Chapter 150 A Loan, Not a Gift

Vincent did not get into Alpha Sebastian’s car. He was still shaken by what he had just witnessed. The drop from the deck to the river was at least twenty feet, and the water was cold enough to cause serious harm.

The woman he thought he knew did not match the woman who had just jumped into freezing water over a man.

Logan glanced at him and sighed. "Let me drive you back to the hotel."

He paused before adding, "And stop worrying about Serena. Alpha Sebastian jumped in after her. He’s not going to leave her stranded."

Logan still couldn’t understand why Vincent kept getting pulled deeper into Serena’s problems. She was not the only woman in the world. A man like Vincent, the Crawford heir and one of the most successful attorneys in the country, could date anyone he wanted. Yet he was risking his reputation for her.

"Why are you getting involved in this?" Logan asked. "Alpha Killian is involved now, and your mom has close ties to the Reed Pack. This whole situation is a minefield."

"Did Serena pull you out of a burning building or something, man?"

Vincent stared out the window. "It’s complicated."

Logan waited, but Vincent said nothing more.

Logan understood that much. He decided not to press.

For a moment, he considered mentioning how familiar Eira’s face had seemed. Then he changed his mind. Saying it in front of Vincent could sound like he was accusing Vincent’s father of having an affair.

That was not his problem.

So Logan kept his mouth shut.

--

Across town, Serena sat propped against the headboard, pale and wrapped in a blanket as she watched Alpha Sebastian move around the room.

On the way back from the docks, he’d stopped at a 24-hour pharmacy for cold medicine and a thermometer. Now he was in the kitchen, stirring the medicine into some warm broth and fussing over her like he used to when she was the woman he loved most.

For a moment, it felt like old times. Like it was just the two of them in the whole world.

The thermometer beeped. Alpha Sebastian picked it up and checked the reading.

"No fever. Take the medicine anyway, just to be safe."

"Thanks." Serena took a sip from the mug.

He waited until she finished before getting to the point.

"Why did you jump?"

Serena blinked. "What?"

"Why did you jump into the river?"

"I slipped." She matched his flat tone. "It was an accident."

Alpha Sebastian did not believe her for a second.

"You know I can’t swim. Why would I..."

"Exactly. You can’t swim." His voice hardened. "That’s the problem."

She gave him a soft smile. "You were worried about me."

Alpha Sebastian opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a moment, he let out a slow breath.

"Don’t ever do that again, Serena. Whatever is going on between us..."

There were things he needed to say, but she looked too pale and exhausted. Tonight was not the time.

"Get some rest." He stood.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

He glanced down at his soaked jeans. The wet fabric clung coldly to his legs.

Serena wanted to ask him to stay, but she held back. If someone took a picture of him leaving her apartment in the morning, the scandal would be impossible to explain.

"Will you come by tomorrow?" she asked, followed by a soft cough.

Alpha Sebastian looked away.

"Maybe. If you can’t take care of yourself, call the Winthrop family’s housekeeper."

Then he left.

Alpha Sebastian kept a spare change of clothes in his car. After changing, he drove straight back to the pier.

The cruiser had just docked. Sterling employees were filing off in a steady stream, which meant the celebration was over.

Alpha Sebastian scanned the crowd.

Eira was nowhere to be seen.

Then he spotted Isabella near the entrance, craning her neck as she searched the disembarking passengers.

He got out of the car.

The moment Isabella saw him, she hurried over.

"Sebastian? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I came to find Serena." Their mother had told her everything that evening, and Isabella needed to know whether it was true.

She had been waiting at the pier for what felt like forever. Because of the man-overboard emergency, the cruiser had returned to a different slip than expected. By the time Isabella finally boarded, Serena was gone and would not answer her phone.

She was cold, furious, and in no mood to leave without answers.

If she could not confront Serena, she would question her brother instead.

"Mom told me about the money," Isabella said. "All those years, you were spending it on Serena, weren’t you? Eira wasn’t the one wasting it. Tell me the truth."

Alpha Sebastian’s pupils narrowed.

Sterling employees were still walking past them, and Isabella was speaking loudly enough for half the pier to hear.

"No," he said flatly.

Isabella had always treated her brother’s word as fact. But after hearing their mother’s explanation, the story made an uncomfortable amount of sense.

"You’re lying to me, aren’t you?"

"Get in the car."

He guided her into the passenger seat and closed the door. Then he locked it.

Isabella pounded on the window. When he ignored her, she started calling his phone repeatedly.

Alpha Sebastian silenced the calls and kept his eyes on the pier exit. He waited for one particular person to appear.

The crowd slowly thinned.

Eira never came.

She must have already left.

Disappointment flickered across his face before he got into the driver’s seat.

"Sebastian." Isabella refused to drop the subject. "Is it true? Did you spend all your money on Serena? "

He knew his sister. Once she got hold of a question, she would not let it go.

Their parents already knew about the money, so denying it would not change anything. Still, he avoided giving her the full truth. Isabella could not keep a secret to save her life.

"Some of it was an investment," he said. "The rest was a loan."

"A loan?" Isabella accepted the explanation immediately, but it only made her angrier. "You had money to lend Serena, but not enough to support your own family?"

She grabbed the door handle.

"No way. I’m going to find Serena and get every last dollar back."