xandar then asked, “Camera footage?”


    “Those in their house have been disabled since this morning, my King.”


    “Anything before that could be helpful?” Christian asked.


    “Not that we know as of now, your Grace.”


    The cousins exchanged worried nces before Xandar asked, “How is the progress with the rogue


    Lycan?”


    “He’s being very cooperative, your Highness. But I don’t know how much more he knows. There seems


    to be no end to his knowledge of everything you’ve asked of him.”


    If the rogue Lycan could give them everything they needed to know about Wu Bi Corp, there was n o


    need to let the five people from Ellia’s list roam free any longer. They had to be arrested and held behind


    bars before anyone else got hurt. Xandar looked at his mate, who was watching the family reunite


    without knowing what they were saying


    His hand reached for her waist and he linked her, ‘We have the rogue now. We don’t need to hold the


    arrest of those five for corruption any longer. We should detain them before anyone gets hurt.’


    Lucianne didn’t say anything. With a straight face, she gave a firm nod as her eyes continued to b e fixed


    on the family. Xandar got Christian to give the order. Dalloway, though stunned by the people he was


    asked to arrest, deployed his teams again.


    Xandar pecked a kiss on Lucianne’s temple as he linked, ‘What’s on your mind, baby?’


    She shook her head in dismay as she responded to his link, ‘This happened because Tanner wasn’t


    arrested earlier. Because I said that we shouldn’t touch any of the five yet.’ Despite her hardened


    expression, her glistening eyes betrayed how she was really feeling inside.


    “Baby, hey,e here.” Xandar pressed her into his chest. Although he didn’t hear her sobbing, he felt


    her tears on his shirt. His heart clenched, and he kissed her hairline before he uttered firmly,” None of


    this is your fault, Lucy. The n was to not touch the five to find the sixth party involved. We just found


    the rogue to get that information. We didn’t know Tanner could be arrested earlier.”


    ‘Someone could’ve gotten hurt.’


    He parted their bodies and cupped her cheeks, pulling her face up to meet his. As heartbreaking as it


    was to see his mate’s red eyes and tears, he peered into those ck orbs he loved with his entire being


    and said firmly, “But no one got hurt, Lucy. It was a possibility but it’s not anymore. Look at them, they’re


    safe. The danger they were in is now gone. Because you saved them. You got Agnes t o talk to us. Baby,


    the crook is Tanner. This is none of your fault. Please, don’t me yourself, my


    little freesia. Don’t you see they’re only safe and relieved now because you got the truth out of her?” 2


    Christian was minding his own business on the side until he saw Lucianne’s teary eyes, so he started


    listening to what his cousin was saying to the Queen. When he realized that she was ming herself for


    Tanner’s threat, he mmed his forehead against the wall at her absurdity. 1


    “Christian, are you okay?” Lucianne asked in a hoarse voice when she heard the loud thud from the


    impact


    Christian groaned softly. He rubbed his forehead for a moment and said, “My Queen, I’m not the one who


    shielded a child from Oleander, went unconscious for hours, was close to death, woke up drained, and


    then got the truth out of a victim who was stubbornly confessing to a crime she didn’tmit to protect


    her family. I think I’m quite fine.”


    Lucianne wasn’t expecting that kind of answer and she didn’t have a response. Xandar lifted her chin


    and said, “You’re more, Lucy. Much more.”


    She smiled at him gratefully before leaning into his chest. His arms wrapped protectively around her


    small body as she took in his scent to calm herself.


    ‘How are you feeling, baby? Any dizziness or headaches?’


    ‘No. Just sleepy.’


    Xandar chuckled lightly and said, “We should head back to your ce then.” She nodded with a small


    smile.