Chapter 175: False Alarm

Seeing how shaken I was, the butler hurried to explain, “Madam, please don’t panic. Mr. Lewis asked you to come pick him up yourself, so the situation shouldn’t be serious.”

That was when everything fell into place.

Lewis knew I’d been wanting to check that auto repair shop. But with my position in the pack, showing up there openly would draw too much attention. Too many eyes. Too many instincts watching.

The people he’d sent earlier hadn’t found anything unusual. I’d already scouted the place in other ways, but maybe being there in person would reveal what shadows were hiding in plain sight.

So this “accident” was his excuse. A reason for me to appear there naturally. Smooth. Calculated. Very Lewis.

“Alright,” I said, steadying myself. “Get the car ready.”

Even knowing this was likely his plan, my heart wouldn’t calm down. Accidents were unpredictable. One wrong second could change everything.

I stayed tense the entire drive.

Yet the moment the car pulled into the repair shop, that tight fear in my chest eased, almost on its own. The pull between us quiet, constant told me he was fine.

The second I stepped out, my thoughts were only on him. I rushed over, worry written all over my face. “Lewis, are you okay?”

I didn’t even wait for his answer. I wrapped my arms around him, holding tight. “I was terrified when I heard. How could something like this happen so suddenly?”

I didn’t notice Julain’s distant expression. I didn’t care who was watching. All that mattered was that Lewis was here, breathing, solid under my hands.

Somewhere along the way, I’d started relying on him more than I realized.

He rubbed my back gently, soothing me, even though this entire situation was his doing. “It’s alright. It was just a small collision.”

Maybe because I’d brushed so close to death before, I couldn’t treat accidents lightly. One mistake was all it took. That knowledge never really left you.

Even knowing this was a setup, the risk still frightened me.

Tears slipped out before I could stop them. Lewis pulled me onto his lap, patient and calm. “Hey, it’s fine. I’m really okay. Julain just got a small scrape.”

I turned immediately toward Julain. He wasn’t just family by name anymore. The bond ran deeper now.

“Julain, are you alright?”

He met my watery gaze and nodded, his voice rough. “I’m fine, Aunt RIley.”

Lewis motioned to a young mechanic nearby. “Could you get us some water?”

“Sure, one second.”

The young man returned with a cup of warm water. Lewis took it and handed it to me. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

I took a small sip, the warmth spreading through me, then asked softly, “What about the car? