Chapter 9: The Investigation Begins

The Royal Council’s order changed everything.

By noon, the news had already spread through every major pack in Aldwyn.

The Jennings family was being investigated for the disappearance of their biological daughter twenty-four years ago.

I sat quietly in Ironwood’s private library while Emmett read through the documents again.

“When will the investigation begin?” I asked.

“Tomorrow morning.”

He placed the papers on the desk.

“The royal investigators are already on their way to Riverbend.”

I nodded.

For years, I had wondered why no one had ever searched for answers about my childhood.

Now the entire kingdom seemed interested.

Emmett studied me.

“Are you afraid?”

“No.”

I looked at the documents.

“I’ve already lived through the worst version of my life.”

His expression softened.

Before he could respond, the library doors opened.

Victor entered with Elena behind him.

“We found something,” Victor said.

Emmett immediately stood.

“What?”

Victor placed an old leather folder on the desk.

“One of the archivists discovered this hidden behind a false panel in the old records room.”

My eyes fell on the faded Jennings crest stamped across the cover.

My heart began beating faster.

Victor opened the folder carefully.

Inside were several old medical reports, a birth certificate, and a handwritten letter.

I picked up the birth certificate.

The name written across it was mine.

Laurel Jennings.

Date of birth: twenty-four years ago.

Mother: Diana Jennings.

Father: Robert Jennings.

Everything was exactly as I had always known.

Then I noticed something strange.

At the bottom of the document was a second name.

Twin sibling: Laurel Jennings II.

I stared at it in confusion.

“Why are there two names?”

Victor’s expression darkened.

“Because the original record was altered.”

I looked up.

“Altered?”

Elena nodded.

“The official Riverbend records show only one child.”

“But this document proves there were two.”

My fingers trembled slightly.

“Where is the other child?”

Victor didn't answer.

Instead, he handed me the handwritten letter.

The paper was yellow with age, and the ink had faded in several places.

I unfolded it.

The handwriting belonged to Diana.

My breath caught as I read the first line.

“If anyone finds this letter, it means I failed to keep the secret buried.”

I stopped breathing.

Emmett moved closer.

“Keep reading.”

I continued.

“The second child was never supposed to survive.”

My hands went cold.

The room seemed to disappear around me.

Diana had written that the second baby had been born with an unusually powerful wolf signature.

The elders of Riverbend had been terrified.

They believed the child could one day challenge the pack’s existing leadership.

So they made a decision.

The child would be taken away.

I read the next line twice.

“Robert agreed because he was afraid of losing his position.”

My chest tightened.

My father.

The man who had looked me in the eyes and called me a burden had known exactly what happened.

He had known I was taken.

And he had never told me.

“This can't be real,” I whispered.

Victor's voice was quiet.

“It is.”

I looked at him.

“Then why did they bring me back three years ago?”

Victor's eyes sharpened.

“Because they needed you.”

I frowned.

“For the Ironwood alliance?”

“Partly.”

He paused.

“But there was another reason.”

Emmett's expression hardened.

“Tell her.”

Victor looked at me.

“Three years ago, the royal physicians discovered that your wolf signature matched an ancient bloodline thought to have disappeared generations ago.”

I stared at him.

“And that's why Ironwood wanted the marriage?”

“Not just Ironwood.”

Victor lowered his voice.

“Several powerful families wanted access to your bloodline.”

A cold sensation spread through me.

Suddenly, the enormous engagement gifts made sense.

The marriage agreement.

The rumors.

Even the way my parents had treated me.

They hadn't simply wanted to get rid of me.

They had wanted to control me.

Emmett reached for my hand.

This time, when our fingers touched, warmth spread through my entire body.

His wolf stirred beneath the bond.

“No one will control you again,” he said.

I looked into his eyes.

There was no pity there.

Only certainty.

Then the library doors slammed open.

A royal investigator stood outside, his expression tense.

“Alpha Shaw, we have an urgent development.”

Emmett released my hand and turned.

“What happened?”

The investigator swallowed.

“The Jennings family has refused to cooperate.”

Victor frowned.

“On what grounds?”

“They claim Laurel Jennings was never their missing daughter.”

My heart stopped.

The investigator continued.

“They've submitted a second birth record to the Royal Council.”

I stared at him.

“A second birth record?”

He nodded.

“According to the new document, the woman raised by the Jennings family is the only legitimate Laurel Jennings.”

My blood ran cold.

Someone was trying to erase me all over again.