The Alpha's Unwanted Bride novel Chapter 435

Chapter 435: CULPRIT

The door slammed shut behind Lily as she burst into Anna’s chamber, her breath coming in shallow, frantic gasps. Her hair was loose, cheeks flushed red, and her eyes wild with something between disbelief and fear.

Anna, who had been reclined on a chaise with a cup of rose tea in hand, barely looked up.

"You better have a damn good reason for storming in like that."

"She’s not dead," Lily hissed, gripping the edge of the dresser like her legs might give out beneath her. "Jasmine—she’s alive. She’s awake. Nanny Nia’s with her."

Anna’s cup paused mid-air. "What?"

"I saw her through the window. She’s talking. Smiling. That wolf is still at her feet, and Nanny Nia hasn’t left her side."

Anna slowly set the cup down with a clink, her eyes narrowing. "I told you to watch her. Not to get caught like a little brat peeping in windows."

"You said she wouldn’t survive that fall," Lily whispered, eyes darting. "You said—"

"She wasn’t meant to," Anna snapped. She stood, her voice low and sharp. "You gave the herbs to Ned like I told you?"

Lily nodded quickly. "Yes. I put it in his satchel and told him the ranch boy gave the horse. I followed everything. The herbs made the horse restless, just like you said."

"Then what went wrong?"

"I—I don’t know. Maybe not enough?" Lily’s voice trembled now, her fingers twisting in the hem of her tunic. "She should’ve hit her head harder. She was bleeding—I saw it—"

"Clearly not enough," Anna muttered, pacing now. "And now she’s alive. Which means we have a problem."

The room had grown still. But the moment hung like thin glass, ready to shatter.

From the corner, Lisa, who had been seated quietly near the hearth, finally spoke.

"You think that’s the problem?" Her voice was cold, detached.

Anna and Lily both turned.

Lisa rose slowly, smoothing down her skirts. "The real problem is gone. I took care of him."

Anna blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Rudy." Lisa’s eyes were flat, almost bored. "He’s dead."

Lily gasped. "What—what do you mean dead? What happened?"

"I hung him," Lisa said, her tone matter-of-fact, like she was recounting a chore. "In the barn. He was getting nervous. I saw it in his eyes after Jasmine fell."

Lily backed away a step. "You—you killed him?"

Lisa looked at her. "You’re the one who said he saw us at the stables."

Anna’s mouth parted, but no words came for a moment. "You’re sure?"

Lisa gave a slight tilt of her head. "He was panicking. Would’ve cracked the moment anyone questioned him. He’s not like us."

"He could’ve kept quiet," Lily whispered, but even she didn’t sound convinced.

Lisa’s gaze snapped to her. "No, he wouldn’t have. I saw how he looked at you, Lily. Like you were poison. He hated what we did to her. He just didn’t have the spine to stop it. And once she survived, he knew it’d come back to him."

Anna’s expression hardened, calculating. "So now we have a fucking whore who won’t die, and a body hanging in our stables like a warning."

"Not a warning," Lisa murmured. "A message. One we didn’t mean to send."

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