Chapter 78: Recording!
Chapter 78: Recording!
(Aria’s POV)
“What evidence?” I leaned forward eagerly, my heart racing with anticipation. After everything Claire had done to me, the thought of having something concrete against her filled me with vindictive satisfaction.
Dominic’s lips curved into that confident smile that had become oddly reassuring over these past weeks. His silver–gray eyes sparkled with triumph.
“Remember when I mentioned that I had something on Claire?”
I nodded quickly, hardly able to contain my excitement. “You said it wasn’t about the pregnancy.”
“It’s much better,” Dominic began, but was interrupted by a notification on his mobile phone.
He glanced at the screen, his expression changing to one of pleased surprise. He turned the phone toward
- me. “Look at this first.”
The video showed a woman approaching a hotel room door – Claire Watson. Her auburn hair was pulled
back in a hasty ponytail, and she wore large sunglasses despite it being evening. She was clearly trying to be discreet, looking nervously over her shoulder as she walked.
My stomach tightened as I recognized the hotel room number – 312. James’s room. My brother’s room.
Claire knocked softly, her posture tense. The door opened, though the person inside remained out of frame.
“James! What happened to your face?” Claire’s voice was filled with concern, almost intimate in its
familiarity.
So Dominic had indeed hurt him badly. I felt a strange mix of satisfaction and guilt at the confirmation. My brother deserved it for how he’d treated me, yet I still cared about him despite everything.
James’s hand appeared, pulling her inside quickly. “Get in here before someone sees you.”
The door closed behind them, and the video ended. I stared at the blank screen, feeling sick to my stomach.
“This was taken just now?” I asked, my voice tight with emotion.
Dominic nodded, his expression serious. “My security team has been monitoring your brother’s movements
since we left.”
I expelled a breath, feeling a strange hollowness in my chest. “So it’s true. They are having an affair.” The betrayal cut deep – my own brother with the woman who had destroyed my marriage and contributed to our
mother’s death.
“It appears so,” Dominic confirmed, watching my reaction carefully. His hand moved to cover mine, offering
silent support.
I pushed the phone back toward him, disappointment washing over me. “That’s your evidence? A video of Claire visiting my brother? We already knew they were meeting.”
Dominic’s lips twitched with amusement. “That was just the appetizer. The main course is much more… revealing.”
<Chapter 78 Recording!
He reached Into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small Bluetooth earpiece. With gentle hands, he tucked my
hair behind my ear and fitted the device carefully. His fingers brushed against my skin, causing a small shiver. to run down my spine.
“What are you doing?” I asked, confused by his actions yet oddly affected by his touch.
“Before I left your brother’s hotel room,” Dominic explained, his voice low and satisfied, “I placed a recording. device under the dresser. Something told me it might come in handy.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “You bugged his room?”
Dominic shrugged unapologetically, his silver–gray eyes gleaming with mischief. “I thought we might want to hear what they discussed. Don’t worry – it’s completely untraceable.”
I was about to protest about the ethics of such surveillance when voices suddenly filled my ear through the earpiece, making me gasp.
“What happened to your face?” Claire’s voice demanded, sounding genuinely worried. “Did Aria do this?”
James snorted derisively. “No, her new Alpha watchdog did. That Blackwood guy. He can throw a punch, I’ll give him that.”
My eyes met Dominic’s. He looked utterly unrepentant, even pleased with himself. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of appreciation for how he’d defended me.
“Why were they here?” Claire’s voice was sharp with anxiety. “Did they follow me? Does Alexander know?” “No,” James sounded frustrated, almost panicked. “They followed me. Apparently, they saw us meeting in the
woods earlier.”
There was a sound of something hitting the wall – Claire’s handbag, perhaps? “Damn it, James! I told you we should have been more careful! This could ruin everything!”
“How was I supposed to know they were following me?” James snapped back. “I’m not used to being stalked by Alpha wolves!”
“That’s why she confronted me in the hallway earlier,” Claire’s voice grew quieter, more calculating. “She knows we’re seeing each other. She mentioned our meeting today.”
I couldn’t help but exchange a triumphant look with Dominic. The confirmation was oddly satisfying, even as it stung to hear them discussing me like I was the enemy.
“This isn’t good, James,” Claire continued, her voice tense with worry. “If Alexander finds out about us-”
“What does it matter?” James interrupted bitterly. “You said yourself he doesn’t care about you. That you’re just a means to an end for him.”
There was a long pause. “It’s complicated,” Claire finally said, her tone evasive. “My position is… delicate right now. I can’t afford any scandals.”
