"Lies," he said, at a moment when it seemed that the alpha's body was heating up. Especially his palms, but Carter still held the photograph carefully. "There was no Lily. She was... Kely.
"But this picture isn't Kelly," I tried to speak calmly, but I saw that something was happening to Carter, and I didn't like it.
"Give me Lily's number. I want to talk to her," Carter leaned forward, and I saw his eyes. They weren't human. They took on a terrible, animalistic appearance, and it seemed to me even more that Carter was breaking.
Severely. Even his pupils were dazzled by the breakdown, and from what I saw on the alpha's face, it seemed that he was experiencing even more powerful pain.
Did the picture remind him of something more clearly?
"She doesn't want to talk to you," I shook my head negatively. "But she told me a lot, and I want to clarify something. Lily said that her father worked in your parents' mansion. As a driver. His name is William Garcia. I think you can easily verify this information.
And so her father left Lily in the servants' quarters, since there was no one else to look after her. That's where you found her. You spent a lot of time together. A lot. And Kely only appeared next to you a couple of times, when her mother tried to foist her on you.
Until, I repeat, you did not drive her away, and after that, the head maid did not bring her daughter anymore. So, how can Kely be considered your best friend?"
It seemed to me that Carter wanted to say something, but, exhaling for the first time in a long time, he rose to his feet and, weaving his fingers through his hair, stepped aside. Closing his eyes, he clenched his other hand into a fist until his knuckles turned white. As if he were being crushed from the inside.
"That's a fucking lie, Jones," Carter slowly turned his head and looked at me in such a way that I felt a sharp desire to press my back against the bench. As if to protect myself.
After all, it seemed that his rage alone would be enough to kill me. "Who told you so much about me and Kelly, if you could make something like that up?"
"You don't believe me."
"Me?" I asked, feeling needles piercing my skin. But, reaching to the side, I took the diary. "Lily said that she could prove the truth of her words."
"Let her try. But she doesn't even want to talk to me. Right?" Exhaling again, Carter bared his teeth, but again lowered his gaze to the photo, and each time he did this, something in the alpha changed. I didn't understand what exactly, but with each passing moment, I became more and more uneasy.
"Do you remember the day this picture was taken?" I asked, nervously finishing the rest of my coffee.
"Yes. Kelly saved my life," Carter answered without taking his eyes off the photo. But he bared his teeth again, which is why I decided to say the obvious. Something clear to both of us:
"But it's not Kely in the picture," I stood up, threw the glass in the trash, and took the diary. "First, find out for sure that William Garcia worked for your parents. It won't be difficult for you. Just like finding out about his daughter. Look at her photos. A lot will be clear there. I've already been told that you had partial amnesia, but I think you also remember a lot. Secondly…"
I picked up the diary. Catching the alpha's glance as he slid over it. Wincing again as if from a new flash of pain.
"Do you remember it? Lily said that you once saw this diary at her place. You even wrote something in it," I opened one of the last pages.
When Carter was a child, he saw the diary at my place, just before he had to go away with his parents for two weeks. And he wanted to read it, but I didn't let him. Only, he wrote something in it himself. And now I showed it to him.
On the last page, in his childish, but even and beautiful handwriting, it was written: "Wait for me. I will wait for you. See you soon."
Carter slowly glanced at this inscription and stepped towards me, intending to take the diary, but I immediately stepped aside.
"Now we are talking about something else. The diary contains the exact date of the day when Lily fished you out of the river, and if you remember, you got there secretly. So that your parents wouldn't find out. And near the river, the police caught you and took you to the station, since children are not allowed there."
I hesitated because Carter's appearance scared me even more. But I continued:
"If your parents had found out about this incident, it would have been the end of everything, so you called Lily's father, and he took you away from there. Luckily, his brother worked for the police, and he allowed it.
But by now, there should be written in the documents and reports who was brought in and who took them. I think you have enough connections to get this information. So call whoever you need. Find out everything."
Carter's pupils had completely lost all humanness, and the alpha's gaze was not just frightening. Rather, it brought panic and trembling. But, to some extent, it seemed to me that Carter would not call anyone. To doubt Kelly would mean to betray her. Even I understood that.
But, having roughly taken the diary from me and opening it to the first pages, Carter took out his phone and called somewhere. He found the right date, named it, and the number of the precinct. He demanded to know the information.