The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 34

Jason's POV

The café was deliberately chosen. Far from pack territory, tucked into a corner of the human district where werewolves rarely ventured.

Nobody would be nosing into an alpha’s private business here.

Marcus slid into the booth across from me, a thick manila folder clutched in his hands. Dark circles shadowed his eyes. He'd been working nonstop for three days.

"You look like hell," I said.

"You should see the other guy." His joke fell flat. "This investigation has been a nightmare, Jason. Every trail leads to another dead end, and the dead ends all feel deliberate."

My gut clenched. "Show me what you found."

He opened the folder carefully. Like he was handling explosives.

The first document was a hospital employment record. Dr. Mendoza, the obstetrician who'd delivered Laila's baby according to the original files.

"He resigned six months after Laila's supposed death," Marcus said. "Abruptly. No warning, no explanation. Just packed up and left the country."

"Where'd he go?"

"New Zealand. Been living in Auckland ever since." Marcus pulled out another sheet. "Immigration records show he entered on a skilled worker visa. Bought a house within three months. Cash purchase."

I frowned. "How much?"

"Eight hundred thousand dollars. For a doctor who'd been working in a low-income clinic, making maybe seventy thousand a year."

The implication hung heavy between us.

"Someone paid him off," I said flatly.

"That's what it looks like. Bank records show a deposit of nine hundred thousand from an offshore account two weeks before he left. The account disappeared immediately after. Untraceable."

My hands clenched into fists on the table. "He was paid to lie about the death certificate."

"Or to make one disappear. Or maybe both." Marcus hesitated. "There's more."

He pulled out another section of the folder. This one had photographs.

Different from Laila in so many ways. The hair was darker. Styled differently. Her makeup more sophisticated. Clothing more polished.

But underneath all that...

"They look similar," I said quietly. "If you strip away the styling. The foundation could be the same."

Marcus nodded. "That's what I thought. So, I started looking for people who knew Vanessa before the gap. Friends, colleagues, anyone who could describe what she was like."

"And?"

"Nobody really. At least nobody I could find or get in contact with. It's like she materialized out of thin air three years ago with a ready-made identity and business."

My wolf stirred restlessly. Everything in me screamed that this wasn't coincidence.

"What about Riley?" I asked. "Laila's old friend. Have you found her yet?"

"Yeah. Lives about forty minutes from here. I've got her contact information." He paused. "But Jason, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking... you need to be careful. If Vanessa really is Laila, and she's been hiding from you all this time, confronting her could—"

"Could what? Make her run again?" I cut him off. "I'm done being careful, Marcus. I need to know the truth."