Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth (Hannah and Noah)

"Was he really so keen on keeping me from getting pregnant because of a... defect in my bloodline?" I asked, glancing at Noah. "Why not just talk to me about it? Talk to my family?"

Doctor Patel shrugged. "I wish I knew. He was very private about his motivations. All I knew was that it was important enough to him that my family's lives would have been in danger if I hadn't obeyed." Drake shook his head, struggling to process all of this. "And that's all you did?" he asked. "Made up little lies to keep them from conceiving?"ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

The doctor nodded.

But Noah and I knew better. There was more to this than the doctor was letting on. Frowning, I told Viona to get my purse, and when she returned, I rifled through it and withdrew the plane ticket I'd swiped last week. I tossed it at Doctor Patel's feet.

"And as for this?" I asked through clenched teeth. "Surely you have some sort of explanation."

Doctor Patel's face paled even more when he saw the ticket lying on the carpet. "You... How did you...

"I knew something was off last week," I said, my voice hardly more than a whisper. "I saw this on your desk, and I took it. Sorry, but not sorry."

Drake chuckled wryly. Viona sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head at my thievery. Noah, however, just stared angrily at the doctor-at the man who he was supposed to trust all these years. "You were on holiday for months last year, and apparently my father-who supposedly threatened to kill you-funded the entire thing?" Noah hissed.

"N-No, he didn't-"

"Keep lying, and you'll lose more than just your license to practice medicine tonight," Noah threatened.

With a trembling hand, the doctor slowly picked the ticket up off the floor and studied it for a few

moments.

The room was silent, the air taut with tension. Noah looked fit to burst, his chest heaving. If I'd had the strength to get up, I would have been right there with him.

"I..." Doctor Patel's throat bobbed. "Marcus came to me last year with this ticket. Initially, he told me that it was a gift to make up for all the trouble he put me through. But I soon learned that it was more than that."

The doctor glanced at me, then at Noah. "He told me to bring a suitcase to a random address in the tropics," he explained. "It was locked, the entire thing made of metal. Whatever was inside, I couldn't get to it. And if I tried to open it, he would have killed me and my family-he made that part very clear. So I obeyed."

My stomach bottomed out at the thought. An impromptu visit to the tropics, a strange suitcase, a random location...

I knew someone else who loved the tropics. Who practically lived there, having one night stands with

foreign women and getting involved in general debauchery.

"Where... Where did you take the suitcase?" I whispered. I hated how small and shaky my voice sounded at that moment, but I couldn't help it. The pieces were starting to come together in my mind, and the puzzle was turning out to be a nightmare-inducing image. "You think I worked alone? You really are just as dumb as you look if that's what you really think!"

The trial had been months ago, but I remembered those words like it was yesterday.

Doctor Patel slowly lifted his gaze. When he did, the look in his eyes was enough to nearly make my heart stop in my chest. And when he uttered those next words, I was pretty certain that it did.

"I took it to your cousin," Doctor Patel whispered. "Alvin."

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