Chapter 250: The vault
Rebecca’s POV
"There is a problem," Logan repeated, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "I just left Kaden’s room."
Kane stepped closer to him. "Is he awake? Does he remember?"
"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "The healer’s magic worked. He doesn’t remember the flashes." Logan looked directly at me, his eyes dark with worry. "But Rebecca... he is very suspicious of you now."
My heart sank. "What do you mean?"
"He asked me to look into your background," Logan said quietly. "He told me he doesn’t think you are who you say you are. He doesn’t believe you really lost your memory like you claimed."
"Shit!" Kane slammed his hand against his leg, turning on me with wild anger in his eyes. "You see what you’ve fucking done? You just ruined our entire plan!"
"Kane—" I started.
"No!" Kane shouted, stepping into my space. "What was so damn hard about staying away from him? You said you didn’t want him! You said you hated him! Yet you can’t leave him alone! You keep pushing, and now look at us!"
"Kane, stop yelling at her!" Logan snapped, stepping between us and pushing Kane back. "Yelling at her won’t fix anything right now."
Kane let out a loud, frustrated sigh, turning his back on us to stare furiously at the wall.
Logan turned back to me, his tone softening slightly. "Rebecca, you are going to have to lay low. Honestly, it’s best if you don’t even leave your room for a few days."
"What?" I gasped, panic rising in my chest. "What about the locket? The pin is in there! The key to taking off this choker is inside that locket!"
Logan looked surprised. "I never imagined the key would be hidden in there..." He paused, rubbing his chin as he thought. "If it’s really in the locket, that makes things even more complicated."
"Why?" I asked, my voice rising. "Where did the guard take it?"
"Kaden has it now," Logan said. "The guard already returned it to him."
"Shit!" I spat.
Logan sucked in a deep breath. "And there’s another problem. Kaden doesn’t normally keep that locket in his bedroom." Logan said, his expression turning uneasy.
My heart jumped. "I knew it! That’s why I couldn’t feel it when I stepped into his room!"
Kane turned around, frowning. "Then where does he keep it?"
"In the royal vault," Logan said softly.
The room went completely silent.
"The vault?" I whispered, all the excitement instantly dying inside me.
Logan nodded. "Kaden keeps Helen’s most important belongings in there. Her special jewelry, her letters, their marriage documents... things he doesn’t want servants or anyone else touching."
My stomach sank to the floor. Of course. That explained everything. That was why my choker had never reacted anywhere else inside the packhouse.
"Then we get into the vault," I insisted, looking between them. "Where is it?"
Kane gave a short, dry laugh. "You say that like we’re talking about opening a kitchen cabinet."
"There has to be a way in!"
"There is," Logan said quietly.
Both Kane and I snapped our eyes toward him. A small spark of hope shot through me.
"How?" I asked.
Logan hesitated, looking right at me with a serious face. "The vault only responds to Kaden," Logan said. "His touch and his Alpha energy. No one else can open it. Beyond that, the vault is kept inside a hidden room... you know that room, Rebecca. His secret room."
I swallowed hard, my skin turning cold as I remembered that room. That room with his BDSM stuff.
"I don’t even have the code to unlock that room’s door," Logan continued, "let alone a way to get inside and open the vault."
My hope was crushed instantly. "So only Kaden can open it?"
"Essentially, yes."
I stared at him, feeling completely trapped.
Anyone in their right mind would take Kane’s advice, pack their bags, and run as fast as they could. But if there was one thing I knew about myself, it was that I didn’t come this far just to give up when freedom was right in front of me.
"Then we don’t break into the vault," I said quietly, a dangerous idea taking root in my mind. "We make Kaden give the locket to me."
Logan blinked in disbelief. "How?"
"By getting him to gift it to me," I said plainly.
Logan shook his head, looking at me like I had lost my mind. "I don’t trust that will work, Rebecca. He already suspects you. If you start asking for Helen’s locket, he’s going to lock you up before you can even finish your sentence." He checked his watch and let out a tired sigh. "Look, I have to leave before Kaden wonders where I am. Remember: lay low and stay away from him. I’m going to pretend I’m actively investigating your background so he doesn’t get suspicious of me, too."
"Fine," I mumbled.
With a final stern look at both of us, Logan opened the door, checked the hallway, and slipped outside, closing it behind him.
Now it was just Kane and me.
Kane rubbed the back of his neck, his jaw tight. "I’m going to see Kaden," he muttered, turning toward the door.
"Stop," I said sharply.
He paused, looking back at me with an annoyed glare. "What now?"
I crossed my arms and stepped closer, looking him dead in the eye. "Before you go anywhere... do you want to talk about where you’ve been sneaking off to lately? And who that lady was at the coffee shop?"
Kane’s expression changed immediately.
"Rebecca, not now."
"No. Now." I stepped in front of the door before he could reach it. "You’ve spent the last hour blaming me for putting this plan at risk, so I think I deserve to know what you’ve been doing."
His jaw tightened. "It has nothing to do with you."
"Maybe not. But Kaden saw you with her."
"And?"
I stared at him in disbelief. "And he thinks you’re cheating on me!"
Kane dragged a hand over his face. "I’ll deal with Kaden."
"That’s exactly what I don’t want! If he starts asking questions about our relationship, we’re screwed." I lowered my voice. "Who is she, Kane?"
Silence.
"Is she your mate?"
His eyes snapped to mine.
Oh.
I slowly raised my eyebrows. "She is."
"I didn’t say that."
"You didn’t have to."
Kane’s face hardened. "Stay out of it, Rebecca."
"You have a mate?" I whispered, suddenly understanding why he had been disappearing so often. "And you’ve been hiding her because of me?"
"I said stay out of it."
"Why?"
His hand tightened around the doorknob.
"Because she doesn’t know about any of this," he finally said.
I went quiet.
Kane looked back at me, anger gone from his face now.
"She thinks you’re actually carrying my child."