The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman novel Chapter 279

~Leo~

I wasn't the only person shocked by Joan's words. The rest of the people in the hall were surprised too. Had we not caught her, she would have remained silent. She was despicable.

"How do you know this? Do you attend their meetings? Where does it take place? How do you communicate?" I asked her, hoping to get information that would help me rescue Casper and all the people kidnapped in the East. As things were, the East was vulnerable, and time was going. Any information would help.

Joan shook her head and looked at me. Her eyes were swollen. The silver cuffs on her wrist had stopped her from healing.

"So, how did you get the information?" I asked her, and her lips were quivering. She did not want to say it; the only reason she didn't want to say it was that it could get her into more trouble.

"If you do not give us the source of the information, it won't be seen as credible," I said, and she began to weep.

She looked at Leah and then at the lords. There was shame in her demeanour, and I braced myself for more shocking revelations.

"This financial issue has been a strain on my family. It was why Leah's father went missing. I believe he ran away so he wouldn't have to pay the debts. I have been trying to find other ways to keep up with our lifestyle," She said, and I did not have time for this.

"The source, Joan," I ordered her, tired of her roundabout approach. She was prevaricating on the matter, and time was of the essence.

"There is a member of the cult named Igor Stepanov. He is Yuri's cousin. He is also in the inner caucus. Many people do not know because he appears to be neutral most of the time, but he is a strong believer in Yuri's values, and Yuri trusts him a lot. He gives me a lot of money to go on a trip with him," She confessed, which was a subtle way of revealing her affairs.

"He pays you for a good time?" Devin asked, simplifying her words, and she shook her head. She was ashamed.

"Not really, we are dating, but we aren't exclusive, and he helps me financially. He was the one I planned to join on Cain's island this evening. The reason I told His Majesty I was travelling.

Well, he came to Lucland last yesterday.

It was a sudden visit, and I had to go and see him. I am coming from his hotel. I heard him discussing the Brighton attack on the phone this morning when he thought I was sleeping," Joan said, and I was ecstatic about the news.

"Hotel name now!" I asked.

I wanted to pick this bastard up if he was still there. We needed to question him. I suspect he had a hand in the attack last night. I was glad the broadcast was stopped before this, or he would have discovered he was caught.

"He isn't at the hotel anymore; he is leaving for Cains might have left already. He asked me to join him, but now that he must have seen I have been arrested, he won't be expecting me anymore. He is a cautious man." Joan said.

"Do you know his other addresses?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

"I have two cousins called Ighor. One of them staying in Hayland," Erik said, and I looked at him. He shrugged.

"Ighor comes across as a neutral party. He is my cousin. We see his Luis Ivanov. Neutral and peaceful. He planned not to take sides; now I know he was lying." Erik said and stood up.

"Igor isn't supposed to be on any team, so I am surprised he is on Yuri's team now," He clarified.

"How long have you two been fucking?" He asked Joan, and she did not seem to like how he put the question, but she had no choice but to answer him.

"Four years now. We met at Yuri's house in Grizlo," She said, and I noted that information.

"Do you have a picture of Ighor because? We have two Ighors that are our cousins, but only one lives in Hayland. It is either him or the other one. If it is the Ighor in Hayland, we can catch him, but the other one has been missing for years." Erik asked, and she wondered.

"He does not like taking photos, but there is one I took of him when we were hugging, so all you will see is his back. I took a selfie of myself hugging him. I do not know if it will help." She said, and Erik nodded.

"Good enough for me," Erik said, and she requested her phone.

A Kappa searched her handbag and went to her. With guidance, he could scroll through her phone until he got to the picture she wanted to show us. He brought the phone to Erik, and Erik smiled.

"He is the one. The son of a bitch. Now I know how Yuri found out about AgK32," he gritted his teeth. He was enraged. It was so intense that I knew there was more to it.

"Tell it all now," I told Erik, and he seemed worried.

"I told him I was coming to the north," he confessed, and I ran my fingers through my hair. Erik was unknowingly the leak.

"What else did you tell him?" I asked him, feeling impatient, and he bowed his head.

"I pleaded with him to help me mobilise some Stepanovs to join my warriors based on my discussion with you, Leo. I told him that if the King gave us what we wanted, we could use the army to push Yuri back for peace's sake. Had I known Yuri had bought him over, I wouldn't have," he said, sounding betrayed.

I could not fault him at all. I had gone to him to help us gather a Stepanov Army to help us push back. What were the odds that he would know Ighor was a two-faced bastard?

"Increase the security at the airports and seaports," I ordered Bryce. We need to catch this bastard, we need to alert Jake, and we need to secure Stepanie because she knows where the children are.

It sounded crazy, but the dots connected in my head.

"This hearing is now dismissed," I said, and people murmured.

"Be on your guard and increase your securities at your Various estates. The North might undergo a brutal, aggressive attack by these people," I warned the nobles, and they began to move faster than they were initially.

"What about the prisoners?" Bryce asked me, and I looked up at Sylvester and Tamia where they were. They were both standing, and there was fear in their eyes. They had connected the dots too.

"Secure the prisoners in the underground prison, for now," I said, unable to think of anything other than the Volkov children and their safety.

We moved to the top of the building to board the helicopter. We moved quickly, and some of us were making phone calls. There was a need for urgency, and we all knew it.