Chapter 38: The Wrath of Von Jaunez House (3)

Lucius raised his hand to silence her before she could finish her desperate explanation. "Save it. We both know this wasn't just a spontaneous act." Linnea shrank deeper into herself as his voice became colder and more controlled. "You are smarter than that. "Who do you work for?"

Linnea hesitated, looking around at the faces staring at her, but the room was quiet and expectant. Her fate depended on the answer. "It wasn't... it was not a plan, really."

She gasped for air while trying to speak, her shaking breath becoming lauder with each word. "I thought… I thought if I could get close to Gabriel, I might have a chance..." Her voice almost broke. "But I was wrong. I did not mean to cause any harm."

They told her Gabriel was a kind man who would never harm her. They lied to her; that man was anything but nice. The plan was a failure from the start, and she was supposed to be the bait. 

Theo narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. "Close to Gabriel? For what, exactly? You think you can deceive him for your own gain?" His voice was more dangerous now, and the silence was almost eerie.

Linnea flinched at Theo's words, her gaze darting between the figures surrounding her. The cold scrutiny of Lucius, Elowen's sharp, calculating stare, and the quiet intensity in Charles' eyes made her stomach twist. 

She met every one of them while working in the manor; she had interacted with them and served them as best she could. But these people—the ones in front of her—were nothing short of monsters. They would rip her apart anytime. 

Her eyes widened with fear, her mind trying to find a way out. Anything. Joseph won't help her and they were expecting answers. Linnea clenched her hands, her knuckles whitening from the force. 

"I—I wasn't trying to deceive him for myself," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was told he was kind and that he would listen if I had something valuable to offer. That he would protect me."

Lucius scoffed, unimpressed. "Who told you?"

Linnea swallowed hard, her fingers twitching against the ropes binding her wrists. "I swear… I wasn't working for anyone."

Elowen moved for the first time since Lianna was brought into the room. The dress flowed around her, following her elegant movements. Lianna barely met the mistress of the house; even when she was terrified, she never turned away from her. 

Elowen placed a hand on her head with a long, slender finger, and she immediately felt something meddling in her mind.

Linnea barely had time to notice the change in the air before sharp, searing pain erupted inside her skull. It was unlike anything she would ever felt before: claws of pure willpower digging into the delicate layers of her mind, peeling them back one by one as if she were nothing more than parchment being torn apart.

She screamed, a raw, broken sound that echoed throughout the silent room before becoming a silent scream. Her body jerked against her restraints. Every nerve burned, and every thought unraveled. Her vision blurred with white-hot agony as her own memories twisted and writhed in Elowen's unyielding grasp.

The pressure increased, and it was not just pain; something crawled through her head, fingers probing into the most inaccessible parts of her mind. She felt as if a sickness was slithering through her veins, searching for every lie she had ever told, every moment of weakness.

Her nails dug so deeply into her palms that they broke the skin, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming, mind-shattering assault. She tried to fight back, to shut her thoughts down, but it was like trying to stop a raging river with her bare hands.

Elowen's presence in her mind was cold, methodical. A scalpel, precise, cutting into the places that hurt her the most.

Linnea sobbed as her vision darkened. She had no control and no strength to resist. A cold shudder ran through her body as something cracked inside her mind, fragile and buried deep.

She whimpered and shook violently as Elowen finally removed her hand. The lack of pain was almost unbearable—it left Linnea gasping, her body twitching from the agony aftershocks, and her head pounding like a drum inside her skull.

The room felt too bright, too loud. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her chest heaved as she tried to ground herself, but the sense of violation persisted, as if invisible tendrils coiled around her thoughts, waiting to squeeze again.

Elowen straightened up above her with serene grace, as if she had only brushed dust from her sleeve. "Lies are tedious," she murmured, her voice soft like a lullaby. "Shall we try that claim again?"

Linnea sobbed, curling inward, her body unable to stop trembling. She could not bear the thought of going through that torment again.

"I swear," she choked out, her voice hoarse from screaming. "I—I don't know his name. But he was a noble."

Her words were barely audible above the pounding in her skull, but she could feel the shift in the air—the way the room became deathly still. A new kind of fear gripped her, the kind that came from knowing she had just said a name—or, at the very least, a description—that would seal her fate.

Charles crouched down to eye level and firmly pinched her chin. His black eyes resembled bottomless abis. They lacked any emotion. "Describe him."

She swallowed thickly, her voice shaking. "Tall. Blond hair. Green eyes. An alpha."

The room fell into a deep, dangerous silence.

Alphas were rare. Even among the aristocracy, there were few who fit this description. That is, if they had not changed their appearance using magic.

Theo exhaled slowly. "That narrows it down."

"Is he a younger noble?" Charles muttered darkly.

Linnea shuddered. It was minor—barely noticeable—but in this room, surrounded by predators, nothing escaped their attention.

Theo clenched his jaw. "So a young noble alpha with blond hair and green eyes? What the fuck does he want?"

Elowen's gaze remained steady, calculating. "Language Theo. For the moment, there is no need for Gabriel to know about this."

Lucius crossed his arms. "I do not like what that means for Gabriel. Joseph, the report, today."

The butler bowed and left the room to find the server who was sent for that report before.

Linnea's breathing quickened as she realized the gravity of what she would just said. She had hoped for a way out, but all she had done was dig her own grave deeper.