“Because of the pregnancy?” James asked, his tone bitter and sharp. “The pregnancy that might not even be Alexander’s?”
My breath caught. So James knew about Claire’s deception regarding the paternity!
“Among other things,” she responded vaguely, clearly uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.
I leaned forward, straining to hear better, as if that would help me understand what was happening between
r
Chapter 78 Recording!
them. My wolf stirred anxiously beneath my skin.
“Maybe we should stop seeing each other,” Claire suggested softly, her voice taking on that manipulative sweetness I’d grown to recognize. “At least until things settle down. I don’t want to come between you and
your sister.”
“She’s not my sister!” James’s voice exploded with such vehemence that I physically recoiled, the earpiece
actually hurting my ear.
Pain lanced through my chest at his words. How could he say that? We shared the same parents, the same childhood memories, the same loss when our father died. And now he was denying our relationship entirely? “James…” Claire’s voice held a note of caution. “You know that’s not true. You’re upset, but-”
“It is true,” he insisted, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper that was somehow worse than his shouting. “After what she did, she’s dead to me. She killed our parents as surely as if she’d used her own claws.”
I fought against the tears threatening to spill, my hand instinctively moving to my belly where my unborn pup was growing. Even with all our recent disagreements, I never thought James would renounce me as his sister so completely, so cruelly.
“Let’s not talk about this now,” Claire suggested, her tone softening to that soothing, healer voice she used with patients. “You’re upset. We both are. This isn’t helping either of us.”
“Fine,” James conceded grudgingly, though his voice still trembled with anger.
“I should go,” Claire said after a pause. “We’ll figure this out, okay? We’ll remain friends no matter what happens.”
Friends? The word hung oddly in the air. Just friends? After all the secretive meetings and emotional exchanges? Something didn’t add up.
There was the sound of movement, a door opening and closing.
“She’s gone,” Dominic confirmed, checking his phone. “My security team just verified she left the hotel. She’s heading to her car.”
I removed the earpiece, my emotions a tangled mess. Anger at James for his cruel words. Suspicion about Claire’s true motives. Confusion about the exact nature of their relationship.
“I don’t understand,” I admitted, rubbing my temples where a headache was forming. “If they’re not having an affair, what is she doing with him? James doesn’t have money or power or influence. He’s unemployed as far as I know, living off what little inheritance our mother left.”
Dominic’s silver–gray eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Perhaps Claire’s target isn’t your brother at all.”
I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe it’s you,” he said simply, watching me closely for my reaction. “Everything Claire does seems designed to hurt you specifically. Your brother could just be another tool for that purpose.”
The thought was disturbing. What had I ever done to Claire to inspire such targeted hatred?
Before I could process that disturbing thought, we reached the parking garage. A tall, professional–looking
man approached our car, his expression serious but respectful.
“The package has been secured, Alpha,” he reported, handing Dominic a small device.
<Chapter 78 Recording
“Thank you, Hunter,” Dominic replied, taking the object with a satisfied nod.
I recognized Dominic’s personal assistant from the night Dominic had returned drunk to Moon Valley Residences. He gave me a respectful nod before stepping back, his professional demeanor revealing nothing. Once inside Dominic’s luxury SUV, I turned to him. “What did he mean, ‘the package has been secured?” Dominic’s lips curved into a smile that sent shivers down my spine. “The real evidence I mentioned earlier. This will ensure Claire can never threaten you again.”
He connected his phone to the car’s audio system and pressed play on a recording.
At first, there were just muffled sounds – fabric rustling, heavy breathing. Then a woman’s voice moaned softly. My face heated instantly as I realized what I was hearing.
“Dominic!” I hissed, embarrassed to be listening to such intimate sounds with him. My cheeks burned with mortification.
I reached for his phone to stop the recording, but fumbled with it in my flustered state. From the front seat, I noticed Hunter’s eyes glance at the rearview mirror before he smoothly raised the privacy divider, clearly misinterpreting the situation.
My face burned hotter. “Dominic, this is inappropriate-”
But then the voices became clearer. A woman gasped, “Alpha Richard, someone might hear us! We need to be quick.”
Richard Reed’s unmistakable voice responded, “No one comes to this part of the building during the ceremony. Relax, Claire. I’ve been waiting for this all day.”
I froze, my embarrassment instantly replaced by shock. The recording continued, capturing unmistakable evidence of Claire and Richard’s affair.
“How did you get this?” I whispered, stunned by what I was hearing.
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