Rise Of A Shattered Luna (Natalie) by Kave Derry novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171 Try Harder Next Time

Chapter 171 Try Harder Next Time

Baron’s POV

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The back of my SUV was filled with the scents of a deer caught myself, fresh rosemary, and a selection of the finest imported fruits.

I had spent the last hour meticulously selecting ingredients for the evening ahead.

I wanted to cook for Natalie.

I wanted to see her eyes soften as she tasted a meal prepared by my own hands.

I was pulling into the villa’s driveway, when my phone vibrated with a sharp pulse

It was the priority alert from Chris.

I tapped the screen.

M

“Mr. Baron, Natalie has been taken to the station. What should we do?”

My grip on the steering wheel tightened until the leather groaned.

“What happened?” I hissed into the Bluetooth, my voice a low, vibrating growl.

す

Raze was hyperactive, pacing restlessly in the back of my mind… ‘Who dares take our mate?‘

I could hear Chris breathing heavily as he began briefly recounting/everything that had happened at the mall.

The encounter with Quincy, the sudden collapse, the blood, and the blatant, clumsy attempt by a Summers servant named Lucy to frame my wife with black–market powder.

“So the Summers family’s servants dare to insult my woman now, is that it?” I said, my voice dropping into a register that made Raze pace frantically in the back of my mind. “Looks like I’ve been giving them too much face. They’ve mistaken my patience for weakness.”

I didn’t bother going inside.

I shifted the car into reverse, the tires screaming against the

I swung the vehicle around.

I called the one man who managed the most volatile inventory in the black market.

“Alen,” I barked as the line connected. “Get your ledger for the Month of March. Bring the seller of the Toxin–7 pesticide. Meet me at the Pack Enforcement Station in ten minutes. If you’re late, I’ll burn your warehouse to the ground.”

I drove like a man possessed, cutting through traffic.

By the time I reached the station, Alen was already waiting at the curb, adjusting his glasses and clutching a briefcase, his face pale.

I strode into the station, the heavy double doors swinging open with a bang.

I didn’t care about the stares from the officers or the high–ranking Enforcers.

Chapter 171 Try Harder Next Time

Nat, are you alright?”

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I didn’t wait for her to stand. I was at her side in a second, my hands.hovering near her shoulders, my eyes scanning every inch of

her for harm.

I could see a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead

Natalie looked up, and for a fleeting second, her mask fel

She smiled, shaking her head. “I’m fine, Baron. I can handle something this small myself.”

My gaze slid down to her sleeve.

The black smudge was there, a jagged mark on her beautiful charcoal silk.

My eyes narrowed.

I knew that stain.

I had seen it in the laboratory of the Sanctum a hundred times.

It was a crude, effective pesticide often used as a base for untraceable poisons in the South.

The lead officer, a man named Brian whom I had dealt with on several medical consultations, stepped forward.

He obviously didn’t know I was the witch doctor.

“Hmm Sir, we respect your standing, but she was at the scene of a high–profile poisoning. We need her jacket for chemical analysis.”

At that moment, Alen stepped forward from my shadow, his voice calm and clinical.

“Officer, I’m Alen, head of the Black Market distribution network,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “I can save you the time. That powder looks exactly like the specialized pesticide we sell in the underground sectors.”

“What?” Brian’s expression shifted from professional to wary.

The Black Market was a thorn in the side of the Pack Enforcement, but they couldn’t ignore its‘ head.

“Why would pesticide from your market end up on her clothing?”

Alen answered calmly, pulling a tablet from his briefcase.

“That, I don’t know. But I checked my records on the way here. About a month ago, someone secretly sold off a batch of our pesticide without a permit. Here are the transaction records. Officer, you should take a look. I also brought the seller… he’s in the car outside, ready to identify the buyer.”

Brian took the ledger and the surveillance footage Alen handed over, his expression growing heavier as he scrolled through the

data.

“Check this video for signs of tampering.” Brian ordered his subordinate. “And get a preliminary scan on that powder

Once the evidence was in their hands, Alen continued his performance, his voice pitched for the room.

Chapter 171 Try Harder Next Time

Brian, this powder is just a concentrated pesticide. If it were to kill a person, it would take at least twenty days of gradual accumulation in the body before showing symptoms. It’s a slow–burn toxin. After first contact, there’s no reaction at all. No one collapses instantly from touching this.”

1 seized on the explanation, my voice ringing through the station.

“My mate and I only returned from my pack less than two days ago. You can check our flight records from our private transport.”

Brian immediately ordered the investigation, and within minutes, the customs‘ facial recognition confirmed our re–entry yesterday.

On timing alone, it was a biological impossibility for Natalie to have poisoned Quincy on the spot.

Just then, another officer came rushing in from the tech room.

“Brian, we re–watched the boutique’s footage on the high–def monitors. It’s clear it was the Summers family’s servant, Lucy. She deliberately smeared the powder on Miss Natalie’s sleeve during the struggle. She had it hidden in a finger–stall.”

They replayed the zoomed–in, slowed–down footage on the wall monitor.

There was no room for doubt… Natalie had been the victim of a calculated frame–up.

“Apologies, Ms. Stone,” Brian said, turning to Natalie with a look of genuine regret. “You were wronged today. The Summers woman will be held for attempted murder and slandering a high–ranking guest.”

“It’s alright,” Natalie said, her voice regaining its smooth, effortless grace as she rose to her feet.

“Cooperating with the Pack Enforcement is every citizen’s duty. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving.”

“Of course.”

I didn’t wait for her to move.

I slipped my own coat off and draped it over her shoulders, the heavy wool acting as a barrier between her and the filth of this place,

I felt her lean into me, her scent calming Raze and I.

She smiled at me softly as we walked out of the station hand in hand, leaving the chaos behind us.

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