Chapter 108 Maddy
MADDY
The news reports that followed were chaotic, to say the least. We all stayed up late into the night, watching.
All the media outlets who’d been ready to condemn all of shifter-kind were now back-peddling so fast that I couldn’t help but laugh at them.
Apparently, online message boards were lighting up with people coming out in support of us.
The few words of dissent that were still demanding we be locked up were quickly shouted down.
One overarching question kept popping up on every blog, newscast, and article.
Where was Viola Monroe? Felipe had checked the stock exchange the following day, and the shares for The Monroe Group and all their known subsidiaries were crashing.
It seemed that no one wanted to be associated with the foundation anymore.
There was even word that South Korea and Australia were cutting ties with massive multi-billion-dollar national medical facility contracts they’d signed with Viola’s company.
This was better than anything we could have done alone. She was literally hemorrhaging money.
Nico, Abi, Gabriella, Sinthy, and I were in the living room the morning after Donatello’s bombshell interview, watching the disaster play out on TV.
The chairman of the House ethics committee of Congress was being interviewed on a national morning news show.
I smiled from ear to ear as I watched him squirm.
“Listen, Janet,” he said to the host. “The Monroe Group has hidden these activities. I can assure you that no member of Congress ever had an inkling that these things were happening.”
The host leaned forward, giving him a disbelieving look. “Mister Chairman, you’re telling me that the multi-trillion-dollar United States government, the most powerful country in the world, was tricked by a company with less than one percent of the budget of just the armed services?”
The chairman’s face went red with embarrassment. “You have to understand that’s still a lot of money. Billions and billions of dollars to line pockets, bribe, and cover up—”
“No one in Congress ever questioned their findings on the shifter virus, though. Who was in charge of oversight? The CDC?”
“We… um… what we really need to do is focus on helping the shifters who have been displaced, as well as bring murder charges on Viola Monroe for the deaths of the poor people affected by this sham crisis.”
“And what about civil suits the families might decide to bring against Congress? You were, whether you want to admit it or not, complicit in this hoax.”
The congressman pulled his microphone off his lapel and stood. “We’re done here. I have more important things to do. Thanks for your time.”
“This is amazing,” Sinthy said as she stared at the screen.
Nico was looking at his phone and suddenly looked up to point at the TV. “Go to channel thirty-three. Hurry.”
Abi clicked the remote and brought up the channel.
On the screen, we saw dozen news vans and at least two dozen reporters, cameramen, and boom mic operators standing outside some kind of facility.
Nico nodded. “Looks like Donatello leaked the location of the shifter research facility to the news outlets before he disappeared. This is the place where they were testing the poison.”
On screen, we watched as the group of reporters banged on the doors, calling out for anyone to come out and answer questions.
Eventually, one of the cameramen tried the door and found it unlocked.
The mass of media members streamed into the building and started rushing down the halls, looking for something that would get their networks the ratings they were desperate for.
All they found in the entire building were a few emaciated and dead shifters in cells. The whole place was deserted, and every computer looked like it had been destroyed in haste. Massive degaussing magnets lay strewn about where they’d erased the hard drives. No other evidence was found.
After the images of the dead shifters spread, the alliance groups became even more outraged and were calling for the arrest of every member of the board of The Monroe Group, all their employees, and of course, Viola herself.
The problem was—no one could find her. The closest they came was when one of Viola’s cousins, a low-level executive within the royal organization, was arrested on the beaches of Jamaica.
He’d been unaware of the chaos erupting around their little game and got caught with his pants down.
Literally, since he was taken into custody on a nude beach.
Most of his body had been blurred out on the news report.
Videos from the BBC showed Interpol raiding the castle in Germany where Gabriella and I had been held.
They found the underground cells there. It was the same as the American facility.
All their proof had been erased, and it was like a ghost town.
Not a soul in sight anywhere. Viola was the most wanted person on the planet, but it was like she’d vanished into thin air.
I had no idea what she was doing for money since every account she had was now frozen.
Even the Swiss National Bank had frozen all accounts associated with anything having to do with the royals.
After that first twelve hours of furious reporting and interviews, things settled into a long-term investigation.
We all tried our best to live our lives while we waited for word about Viola.
None of us really believed we could fully relax until she was caught.
We ventured out to town a few times, and for the most part, we were met with downcast eyes and ashamed looks.
It seemed most members of the community were embarrassed that they’d fallen for the hoax.
There were still a few who gave us dirty looks as we shopped, but those people had probably been bigots before all this went down and were now upset that we weren’t being locked up.
As for the poison crisis, the president addressed the nation and informed the public that any shifter who thought they or a pack member had been a victim of the poison should go to a special poison control center where they could be evaluated and treated until an antidote could be found.
All medical bills related to the poison would be covered by the government.
He’d gone on to say that everyone needed to be aware of how serious this poison was and that we all had to be vigilant in case any rogue members of The Monroe Group decided to inject more victims.
