Chapter 117: ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN

Nicholas’s POV

The moment Elijah got the safe open, all four of us crowded around the desk.

This had to be interesting. Everyone seemed certain that we would find something important, and I couldn’t also wait to see.

Adrian reached in first and pulled out a thick brown folder. He opened it while Cassian dragged another chair closer, and I leaned over the desk to see what was inside.

The first few pages were reports, handwritten notes and printed documents about cases involving Omegas. There were dates, names and details of protests my father had been involved in, along with copies of research he’d collected over the years.

Elijah picked up another folder and began going through it while Ronan searched the bottom of the safe.

"Look at this," Adrian said, spreading several pages across the desk. "It’s not just for protests, he has been keeping track of the people opposing him."

I moved closer, reading the names one after another. They were politicians, businessmen, officials and influential Alphas who had publicly spoken against Omegas or supported policies that restricted them.

Then I saw the first name.

Mr. Blackthorne.

I stared at it. "Why is he at the top?"

Adrian didn’t answer immediately. He picked up the page and scanned the notes underneath the name.

There were dates beside several incidents, references to meetings and even copies of statements he’d apparently made publicly.

Cassian leaned over the desk. "That’s uh— That can’t be right."

"No," Adrian said quietly. "It can’t be."

I took the paper from him and looked at it again, hoping I’d somehow read the name wrong.

But there it was.

Without saying anything, I kept looking through the documents and others joined me. My father had been keeping records of people who had threatened his work, people who had tried to stop his organization and people he believed were dangerous.

Then Elijah reached behind a stack of files and pulled out a black journal. "This looks pretty important. It was isolated in the safe."

He placed it on the desk and opened it.

I moved beside him and started reading over his shoulder, then I reached one page that made me stop.

There was an entry about a threat against him.

The next page mentioned another. Then another.

Someone had been trying to kill him. To silence him.

I grabbed the journal, flipping through the pages with anger. And all through it, my father mentioned someone who he thought was behind it.

Blackthorne.

I slammed the journal shut. "He’s the one."

Everyone looked at me as I grabbed my phone so quickly that I nearly dropped it and opened the conversation with the person who had been sending me information.

My fingers moved across the screen as I typed a longer message instead of wasting time with pointless questions.

"Okay, I believe you are telling the truth. You did know my father, so I’m going to ask you. Was Mr. Blackthorne responsible for his death? Because I’m looking at my father’s journal right now, and his name is all over the records of the threats against him."

I sent it and a minute later, the message was read.

I waited and a response appeared. "You should be able to figure that out yourself."

I stared at the screen, my anger getting worse as I typed back immediately. "I am asking you because you contacted me first. You told me you knew who my father was and how he died, so I’m giving you one chance to answer me directly. Was it him? Did Mr. Blackthorne have my father killed?"

This time, the response took longer. Then my phone vibrated. "Yes."

I didn’t move as I read the message again.

Wow.

I slowly lowered the phone and looked at the brothers. "Gareth killed my father."

Elijah’s face changed immediately.

I held up the journal before he could say anything. "It’s all here. The threats, the attempts against him, the name of the person behind them. And the person who sent me the information just confirmed it." ℯℯ𝑙.

My voice was rough with anger. "Your father murdered mine because he was an Omega."

Elijah shook his head. "No." He took a step backward, staring at me as though I’d accused him of something personally. "No, Nicholas. That can’t be right."

"Elijah—" I began.

"There has to be something missing." He turned away and began pacing across the office, rubbing his forehead as he tried to make sense of everything. "We’ve found a lot of things about him, but this is different. You’re saying he arranged your father’s murder years ago, and I know what we’ve already discovered about Jayden, but this is a lot to insinuate."

Ronan moved after him." Elijah, Nicholas already has all this. We’ve already read it. I think we need to go through it again before—"

"Before what?" Elijah snapped, turning around.

Ronan stopped in his tracks. Adrian hadn’t moved. He was still standing beside the desk, looking down at the journal. Then he closed it. "The explanation doesn’t need a lot. It’s believable."

Elijah looked at him a dAdrian lifted his head, his expression completely blank. "Our father did this."

Elijah stared at him. "Adrian..." Elijah’s face tightened. "You’re talking about our father. Okay I’m trying to still wonder if there’s an explanation for the Jayden issue. Now... This?"

Adrian looked at the journal again. "How much more are we supposed to find before you stop making excuses for him?"

Elijah went silent as Adrian stepped away from the desk. "And if you think this is the worst thing he’s capable of, you’re wrong."

That made everyone look at him and Cassian frowned. "What does that mean?"

Ronan folded his arms. "You said that like you know something we don’t."

Even Elijah stopped pacing and I looked at Adrian, waiting for him to explain himself.

He didn’t immediately. Instead, he stared at the journal for another moment before finally looking at all of us. "Our father is capable of much worse than murder."

Elijah’s expression hardened. "Then tell us."

Cassian frowned. "What do you know, Adrian?"