Chapter 142:
Clayton’s POV:
Since the wedding banquet, the image of Makenna and Dominic in the car had played over and over in my mind like a broken record.
It left me with a tangled knot of emotions—complicated and disappointed. I realized, much to my own surprise, that my feelings for her were deeper, more complex than I’d ever allowed myself to admit.
The thought was too unsettling to dwell on, so I pushed it aside, heading downstairs to pour myself a glass of water, hoping it might calm the storm brewing inside me.
As I approached the kitchen, the murmurs of the servants reached my ears.
I wasn’t keen on eavesdropping, but just as I was about to step inside, I caught Makenna’s name drifting through the conversation. My feet rooted to the spot, and I found myself straining to hear more.
“Did you hear? At Gamma Frank’s wedding, Makenna was nearly raped!”
“Yeah, I heard. Apparently, it was some manager from the Harrison family. Prince Dominic saved her and took her back.”
The blood drained from my face. Makenna, almost raped at Frank’s wedding?
My mind flashed back to that day in Dominic’s car. Makenna had been hesitant, her expression troubled, as if there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to voice. Now I understood—she had nearly faced something unspeakable that day.
No wonder she had been so frightened!
I clenched my fists, fighting to control the surge of anger rising within me. Then, the servants’ chatter shifted to another topic, one that made my blood run cold.
“Did you hear about the trafficking of women in the Harrison family’s red-light district?”
“Yeah, I know. The king trusts the Harrisons so much that even when they’re involved in such filth, they barely get a slap on the wrist.”
𝗥𝖊𝖆𝗱 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝖔𝗇𝖑𝗒 𝗮𝘁 𝗀ⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒ⅽ𝗈𝗺
“Exactly. The king didn’t seem too bothered. He just gave the manager and the head of the red-light district a token punishment, and that was it.”
I stood there, listening intently as the puzzle pieces started to fall into place.
The red-light district, the Harrison family, the manager at the wedding…
I remembered the day Dominic kissed Makenna in the car. They had just returned from the red-light district.
The Harrisons controlled that area. She hadn’t come back with the other sex slaves, but with Dominic, likely because she had run into some kind of trouble. And then there were the bruises on her face and the fear in her eyes that night in the car…
She had been in danger twice, and I had completely misunderstood.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. I lowered my gaze, a dull ache spreading through my chest. Regret gnawed at me for having been so cold toward her that day, for leaving her to Bryan and Dominic without a second thought.
As I stood there, lost in thought, my hand brushed against a decoration by the door, causing a small noise. The servants jumped, spinning around to see me standing there. Their faces paled with fear.
“Your… Your Highness…”
I cast them a cold, indifferent glance but said nothing. Instead, I turned on my heel, grabbed my coat, and left, driven by an urgent need to find Makenna.
I had to see her, to understand what had really happened that day, and to know if she had been hurt.
Maybe she was training now.
With that thought, I headed straight for the training room, my pace quickening with every step. But when I arrived and scanned the crowd of women, she was nowhere to be found.
What was going on? Had she taken the day off? A sense of unease crept over me, and I wasted no time rushing to her house.
I rang the doorbell, my heart pounding in my chest.
Moments later, the door creaked open.
“Makenna…” I began, relief flooding me.
But the words died in my throat, my face darkening. The person standing before me wasn’t Makenna. It was a woman I didn’t recognize.
