Bound To The Broken Alpha (Amy and Daniel) novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116 An Empty Feeling

AMY

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Finished

The office felt unusually quiet the next morning. I’d been staring at the same document for almost an hour, pretending to read while my mind replayed the last thing Mrs. Smith ever said

to me.

Those words looped in my head like a broken record. I didn’t know what they meant, or who she was supposed to be, but every time I tried to move on, my thoughts dragged me right back to that hospital room with the lifeless stillness, the unanswered questions, the paper clenched in her hand.

A soft knock on my office door pulled me out of the deep thoughts I was in. Daniel stepped in, a file tucked under his arm. “You haven’t looked away from that page in a while,” he said quietly.

I straightened, forcing a small smile. “Just… catching up on reports.” I rolled my eyes around

He didn’t believe me and I could tell from the way he left his eyes fixed on my face. “You haven’t been yourself since the funeral. Take the day off, Amy. Go home and rest.”

I shook my head. “If I stop now, I’ll start thinking too much.”

He sighed and sat across from me. “You’re allowed to think.”

“Not today.” My voice came out lower than I intended. “Today, I need to feel useful.”

He didn’t argue. He just nodded slowly, as if he understood that keeping busy was my way staying sane.

After a moment, he placed the file on my desk. “Board summary for next week. Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

“I won’t,” I said, even though we both knew that wasn’t true.

of

When he left, the silence returned. The clicking of keyboards down the hall sounded distant, almost muffled. I rubbed my temples and forced myself to refocus but then my phone buzzed with a message from Mrs. Carter’s assistant:

“Mrs. Carter would like to see you in her office.”

I hesitated before standing. My nerves weren’t ready for another round of questions, but avoiding her would only make it worse.

When I entered her office, she was seated behind her desk, reading something on her tablet. She looked up and gestured for me to sit.

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Chapter 116 An Empty Feeling

“I spoke to someone this morning,” she began, setting the tablet aside. “A woman named Margaret. She used to work with Mrs. Smith at the foster network.”

1 straightened. “You found her?”

“She reached out after seeing the obituary. Said she wanted to clear her conscience.” Mrs. Carter’s voice was steady, but her eyes held concern. “Apparently, Mrs. Smith had been frightened before she died. She told Margaret she’d ‘seen someone she shouldn’t have.”

I frowned. “Someone? As in… from her past?”

Finished

“That’s unclear,” she said. “But Margaret mentioned that Mrs. Smith had started keeping an old photograph close to her, one she said belonged to you.”

My pulse quickened. “A photograph?”

Mrs. Carter nodded. “She said Mrs. Smith claimed it was of someone important. Maybe the person you’ve been asking about.”

I didn’t realize I was gripping my knees until I felt the tension in my fingers. “Did she that person was?”

“No. Only that Mrs. Smith was terrified and believed she was being watched.”

The room seemed to shrink around me. “Watched by who?”

say

who

Mrs. Carter leaned back. “We don’t know yet. But if she was right… it means her death might not have been just bad timing.”

The thought settled like ice in my stomach. I’d told myself Mrs. Smith’s collapse was a tragedy and sudden, cruel, but natural. Now, I wasn’t sure.

Mrs. Carter’s tone softened. “Amy, I know you want answers, but don’t go chasing shadows alone. Let Daniel handle the investigation.”

I nodded slowly. “I understand.”

But I didn’t. Because deep down, I knew this wasn’t something Daniel could fix for me. This was

mine to face.

By the time I got home that night, the weight of everything felt heavier than it had all week. I changed out of my work clothes and sat at my desk, staring at my phone.

I didn’t hear Daniel come in until he spoke. “You’re still up.”

I turned, startled. “I didn’t hear you.”

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Chapter 116 An Empty Feeling

He leaned against the doorframe, his shirt sleeves rolled up, his expression calm but concerned. “You’ve been quiet all evening.”

Finished

“I was just… looking at something.” I turned the phone toward him. “Mrs. Smith sent me this a while I didn’t think much of it then.”

ago.

He stepped closer and studied the picture. “That’s near the eastern lake. The border side of the territory.”

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