Chapter 31

Damien

Two fucking days had passed, and I was still monitoring Alison like a hawk.

Gemma’s words replaying in my mind like an unwelcome echo fueled my actions.

I told myself I was doing this to protect my operation, to figure out if there was any truth to Gemma’s accusations. But deep down, I knew there were other reasons. I wanted to be close to her.

This morning I stood at the balcony, my arms resting on the cool metal railing as I stared down at Alison in the garden.

She stood there, her arms wrapped around herself as the evening breeze played with her hair.

There was something haunting about the way she moved—almost as if she carried a weight too heavy for her.

During that time, I followed her around. I noticed her behavior had shifted—subtle things that most wouldn’t notice. The way she avoided looking me in the eye when I walked past her, the way she clutched her phone as if it held a lifeline, and the way she moved through the house quietly, wanting to be unnoticed.

As much as her actions felt suspicious. A part of me felt she had every right to act differently. After everything I had done to her during the mission... I wouldn’t blame her for changing.

“Are you going to keep staring at her all night?” Hugh’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I hadn’t even heard him come in.

“You look like a lovesick puppy.” He added.

I turned to glare at him. “I’m not in love,” I snapped, my voice harsher than I intended.

Hugh smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. “Sure, whatever you say. But you might want to quit staring before she notices. We’ve got a mission to work on, or did you forget?”

“I didn’t forget,” I said, turning away from the balcony. But before we could move on, something gnawed at me, pushing its way to the surface. “Hugh, wait. I need to ask you something.”

Hugh raised an eyebrow. “If this is about love, I swear—”

“It’s not,” I cut him off.

“Alright then, what is it?”

I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. “What do you do when you hear something, but you’re not sure if it’s true, and you start investigating but you are still having mixed feelings.”

Hugh didn’t even pause to think. “You keep investigating until you’re able to clear off those mixed feelings.”

Of course, I knew that. It was the obvious answer, the logical step.

The action I had already taken, but logic had nothing to do with the knot twisting in my gut. What if I kept investigating and found out Gemma was right? What if Alison was really a spy?

Hugh’s voice cut through my thoughts again. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“No,” I said quickly, too quickly.

Hugh narrowed his eyes. “Damien, I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying. Spill it.”

I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. “It’s nothing,” I muttered, but even I didn’t sound convincing.

Hugh stared at me for a moment, then shrugged. “Fine. Keep your secrets. But don’t let whatever’s going on in that head of yours mess up the mission.”

Relieved, I nodded and followed him to the study.

We spread out the blueprints and began discussing the logistics of our next move, but my mind wasn’t on the task at hand. Every time Hugh spoke, his words faded into the background as my thoughts spiraled back to Alison.

“Damien!”

I snapped back to reality as Hugh slammed his hands on the table. “What the hell is going on with you?”

“Nothing,” I said, my tone defensive.

“Don’t give me that,” Hugh said. “You’ve been zoning out for hours. I’m not leaving this room until you tell me what’s going on.”

I stared at him, debating whether to brush him off again, but I knew he wouldn’t let it go.

“Fine,” I said finally. “It’s about Alison.”

Hugh leaned back, crossing his arms with a smug look. “So you are in love.”

“This has nothing to do with love!” I snapped. “It’s... Gemma. She told me Alison might be a spy.”

The smug look vanished from Hugh’s face. “A spy? Alison? I knew there was something off about her.”

I frowned, the defensive urge rising in me even though I had no reason to defend her.

“I don’t believe it,” I said firmly.

Hugh shrugged. “Whether you believe it or not, you need to act on it. If she’s a spy, she’s a liability. You should lock her up in the dungeon and make her talk.”

“Locking her up doesn’t seem like a brilliant idea,” I said.

“So you’re just going to keep letting her feed our info to her boss?” He asked.

“No, I’m not going to do that. I just feel it’s best if I take it slow, if I want to figure out who she’s working for, locking her up might not give me the answers I want .”

Hugh tapped his fingers on the table. “True. But you can’t ignore this, Damien. If Gemma’s right, Alison could ruin all our plans.”

“I know,” I said quietly.

Hugh leaned forward. “Then do what you need to do. Dig deeper, get the truth. You’ve always been good at that.”

I didn’t respond right away. I knew he was right, but the thought of digging into Alison’s life, of possibly uncovering a betrayal, made me feel... uneasy.

Finally, an idea began to form in my mind, a way to get answers without wasting my time investigating.

“I know what to do,” I said, standing abruptly.

“Where are you going?” Hugh asked, watching me as I grabbed my jacket.

“I have something important to take care of,” I said, heading for the door.

Hugh didn’t follow, but I could feel his eyes on me as I left the room.

I wasn’t sure where this would lead, but one thing was certain: I couldn’t let this doubt fester any longer.