The state of emergency had been lifted, which really didn’t sit well with the anti-shifter movement.
They were raising hell left and right, but the more information that came out, the smaller and less vocal their groups became.
Especially after three independent computer labs confirmed that Donatello’s videos were authentic.
There would always be people who would continue to believe crazy and outlandish theories.
It was strange because what we were witnessing was exactly what conspiracy theorists always claimed—a dark underground cabal of billionaires pulling strings and trying to change the world for their own gain.
I guess they weren’t happy because the villain in this story was actually pushing an agenda they agreed with.
About two weeks after the Donatello interview, most of us were home, having a farewell dinner for Tiago. He was going home to witness his son’s alpha ceremony. He’d only been acting alpha until they could do a full change-over ceremony.
Nico raised a glass of wine to our new friend. “Brother, you come back any time. You’re always welcome on the Lorenzo pack lands.”
The rest of us raised our own glasses, bottles, or cans to join the toast. Tiago smiled. “I hate to leave. You’ve been good to me. It goes both ways, Nico. You’ll always have an ally with me and my pack. You call, and we come. You have my word.”
“I appreciate that,” Nico said. “Now eat those damned ribs. I spent twelve hours smoking the meat.”
The rest of the night was a party. It was nice to have everyone hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.
Over the last few months, the only time we got together was to discuss some new horror the royals had sprung or to orchestrate a plan to get out of some sort of trouble.
It was nice and pretty relaxing just to relax and have fun.
Sebastian wasn’t there, of course. He stayed away any time Abi was going to be around.
I really hoped they’d figure that out soon.
After dinner, Nico and I went outside to watch the stars and enjoy another glass of wine. He nudged me after we sat down. “How’s it feel?”
“How does what feel?” I asked.
“Being free. Or at least freer than you’ve been in almost a year?”
“Good, I guess,” I said with a shrug. “I still don’t think I’ll sleep well until they find Viola.”
Before Nico could respond, the door opened, and Sinthy walked out. She pointed in the general direction of the front gate. “Hey, just for your information, there’s still a few of the anti-shifter people out at the gate.”
“Ugh,” Nico sighed. “When are they ever gonna give up? I may call the cops tomorrow. This is ridiculous.”
The number of protesters had dropped significantly since the story broke. Though not all of them were giving up. Instead of a couple of hundred people, there were close to two dozen who showed up each day.
“Right,” Sinthy said. “I was letting you know that I altered the wards around the gate. You know… after what happened yesterday?”
She’d strengthened them the morning before, and when one of the protesters had tried to climb the fence, he’d practically been electrocuted by Sinthy’s spell. He hadn’t died, but an ambulance had been called, and the protesters got more riled up at one of their members getting injured.
“I remember,” Nico said. “Did you make it less powerful?”
Sinthy gave a slight shake of her head. “No, I altered it a little bit. No more electrocutions. Now they’ll bounce back. Like a rubber ball. I only wanted you to know in case you saw a guy getting thrown back onto the dirt on the security cameras.”
Nico chuckled. “Okay, cool. I appreciate it.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna go back in. Do you all want anything? I think your cousin Eliza is serving dessert.”
“We’re fine. Thank you, Sinthy,” he said.
Once she was gone, Nico and I sat in silence. A question had been bouncing through my mind for a couple of days. I didn’t really want to voice it. If I did, it meant that the relaxation we’d been experiencing wouldn’t last. That there were still some dark things to deal with.
“What do you think is coming next? It doesn’t seem like it’s over. Even with everything on the news, I still think there’s another shoe that has to drop.”
Nico sighed and was quiet for a few minutes. He took a weary breath before speaking. “I think there’s a war coming. The royals only know one thing, and that’s to fight. We’ve taken away their facade, and that means we’ve pissed them off more than before.”
My chest tightened as he voiced the one thing I’d been afraid of.
Viola had money somewhere. Some hidden fortune that was untouchable by all the governments in the world.
Hell, she might have a bunker full of gold coins for all we knew.
What he’d said rang true in my mind, and she probably still had the power to do it.
“That’s what I was afraid you’d say,” I whispered.
“Viola’s a known criminal now. As bad as she was before, the curtain has been pulled back.
That’s both good and bad. Now, she doesn’t have to toe the line.
There’s no mask to maintain anymore. I feel like that makes her more dangerous, not less.
At least before she had to worry about keeping her company’s name out of the mud. ”
“Right. I think there’s also this weird legacy to maintain. At least in her own mind. She’s too proud to stay in hiding long. And she hates shifters too much to stomach seeing us win. I hadn’t thought she’d go quietly into the shadows, but a girl can hope, right?”
He chuckled. “Yeah.” The smile slowly faded from his lips.
“She’s going to want blood. The only thing that will give her any kind of peace is revenge.
After this? She’ll want it in the worst possible way.
We won the battle—hell, we won several—but the war isn’t over.
I think it’s just getting started, sadly.
We aren’t totally safe. While she’s still breathing, no shifter is. ”