The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 417

I turned slowly, taking it all in. My mother leaned in the doorway beside Zane with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

“Like I said,” she muttered. “Gone. Took off the moment she had a chance to. With my dress and everything.” She shook her head bitterly. “I mean, it makes no sense! I told her she could keep all of it. She didn’t need to steal, but…” My mother shrugged one shoulder. “I guess girls like that get off on the thrill of it or something. I don’t know.”

I looked at my mother for a long moment. Then, I looked at Zane. His face was trembling with rage. I wasn’t sure if I had ever seen him like that before, but to my surprise, he remained quiet; although, I saw him subtly incline his head toward my mother. I nodded back almost imperceptibly.

“Well.” My mother, seemingly not noticing the silent exchange, pushed away from the doorframe. “I suppose that was a wash. I really am sorry, Callum. I hope you didn’t get too attached to the girl.”

With that, she turned and left.

Neither Zane nor I spoke until her heels had faded down the hall. Once she was gone, Zane stepped into the room and shut the door, then whirled toward me.

“Liora isn’t a thief,” he hissed.

“I know.” I scratched my head. “But maybe she was desperate? Sometimes I do worry about her finances. She never mentions having parents supporting her or anything.”

“No,” Zane said in a short tone. “She wouldn’t need to steal to make ends meet. She’s doing just fine financially. Trust me.”

I tilted my head. “How do you know that?”

The tips of Zane’s ears reddened a little. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just… know things,” he said. “But listen, Callum, Liora didn’t steal anything. And she wouldn’t just ditch you like that.”

I looked at him. His jaw was set hard, and the look in his eyes mirrored my own.

“She couldn’t have gone far,” I said. “You stay here and call her phone. I’ll look around, see if I can find any clues.”

Zane was already pulling out his phone.

I cracked open the door, peeking out into the hallway. It was empty; I could hear my mother’s footsteps downstairs, that familiar, slow click of her heels against the marble. I decided to move in the opposite direction of that, toward the east wing of the house.

All the while, as I hurried from room to room, poking my head inside and whispering Liora’s name, my wolf howled.

What a fool I was, thinking that tonight could be any different from the others.

But one thing was for certain: once I found Liora, and I would, I was never going to look back at this place again.