Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Reason Behind Actions

Everyone in the room was lost in their own thoughts and calculations. After a long silence, George Greymoore finally spoke.

"Alistair, what exactly do you know about this girl... Fiona’s successor?"

Alistair hesitated. "Her name is Eleanor Elizabeth Raynor. She awakened their ancestral bloodline five years ago. After that, the Raynor Clan publicly introduced her as their Young Miss. She began appearing at various events, always with Fiona. But three years ago, she moved to the United States and started her own business. Since then, she’s mostly stayed there. A few months ago, she returned to the Kingdom and opened a new office in Manchester."

He added, "Over the past three years, she avoided all social gatherings except for business-related ones. Fiona has been handling supernatural events and meetings on her own since Eleanor’s second year abroad."

George narrowed his eyes. "You’re missing my point. I don’t want surface-level facts. Who are her parents? What was her upbringing like? How did she behave as a werewolf? What was she doing before Fiona named her successor? Do you know anything about that?"

Alistair lowered his head. "No, Grand Elder. I don’t have detailed information about her early life. But Margot gathered some intelligence when Eleanor began making waves in the U.S. She’s outside now."

George nodded. "Call her in."

Alistair walked over to the door, opened it slightly, and called for Margot Greymoore. She had arrived from Canada just hours earlier to attend the emergency meeting.

A few moments later, a beautiful middle-aged woman entered the room and gave a respectful bow.

"Margot Greymoore pays her respects to the Elders."

Alistair closed the door behind her to ensure their conversation remained private.

George got straight to the point. "Margot, what do you know about Eleanor Raynor?"

The question startled her, but she recovered quickly. "I’ve collected some information... mostly from her time in the U.S. My husband works in the tech industry, and she’s probably the largest single investor in Silicon Valley right now."

George cut her off. "I don’t care about her business ventures. I want to know about her. Alistair said she emerged five years ago. But what was she doing before that? No one just pops out with the Elizabeth bloodline out of nowhere."

Margot’s expression turned serious. "Believe it or not, she really did just pop out. I tried to uncover her past, but it was like hitting a wall. Her story begins exactly five years ago. No one could confirm her parentage or background."

She continued, "According to human records, she was listed as an orphan, found wandering the streets by Adrian Raynor and Selene Raynor. They adopted her legally, and since she was already an adult, no one looked into her guardianship. She has no known memories of her family and claims to have grown up on the streets. That’s the official version."

"I even bribed officials to compare her photo and name across national databases in multiple countries. No matches... no records... nothing."

She paused, then added, "So I turned to the Raynor Clan. No one there had seen or heard of her before she was declared Fiona’s successor. But I did hear rumours. One said she was the child of a distant Raynor branch and was hidden by Fiona because of her potential to awaken the Elizabeth bloodline. Once she awakened, Fiona introduced her to the clan."

Another rumour was... more interesting.

"Some say she’s actually Fiona and Adrian’s daughter. But that doesn’t make sense. Eleanor has a child of her own, and according to human documents, Ethan Raynor is listed as the father. If that’s true, the Raynor Clan would never tolerate a relationship between siblings. But even that is odd... Ethan and Eleanor never appeared together at events. Even now, both live in Manchester, but in separate homes."

With a sigh, she concluded, "That’s all I could find on her past. As a person, she’s vicious... brutal to the extreme. In the U.S., she allegedly killed several business rivals, all of whom were weak humans. She has no morality, no sense of restraint. I don’t think she even cares about the Raynor Clan’s reputation. She does what she wants."

She paused, then added, "The FBI linked her to multiple murder cases, but each time, she was saved... either by the State of California, where she’s a VIP due to her investments, or by the U.S. Army."

An elder frowned. "Why would the U.S. Army protect her like that?"

Margot replied, "It’s about interest. One of her companies is a top supplier of unmanned weapon systems to the military. That same company is guarded by army personnel and doesn’t sell to anyone else. She’s also heavily involved in the space industry, having launched multiple satellites. Her influence runs deep in the U.S. Army."

Finally, Alistair offered, "To distract us and the authorities from their true objective?"

A few elders shook their heads. One spoke up. "I don’t believe it was that simple. There must be a clear motive. This was a nationwide upheaval. If the Raynors only wanted revenge, they could’ve just eliminated the Browns. We aren’t the only players in this kingdom. What are the other factions saying?"

Alistair responded, "I’ve spoken with representatives from other families and factions. No one knows who orchestrated it. Everyone’s pointing fingers at each other. Oddly enough, only we suspect the Raynors. To most, they’re just a business family. Their view is simple... leave them alone, and they’ll leave you alone."

George nodded grimly. "That’s always been the truth. Raynors never meddled in politics. We provoked them. No one else realizes it yet."

Then he added, more to himself than anyone else, "But if we were the Raynor Clan... what would our goal have been?"

The room fell into silence once again. After a couple of minutes, an elder finally spoke.

"The Raynor Clan has changed. There’s no point in guessing their motives anymore. I believe we should gather concrete evidence of their involvement before forming a meaningful strategy. That way, we can take preventive action to protect our clan from further harm. In the meantime, I propose that the Grand Elder step forward and temporarily assume control of the clan. That will help calm our increasingly restless members. Once the storm has passed, Alistair can be reinstated."

Another elder nodded in agreement. "I support this approach. But before Alistair steps down, he should send a formal letter to the king, detailing how the Raynor Clan sabotaged our businesses and political standing. It may not bring immediate results, but it will put pressure on them and might limit their future actions. After that, we will publicly frame this as entirely Alistair’s failure, forcing him to step down. Then, the Grand Elder can initiate a diplomatic meeting with Fiona Raynor to resolve the issue, at least temporarily."

George exhaled slowly. "Alistair, we don’t have much of a choice. You’ll have to make this sacrifice for the good of the clan. But make sure you don’t tell anyone about this arrangement... that you’ll return later. Act as if we truly stripped you of power because of your mistakes. If the Raynor Clan finds out this is all part of a ploy, it could backfire severely."

He paused, then added, "In the meantime, you’ll have plenty of free time, now that you won’t be involved in clan affairs. Use it wisely. Start cultivating new political alliances... build fresh networks of influence. We’ll need that power base to regain our hold over the kingdom."

Alistair stepped forward and gave a deep bow to the council.

"Thank you, Elders, for your continued faith in me. I promise... I will do everything I can to help our clan rise again. We will reclaim our position in the kingdom."