ARDEN
The two of us made it out without any problems, which was a miracle on its own. The meeting had just ended, so the main hallways were filled with various officials.
Still, we took Behany’s advice and reached Cade’s car, parked just a few meters away from the gate.
I crouched lower into the passenger side and slipped into the hidden compartment in the back. The space was small but comfortable enough.
Meanwhile, Cade bowed to the guards like everything was business as usual, and once they waved him through, the metal gates creaked open.
We were free.
As soon as we’d driven far enough, the tension in my spine released. I pushed open the hatch and slid into the front seat, flopping against it with a sigh of relief. The leather was cold. Cade glanced at me.
I smiled, real and wide this time. “We made it.”
He didn’t smile back right away. His brows were pulled tight, concern seen in his eyes. “What happened? Are you alright? Did Winters find you?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head and reaching into my coat. “But I got something.”
I held up the flash drive.
Cade’s brows lifted.
“I transferred some files, but I don’t know yet,” I said honestly. “It’s encrypted. It was buried in the secured files of the council database.”
“That’s something, alright.” Cade’s shoulders relaxed just a little. “You’re insane, you know that?”
I gave a tired chuckle. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He was quiet for a second, then asked carefully, “And what about… Bethany?”
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I paused.
“She found you?”
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“Kind of.” I leaned back against the headrest, letting my thoughts rewind. “I hid in the next
room.”
“And it turned out to be hers,” he finished with a frown.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “And I didn’t have enough time to hide because I thought she was you.”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m surprised she didn’t alert security.”
“Is she the type to do that?”
Cade nodded slowly. “She’s kind. Compassionate even. But she’s strict with rules. If she thinks something’s wrong, she won’t hesitate.
I thought about that for a moment. “She didn’t feel like someone who’d throw me under the bus. She has this… light aura.”
“Maybe you got lucky.”
“Maybe.” I hesitated, then admitted, “I told her something.”
Cade turned toward me fully, eyes narrowing slightly. “What did
you tell her?”
I pursed my lips. “Just that we needed her cooperation and that Elite isn’t what it seems.”
He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, his mind visibly turning over the information. “That’s still strange,” he muttered. “She must have her own reasons. But I’m glad everything turned out well.”
He looked at me then and added, “Most importantly, I’m glad you’re here. Safe.”
I smiled at him. But then I remembered something that tugged at the edge of my thoughts.
“Cade…”
“Yeah?”
“Is Bethany Spirit really sick?”
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“What do you mean?” he asked with a slight frown.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “She still looks the same. Strong. There’s something about her that doesn’t feel fragile.”
Cade sighed. “Nobody really knows the details. She announced her stepping back due to health reasons, but… it might be an excuse. Or it might be true. Only she knows.”
“She doesn’t have any family?”
He shook his head. “None. No siblings. Her parents are long gone. She’s not married, either. So, no kin to confirm anything.”
I fell quiet, staring out the window as the afternoon sped past. That unsettled me. A woman so powerful and poised suddenly vanishes from the spotlight with no one to vouch for her and no one to check on her.
It felt… lonely.
“And the council meeting?” I asked. “Did you gather some important information?”
Cade’s jaw tensed again. “The candidates gave their appeals for sponsor backing. Bethany stayed neutral, of course, but… most of the higher–ups are favoring Mr. Winters.”
I turned to him, alarmed. “What?”
He nodded grimly. “The True Alpha families, the energy sector, the historians–everyone. Even my parents.”
I stared. “Your parents?”
“They’re cautious,” he said. “They think Winters is stable and efficient. He’s everything on paper that the council likes.”
I sat back, breath caught somewhere in my chest. “Then we have to move fast.”
Cade looked at me again.
“We have to get ahead of this,” I said firmly. “We need to decrypt the drive. We need to show them what’s really going on. If we wait too long–if Winters secures all the backing-”
“It’ll be too late,” he finished.
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“We need to change their minds in order to change the tides.”
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The drive back to Cade’s estate was quiet.
We didn’t say much. The tension from the council meeting still clung to the atmosphere like a second skin.
Cade opened the door, and I crawled out from the car, my bones strangely aching.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly while planting a kiss on my cheek. It seemed he had been wanting to do it since earlier.
“Hmm,” I hummed softly. “Come on.”
He unlocked the door in a rush, turning on the lights in the living room.
“Wait here,” he said, disappearing for only a few seconds before he emerged with his laptop already in hand.
“Get dressed,” he chimed softly. “You must feel stuffy in that uniform.”
I smiled and went to his bedroom to get dressed in his clothes. They were big on me, but I liked how comfortable they felt.
By the time I walked in, he was already typing furiously. The flash drive, the one I risked everything to get, was plugged in. His eyes scanned the screen, and he muttered things under his breath that I didn’t understand.
I stood behind him, watching, my fingers fidgeting in my sleeves.
“You smell nice,” he still managed to say as he continued to decrypt the complicated file.
As I played with his hair, he continued to do some furious typing.
Ping.
Cade exhaled sharply.
“I got it,” he muttered.
Relief washed over me. A small smile pulled at my lips. “My boyfriend is so smart.”
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He didn’t look away from the screen, but a faint smirk tugged at his mouth. “Yeah, well, let’s see what I cracked open before you praise me.”
The screen blinked, and folders lined up one after the other. The labels were names, and my blood turned cold.
They were names I recognized.
Politicians I watched on TV growing up. Prominent names. Men and women from the United Factions. Alphas from major and minor bloodlines.
Each folder had footage. Bedroom recordings. Shower feeds. They were the same as what we’ve found in Elite’s hidden room.
However, this time, it seemed these videos were purchased by these prominent people.
“It’s worse than I thought,” Cade said, his jaw tight.
And then I saw it. A folder with a name I couldn’t ignore.
Lucian Stone.
My brother.
My heart dropped to my stomach. I clicked on it without thinking. Cade didn’t stop me.
There were videos. Dozens of them. Clips of students–my classmates, some I recognized from the campus. Everything was neatly organized. A price tag was beside each one, ranging from tens of thousands of dollars.
There were also status bars: pending, delivered, and received.
“Shit,” I muttered, covering my mouth. “It’s like a black market… for students of the Elite.”
I felt sick.
Cade leaned back, rubbing his face with one hand. “This is what he’s building the system for,” he said.
I nodded slowly, unable to speak. My vision blurred.
And then I saw another name.
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Jaxon’s father.
I clicked on it–more footage.
Elias‘ brother. Same thing.
All of them showed their delirious kinks.
The deeper we dug, the worse it got.
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“No wonder he’s got the support of the higher–ups,” Cade added. “Most of them are here. They must know that sponsoring Mr. Winters would lead to better transactions.”
At the very end of countless folders, we saw a name that was out of place.
Allen Winters.
My frown deepened. Why would he have a folder designated solely for him when he was the one distributing these?
“Open it,” I muttered.
Cade did. But there was only one video file.
There was no text, price tag, or status this time. It was just a thumbnail image–blurry at first glance, but my stomach turned the moment my eyes adjusted to the face.
Black hair
Big brown eyes.
Dark skin.
My lips parted. “No…”
Cade and I turned to each other at the same time. I saw the pain in his eyes, and at that moment, I wanted to cry but held it in.
The woman in the video was Honey.
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Chapter 87 Until The End
