Violet Estate. With a glass of red wine in hand, Darius walked slowly to the window, settled into a chair, and looked out toward Thora's villa. A faint smile played on his lips. The wine left a deep purple stain on his mouth, making his lips look even darker and more sensual than usual. "Alpha." Carl approached respectfully. "There's news from the sanatorium. Mrs. Blackwood visited Mr. Green again." Darius looked unbothered, as if he'd expected it all along. He simply answered, "Mm." "Tell the guards to stay sharp. Aside from Thora, absolutely no one is to get near Mr. Green's room." Darius's voice turned cold. "Yes, Alpha." Carl nodded. "Any movements from the Greens lately?" Darius asked."In two weeks, the Greens and the Lawsons are holding an engagement banquet at the Windermere Hotel. They've invited many of Starlance City's elite werewolves. It'll be quite an event." Darius lowered his gaze, absentmindedly tracing the rim of his glass. "Keep a close eye on them the next couple of days—especially Laurel." "Understood." Once Carl left, Darius took another sip of wine, his gaze drifting out the window as something popped into his mind... ... At the same time, in a private room at a café, Laurel sat across from a man, her heart pounding in her throat as she forced herself to sound calm. "Why did you call me here? What do you want from me?" "How's the job going? We gave you two full years to get it done." The man's voice was cold and direct. Laurel stiffened, snapping back, "You're the ones who messed up. You guys didn't cover your tracks. That bitch Thora found the evidence and nearly killed me! I haven't even settled that with you yet!" At the mention of Thora, the man's eyes went ice cold. How did this woman keep finding things they had erased so thoroughly? Where was she getting her information and skills? "I don't care what your excuses are," the man threatened. "You get me what I asked for, or you're dead." Fear and anger churned inside Laurel. These people erased all traces of themselves like ghosts—killing her would be nothing. She quickly dropped her attitude and said in a low voice, "I tried asking that old geezer three months ago, but he refused to talk and even cussed me out. "I couldn't find your key on him, and I searched every inch of the Greens' place and the Silverleaf Pack's core areas—there was nothing." She took a frustrated sip of coffee and added, "Honestly, that old man adored Thora. He probably gave her the key long ago. It's probably not even on him anymore." Laurel didn't care about any key anyway. As far as she was concerned, she and her son would inherit the Silverleaf Pack and the Greens soon enough. All she cared about was status, power, men, and money. The man paused for a moment. Thora again. He knew she was Norman's daughter by his human ex-wife. But how could a mixed-blood girl, not even 20 years old and supposedly unable to awaken her wolf, manage to ruin their entire plan? If the key really was with her, Marlon had likely told her where to find it. That meant dealing with Thora directly—without Marlon—might actually be much easier, since she was just a weak mixed-blood. "I don't even get what's so special about this key that you'd spend years chasing it," Laurel grumbled as she drank her coffee, her voice sharp and bitter. "I've had my second kid, and you people are still hung up on this thing." A flash of irritation crossed the man's eyes. This woman was only good at seducing men. Even her daughter was following in her footsteps. "That old geezer is a vegetable now. He's not talking. I think you should just give up." Laurel wanted to wash her hands of the matter. "Go after Thora if you want. Who knows where that bitch ran off to? I haven't seen her in two years—maybe she's dead somewhere." "That's none of your business." The man's tone was icy. As soon as his fingers touched the edge of his cup, the hot coffee inside instantly froze. He took a sip of the iced coffee and continued, "Just keep an eye on whatever Marlon left for his heir. If there's anything special that looks like it could be the key, let me know." Laurel rolled her eyes. "Got it." The man ignored her after that. It looked like the next step was to go after Thora. He certainly didn't expect an airhead like Laurel to come up with any real leads.