Chapter 102: The Connection

Michael’s POV

I placed my phone beside me on the sofa as soon as my call with Emerald concluded.

I had not gone to Lanard University today. There was no reason for me to be there, and under normal circumstances, I would have spent the morning in my study dealing with the company work that had accumulated on my desk.

But this morning had not been ordinary. I had been worried about Emerald.

She was back at the Hugo family’s old residence in Washington now, surrounded by relatives and people handling the arrangements following her cousin’s death.

She would not have the freedom to respond to my messages as quickly as she normally did, and I understood that.

That was why, the moment I saw her reply to my earlier message, I stopped what I was doing and called her.

I needed to hear her voice. I needed to know for myself that she was holding together.

She was not completely, though, but enough.

Her voice had sounded tired, and there had been uncertainty in it when she spoke about Vera Hugo.

She had not tried to manufacture grief she did not feel, nor had she dismissed the fact that a member of her family had died.

That honesty was one of the things I appreciated about her.

I leaned back in my chair. Her earlier mention of her cousin’s death briefly brought my mind back to breakfast this morning.

Her phone had rung while we were eating. I had known who was trying to reach her, and for what purpose.

Xero had already given me the news the previous evening. Vera Hugo was dead, and her husband, Lawrence Park, was missing.

So I had watched Emerald stop eating and stand up to retrieve her phone from the guestroom. But before she could take a step, I stopped her, then silenced her phone.

Later, when I knew she would be leaving soon, I drained the remaining battery. My actions were deliberate.

I didn’t doubt Emerald’s ability to handle the truth, but I understood how shocking it could be to learn about a family death unexpectedly, through calls and messages, while sitting across from someone she barely trusted to support her.

I wanted to spare her that moment.

I had intended to take her back to her dorm after breakfast and let her deal with whatever awaited her privately.

Then one of my men watching the area around her dorm had called while I was getting dressed. The Hugo family had sent people to collect her.

At the time, I had considered it fortunate.

Whatever Emerald would have to face, she would face it with her family around her instead of alone in Boston.

I had been right about that.

What I had not anticipated was how much information she would eventually receive—and how much of it would concern me.

I turned my attention back to the matter at hand.

Vera Hugo’s death.

The fingerprints around her neck belonged to Lawrence Park. His disappearance made him the obvious suspect from the human perspective.

But I was not looking at the case from a human perspective.

The altered CCTV footage was what bothered me, and so did the irregularities discovered in recordings from earlier that evening.

Someone had tampered with the security system.

That was not necessarily proof of supernatural involvement, but given what Alaric and I had already uncovered among the wealthy families, it was enough to warrant our attention.

I picked up my phone and called him. He answered quickly.

"Lucien."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Still in Los Angeles."

"How is the operation coming?"

"We’re getting there. Slowly."

I could hear the weariness in his voice. "Tell me."

"We have actually identified more people connected to the network, but we are being careful. I don’t want the possessed families to realise we’re moving against them before we’re ready."

"That is the right approach." There was a brief pause, then I said, "I need you to look into something else."

His tone sharpened. "What happened?"

I told him about Vera Hugo. Then I gave him the facts Emerald had shared with me: the strangulation, Lawrence’s fingerprints, his disappearance, the altered CCTV recordings, and the irregularities from earlier that evening she was killed.

Alaric was silent when I finished. Then he said, "You think the shapeshifters are involved."

"I think it is possible."

"I actually think they are involved." His certainty did not surprise me.

"So do I," I admitted. "My suspicion is that a shapeshifter possessed Lawrence and used him to kill Vera."

"And then disappeared," he finished.

I confirmed with a nod. "Possibly."

"But that still leaves the question of why Vera was targeted."

"Exactly." I glanced at the window. "We don’t jump to conclusions based on suspicion. We conduct thorough investigations. I need to find out if Lawrence was truly possessed, if a shapeshifter caused Vera’s death, and why she was chosen as the target.

Alaric exhaled. "I agree. But you know where my attention is at the moment. I am already putting together the operating team for the other families. I may not be able to give this investigation the attention it deserves."

"You don’t need to."

He paused. "What are you thinking?"

"I will send a team," I said. "They will investigate Vera’s death independently and send their findings to both of us."

He agreed. "That works."

"No action until we know the truth," I reminded.

"Agreed."

We were silent for a moment, then Alaric’s tone changed. "There is something else."

"What could it be?"

"The Alpha King has approved the operation for the families?"

That was significant.

Alaric continued, "We have authorisation to remove the shapeshifters and deal with those who have been compromised beyond recovery. I will share the full plan with you tomorrow."

"No." I rejected the idea. "I will be in Los Angeles tomorrow."

Alaric laughed softly. "I knew you would say that."

"I want to hear the plan in person." I made my stance clear. "And take part in it."

His amusement deepened. "Good. I was hoping you would come."

"I will see you tomorrow."

"Then I will make sure everything is ready," he said, then let me hang up.

As I set my phone down quietly, I thought of the two matters that demanded my attention.

One was the operation in Los Angeles, and the other was Vera Hugo’s death.

They might be separate, or they might not.

But if a shapeshifter had indeed taken control of Lawrence Park, then Vera’s murder could be another move in a game we had not yet fully understood.

I quickly returned my attention to the information surrounding Vera Hugo’s death.

I moved to my study, opened the records available to me, and pulled up the location of the vacation home in the Hamptons.

The property was secluded enough to provide privacy, which was probably why Vera and Lawrence had chosen it for their honeymoon.

Large estates were common in that part of New York, and many of their owners went to considerable lengths to keep their private lives away from the public.

I studied the property using the information available to me—the main house, the surrounding land, the access road, the neighbouring properties, and the security arrangements. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Nothing immediately stood out, but that did not mean there was nothing there.

The police had already established that the security recordings had been tampered with. Until I knew how it had been done, I wasn’t prepared to assume that the missing footage was the only thing someone had tried to erase.

I picked up my phone and called one of my men. He answered almost immediately.

"Alpha."

"I need a team in the Hamptons."

There was no hesitation. "Where?"

I gave him the address of Vera’s vacation home.

"Go there tonight. I want you to examine the property from the moment you arrive. Find out what the police may have missed, particularly anything connected to the security system."

"Understood."

"Do not interfere with the investigation."

"Yes, Alpha."

"The police have the property locked down, and they still have people watching it. You will not draw attention to yourselves."

"We will be careful."

"One more thing," I said.

"Yes?"

"Disconnect the CCTV cameras before anyone enters the property."

There was a brief pause, then a response came, "Understood."

"I don’t want your presence recorded, and I don’t want anyone accessing the system while you’re inside."

"We will handle it."

"Good. Report directly to me when you have something worth reporting."

"Yes, Alpha."

I ended the call. That was all they needed.

I trusted my men to understand the difference between investigating a scene and disturbing it. Whatever they found, I wanted the information before anyone decided to act on assumptions.

---

The following morning, I finished my workout on the treadmill installed on my balcony.

The morning air was cool, and the city below was already beginning to come alive.

I stepped off the treadmill and grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from my face as I walked back into the condo.

I headed into the living room and picked up my phone from the table. Several notifications had accumulated overnight.

I unlocked the screen and glanced through them while walking toward the kitchen.

I stopped when one headline caught my attention.

The Hugo Family Announces the Passing of One of Their Own, Vera Hugo.