Chapter 216: THE WOMAN WITHOUT A NAME
Author’s POV
Keisha barely had enough time to process Callum’s words before he noticed the change in her expression and immediately clarified what he meant.
Orin had not simply wandered into the estate again. He had been caught.
"He’s been caught," Callum said, watching her carefully. "I wouldn’t have told you he was here if he was still somewhere inside this estate. Orin was found after he infiltrated the building earlier tonight. He was trying to get farther into the mansion, but this time he didn’t get away."
Nadia, who had been standing beside Keisha, looked genuinely offended by the entire situation. "How is this man still managing to move around like he owns the place? He has already escaped once, he’s broken into the estate. At this point, I don’t understand why everyone isn’t completely tired of chasing him around."
Callum’s expression hardened. "We are. That’s why there won’t be another escape. He has crossed enough lines already, and after what happened tonight, he won’t be escaping again. Orin will be punished in front of the entire pack. Everyone will see exactly what happens when someone repeatedly threatens the Alpha’s family, violates the estate’s security, and refuses to stop after being given opportunities to leave peacefully."
Keisha remained quiet, but she began to look more relaxed.
Callum glanced toward the hall before letting out a tired breath. "I have to get back downstairs. The situation with Duskfen is becoming harder to manage, and with the additional warriors arriving, there are more things that need my attention than I expected tonight. I thought I’d be able to get away from the war preparations for a while, but apparently that’s not happening."
"You’ve been working all day," Keisha pointed out.
"Yes, and I’ll probably be working for most of tomorrow too," Callum replied, his tone tired.
He looked between Keisha and Nadia before adding, "Both of you need to go to bed. It’s late, you’ve had enough excitement for one night, and I don’t want either of you wandering around the mansion when everyone else is already asleep."
Nadia nodded, though she looked less convinced than he probably wanted her to. Keisha simply watched him walk toward the door. He paused briefly before leaving, looking back at them as though he wanted to make sure they actually listened this time, then he left.
Nadia eventually headed toward her own room, still tired from everything that had happened. She didn’t remember that she had wanted to discuss him with Keisha, and Keisha didn’t remind her.
Keisha had something far more important in her hands.
The journal.
She waited until she was certain Nadia had gone to her room before closing her bedroom door. She locked it, walked over to the desk, and placed the old journal beneath the lamp.
The worn cover looked completely ordinary, almost disappointingly so after the trouble it had taken to get it. She sat down and opened it carefully, turning through the pages she’d only managed to glimpse inside Osric’s bedroom.
Nothing immediately stood out until she reached farther entries.
Keisha leaned closer, staring at it.
There were records of money being moved, agreements that had never been approved by the Alpha, and references to people who had been paid to influence decisions within the pack. Osric had documented far more than Keisha had expected, apparently believing that keeping written records would help him remember names and arrangements.
It was a rebellion.
Several elders were named directly in the entries, each connected to plans to challenge Callum’s authority and weaken his position within the pack.
Then Keisha saw another name— or rather, the absence of one.
A woman.
Osric had never written her name.
Instead, he referred to her only as their leader.
Keisha turned another page and there it was again. The same group of names and the same references to the unnamed woman.
And beside each person’s name was something that made the evidence even more damning.
A blood seal.
Keisha stared at the marks for several seconds, then went back through the pages to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood what she was looking at. Every person involved had left their seal beside the agreements or statements recorded in the journal. There was no reasonable way for any of them to claim the entries had been fabricated if the seals were genuine.
Her hands tightened around the edge of the page.
This was it.. This journal could expose them.
Every elder whose name appeared there had effectively left evidence of their involvement in the rebellion themselves. If Callum saw this, there would be no way for them to talk their way out of it. They would face execution for what they had planned against the Alpha and the pack.
But there was still one person missing. The woman who had organized them. She needed evidence to damn her too.
Keisha stared at the blank space where her name should have been, frustration building as she realized that Osric had deliberately left that information out.
She closed the journal and immediately reached for the burner phone she’d taken from his house.
If the journal could expose the people involved, the phone might tell her who the unnamed woman was.
She called Klein and he answered after several rings. "You found something?"
Keisha leaned back in her chair. "I found a lot. Osric’s journal contains evidence of corruption and a planned rebellion. Several elders are named, and they all left their blood seals beside the agreements. There’s also a woman who appears to be leading them, but Osric never wrote her name."
Klein was quiet for a moment and she continued. "I found a burner phone in the house too. I took it with me. Is there anything you can do to get the data from it?"
"There should be," Klein replied, his voice becoming more thoughtful. "I can’t promise we’ll get everything, and I don’t want you expecting results immediately. If the phone contains anything useful, extracting the information could take a few days."
Keisha looked at the phone sitting beside the journal. "That’s fine. Take as long as you need. If there’s anything on there that connects Osric to Vera or identifies that woman, I want to know."
"I’ll send my raven to collect it."
"Thank you."
After ending the call, she remained at the desk for several minutes, staring at the journal and burner phone.
She knew she should follow Callum’s instructions and go to bed, but sleep seemed so far away now.
Eventually, she left the room.
Keisha walked downstairs intending to get some water before returning to her room, but she stopped when she noticed light coming from the main hall.
Callum was still there.
He was seated at one of the tables with several documents spread in front of him, his attention fixed on them until he noticed her standing nearby.
His expression changed immediately. "What are you doing awake?"
Keisha hesitated before walking closer. "I couldn’t sleep."
Callum leaned back slightly. "Because of Orin?"
She shook her head. "No, I don’t even know what I’m this worried about." She admitted.
He straightened, walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. "C’mon, let’s get you to bed. I was about to get some sleep."
She looked up at him, a small smile on her face even as she pressed her body harder against his. "You’re staying in my room tonight?"
He grinned, the movement warm before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Did you seriously think I would leave you on your own tonight? No, baby."
Something in her heart warmed at the endearment and she smiled softly. "Okay, let’s go to bed."