Andrix’s attitude suddenly made one thing very clear to me—Ruby’s home was no longer safe. I had to take her somewhere new, somewhere she could truly be safe and settled. Even though Andrix was just the fourth son of the Moonshadow Pack, that family had been building their power in Varken for years. Their influence was massive. But I still couldn’t understand—Mr. Robin was a legendary hero, and his sons Aiden, Adam, even the youngest, Adrian, sure, they each had their bad-boy issues, but at the core, they weren’t bad people. By all logic, they grew up in the same environment. How could Andrix’s personality be so drastically different from the rest of his brothers? On the way to Ruby’s house, I kept calling her over and over, but her phone never connected. It struck me as strange. It was midday—no way she’d have her phone turned off. I kept dialing, but every time, all I heard was the dull beep of a busy tone. Something felt wrong. I floored the gas, racing toward her home as fast as I could. Half an hour later, I arrived at her place. I jumped out of the car and started banging on the door. I was practically about to beat it down, but no one answered. Then I remembered—last time, Ruby had slipped me a spare key. I ran back to the car, dug through my handbag, and found it. I unlocked the door. Inside, the house was a mess. Everything was scattered across the floor like it had just been ransacked. On the floor, fresh blood streaked across the ground, trailing into the living room. My heart dropped. My breathing turned ragged. “Alpha, that’s fresh blood,” Freya warned me. No. No, no, no. Please don’t let it be what I think it is. I forced down the rising panic and walked slowly forward, stepping into the living room. Ruby was lying motionless in the corner of the sofa. “Ruby?”I called softly. No response. My heart started racing. I stepped closer and saw her hair tangled, her clothes disheveled. Her pale neck was covered in crisscrossing wounds. Her skirt had been torn into shreds, and between her legs was a large pool of blood. Her eyes were wide open, filled with utter despair. I bit down hard on my lip and reached out to feel her breath. Nothing. I collapsed to the floor, covered my mouth, and let out a broken scream I couldn’t hold back. Regret swallowed me whole. My so-called protection had brought ruin upon Ruby and her family. One name burned in my mind. Andrix. I clenched my teeth and pulled out my phone, dialing him. “Andrix, you fucking monster—you’re not even human. You’re a butcher. A rapist with no soul!” “What?” he said, startled. “What are you talking about?” “Ruby’s dead! Did you do it?!” I growled. Andrix sounded shocked. “What did you say? Why would I do something like that?” “Then tell me who did it! Who?! Tell me right now or I swear I’ll make them pay in blood!” Andrix paused for a few seconds. “Raelynn… I have nothing to say.” “Don’t you dare play the good guy with me,” I sneered, fingers gripping the phone until my knuckles turned white. “You said it yourself earlier—you were going to go after Ruby next.” “Raelynn, you can’t accuse me of murder based on one sentence!” he said, his voice low. “And besides, you shouldn’t be this upset. That girl didn’t even matter to you.” I wanted to go find him and smash his face in. But the awful truth was, he had an alibi.We’d just met face-to-face earlier—he had an ironclad out. I hung up on him with a hard click. I would find proof. I barely slept for days after Ruby’s death. Aiden stepped in to help me with the funeral arrangements. Once I was fully recovered and discharged from the hospital, the first thing I did was ask Jackson to investigate who killed Ruby and her mother. But I hadn’t expected this—the killer had covered their tracks perfectly. Not a single clue left behind. And since I’d been to the crime scene, the police ended up questioning me for two days straight. They opened a case, but clearly, with no leads and no motive, this kind of home invasion murder wasn’t going to get solved anytime soon. As for Ruby’s mother, they said it had been a nurse’s mistake—a mix-up with the meds. The hospital paid out a few hundred thousand, but with Ruby gone, that money meant absolutely nothing. I had no choice but to let Jackson continue the investigation while I returned to work. By now, Taylor had already wormed her way into everyone’s good graces at the company. I watched her walk through the office with a cheerful smile, greeting coworkers like she was one of them. Everyone smiled back. The air was full of laughter and warmth. I stared coldly from the side. People really were shameless and forgetful. They’d already forgotten everything she’d done—and they still treated her like a friend.