Chapter 309
Aunt Kathy was one of the few people in my family who I was certain would treat me kindly even if she had been won over by Tony and Olivia’s manipulations and lies, so I could see the logic and wisdom in Amber’s suggestion.
“Alright,” I said.
We stopped holding hands and I went to get my phone. Unlocking it, I found Aunt Kathy’s contact information and dialed her number.
The phone rang a couple of times before connection.
“Julian, is that you p>
It was a relief to hear Aunt Kathy’s voice.
I put her on speakerphone so that Amber could hear and talk to her too.
“It’s me, Aunt Kathy, and Amber is here too p>
“Hello, Aunt Kathy,” Amber said.
Aunt Kathy sighed. “It’s good to hear from you both. You are back in town now p>
“Yes,” I told her. “I tried to come to the hospital but I was denied entrance p>
“But you are the Alpha,” Aunt Kathy said, confused.
“That’s what I thought too,” I told her. “But the guards were adamant, and I didn’t want to have to fight them when they were only obeying council orders p>
“Even the council has gone against you p>
“I suspect Tony’s influence has a far reach these days,” I said. “More than I was expecting p>
“Yes, that’s likely,” Aunt Kathy said. “We’ve been seeing it here too. Our family has been allowed in the hospital, and we are all in the usual waiting room. But we’ve been denied the right to see Gloria. Everyone has, except for the healers and Tony himself p>
“Tony shouldn’t be able to dictate that,” Amber said, a small bit of panic shaking her voice.
We both knew what it meant if Tony was going into Gloria’s room.
He was likely continuing to poison her.
“Tony has been saying it’s for the best,” Aunt Kathy continued. “But he’s not giving us any satisfying reasons as to why. Some of our family is fine with taking him at face value, but there are
Chapter 310
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many of us that are concerned with how he’s been acting lately p>
“Has he been different?” I asked, hoping that if we could shed some light on his behavior, then perhaps we could finally develop some kind of upper hand.
“Tony has always been a charismatic boy,” Aunt Kathy said. “He liked the theater and the spotlight. He was always getting himself into trouble just to have people pay attention to him. But this? This is all too much, even for him. I’ve never known him to care about anything but the arts, and now he is suddenly passionate about politics? It doesn’t suit him at all p>
I wasn’t sure if I fully believed Aunt Kathy that Tony never dreamed of having power, but from what I knew about him, he would have never been this motivated without an external push. That push
must have come in the form of Olivia.
She must have seen from a thousand miles away how his charisma would have benefited her.
Again, I wondered how long she had been planning for this.
“Aunt Kathy,” I said with some regret. “I don’t know how else to solve this but with a challenge. That might be the only way to get him to listen, that the people will also respect.
“Please, Julian,” Aunt Kathy said. “He is a fool, but he’s still family. If there’s a way to solve this
without violence, we must explore every other possible avenue first p>
I sighed, wanting to, but knowing that I would soon have to disappoint her.
I wanted family peace as well, but I wasn’t going to lose my pack to have it.
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Florence
Florence is a passionate reader who finds joy in long drives on rainy days. She’s also a fan of Italian makeup tutorials, blending beauty and elegance into her everyday life.