Sebastian’s POV

I stared at the computer screen, utterly unable to focus on work. Leo was upstairs playing video games, and my mother was watching over sleeping Phoenix. Since Thea had left to take Wyatt home, an unsettling feeling had settled in my chest. Every time she went out alone, I couldn’t shake this fear. Not since the shooting. The terror of almost losing her—multiple times—had branded itself onto my soul. I would do anything to ensure her safety, including sending whoever hurt her somewhere they could never harm her again.

With a heavy sigh, I stood from my desk and walked to the window. Another thing bothering me was my conversation with Thea that morning. I couldn’t understand why she believed Aurora was innocent. Aurora had been nothing but antagonistic toward Thea since her return—I’d seen it myself. I could vouch for the Aurora I fell in love with as a teenager, but not for this woman. I couldn’t see through her anymore. If she could reject and conceal her own mate for years, if she could so callously sever her connection to her child and pretend he didn’t exist, then did I really think murder was beyond her? I didn’t. Thea wanted to believe Aurora was innocent, but I couldn’t. Not with the evidence staring us in the face.

My phone rang, cutting through my thoughts. I picked it up, feeling a stab of disappointment when I saw it wasn’t Thea’s name. This morning with her had been wonderful. Just sitting together, talking—it had become my favorite thing to do. Seeing her attitude shift toward acceptance rather than distance made me want to spend the rest of the day with her and our children.

“Hello.” My voice came out rougher than usual.

“It’s me.”

He didn’t need to tell me who he was; I already knew. Honestly, I still didn’t like Graves, but for some reason, our relationship had grown closer over these past months. I wouldn’t say I trusted him, but when it came to Thea, we definitely had aligned interests.

“I know it’s you, Graves.”

He chuckled. Every week, he’d ask me to send him a picture of Phoenix. He might not be around her, but the cold bastard clearly loved his little niece.

“Did you check?” I waited for his answer. It came quickly, but his response made me tense because I knew it would devastate Thea.

“Everything Hawthorne said is true,” he said gruffly. “The DNA report and the evidence on Aurora’s clothes. Looks like Aurora is exactly who we’ve been looking for all along.”

How the hell was I supposed to relay this information to Thea? Especially when she was so convinced of Aurora’s innocence. I had my doubts, but I’d told her I trusted her judgment, even though deep down I knew she was wrong.

“Gotta admit, the bitch knows how to cover her tracks,” Graves added. “Months of searching, and she was hiding right under our noses the whole time.”

“I still can’t believe she fooled all of us.” He kept talking. “You know I’m going to make her pay, right? You can’t stop me.”

At first, I was confused until I realized he was saying this because he thought I might stop him due to my history with Aurora.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Do what you must, Graves. In fact, I’ll give her my own version of punishment,” I declared, already formulating ways to make Aurora pay in my mind. She would wish she had never crossed me or hurt Thea. I almost lost Thea because of her, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

“I’m surprised but impressed,” Graves said, and I swear I could hear pleasure in his voice. “Everyone talks about how much you loved her; I didn’t expect you to hurt her, especially for Thea.”

“People don’t know shit.” For so many years, practically everyone told me how perfect Aurora and I were together. I think that phrase burrowed into my brain. Maybe I’d heard it so often in my younger years that it brainwashed me into believing it was true. Now I know better than to listen to other people’s expectations or fantasies. But perhaps it was time to make a public statement about it…

“Sebastian, are you still listening?” Graves’s voice pulled me back from my thoughts.

“Yes, I just got distracted for a moment,” I answered.