Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: 77-My Father Buried Me.

Helanie:

“What a jerk!” I groaned, furious that he acted as if I’d flashed him on purpose. Even though it had been almost two minutes since he left, I still couldn’t settle down.

“I should have just signed the papers,” I sighed, slumping onto the couch and staring at them from across the room. My thoughts were interrupted by a phone beeping nearby.

“I don’t have a phone,” I muttered, glancing over at the coat beside me.

“Oh!” Realization dawned quickly—he’d left his coat in his hurry to leave, and in his coat pocket was his phone. But why did he act like he was the one embarrassed? I was the one who got exposed! What exactly was going on with him?

I shook off the thought as the phone buzzed again. I wasn’t usually nosy, but Norman was a strange man, always involving himself in my business. Maybe I had the right to see who was blowing up his phone—what if it was something urgent? Or maybe he was calling himself, trying to locate his phone.

After convincing myself with every excuse possible, I slipped my hand into his coat pocket. Instantly, I was hit by the strong, hypnotic scent of his cologne, intoxicating in a strangely unsettling way. I held my breath and pulled out the phone, realizing that he hadn’t even locked it before putting it away.

What a rookie mistake.

My heart was pounding as I held the phone in my hand. Technology is dangerous; these days, our entire lives are stored in these little devices. One glance could reveal everything. That’s exactly how I felt as I looked down at his unlocked screen. Seeing that he had no screen lock timer made it worse.

My fingers hovered over the notifications, where I saw multiple missed calls from someone named Jessica.

Who was Jessica?

Then there were messages from his brothers, his father, and one other person. For some reason, that last contact grabbed my full attention. It was because of the brief message snippet that showed on the screen.

Joe: Her name is Helanie—

That half-sentence made my heart skip. Was he talking about me? But why, and who was this person he was talking to?

Without thinking twice, I clicked on the conversation. What I found in those few minutes made me want to die a thousand times over.

The conversation was between Norman and a guy named Joe. Norman had instructed—or maybe reminded—Joe about a task he’d given him.

Norman: Get me her data.

Joe: Her name is Helanie Niles, and she’s from a pack called The Vicious Banes Pack.

I barely had a moment to catch my breath before another message popped up, revealing even more information.

Joe: She was in a big scandal a few weeks ago. Apparently, she’d had relations with a bunch of rogues, and when she was caught, she accused the alpha’s son. She claimed he was her boyfriend, that he took her to the station, and that she lost her virginity to him. Her lies caused an uproar, and she was meant to be executed, but her father claimed he had done it himself and buried her in a grave he dug. From what I’ve gathered, he was even rewarded for it.

Joe: May I ask why you’re interested in her, Your Highness? Because, from what I know, she was a messy individual, a liar, and a traitor so everyone was relieved when she died.

Tears streamed down my face as I absorbed what had been said and done behind my back. So they told everyone I’d slept with rogues? And my father lied about killing me and burying me himself?

I wanted to scream, to tell this man that it was all a lie—that I had been gang-raped by some jacket-wearing alphas, and then my own family refused to believe me. They were ready to kill me.

All this time, I’d thought of my father, wondering if he might be grieving, maybe feeling guilty for abandoning me. Sometimes I hoped he wondered where his little Helanie was, if I was safe, if I was being cared for.

But no!

He was apparently rewarded for claiming he killed his own daughter. So no, I don’t think he ever cared.

Now, I needed to do something about this. The image my pack had painted of me for this man would make Norman feel justified in taking me back to my pack to face the execution I’d escaped.

No!

What should I do? I was panicking, losing my mind. Sweat was beading on my temples. I didn’t want to think about that night ever again, but here I was, dealing with its aftermath.

A knock at the door snapped me back to reality. I realized it must be Norman, coming back for his phone.

With trembling hands, I started typing on it.

Norman: Oh no, not that Helanie. I’m asking about Helanie Miles!

I didn’t know if my plan would work, but I couldn’t risk getting caught.

Joe: Oh! There’s no such Helanie in the records. She must be a rogue, or maybe she didn’t live a significant enough life to be remembered by pack members after she left.

Norman: Yes, I’m talking about the rogue one.

Joe: There’s no concerning information on any Helanie who went rogue. So I guess she’s harmless.

Since Helanie Niles was officially dead, it didn’t seem like he cared about the other one being dangerous.

I deleted the parts of the conversation that might expose me. Now, the chat just looked like Joe was messaging Norman after his reminder, letting him know that Helanie was likely a rogue without a criminal record, which would explain why her name wasn’t on any list of pack members or criminal lists.

Once I was sure Joe had finished delivering the information, I slipped the phone back into his pocket, leaving the chat open to make it seem like it had been left that way all along and that is why the texts were automatically read.

I hurried to the door, quickly wiping away my tears, and opened it for the person waiting outside, clearly anxious for me to respond.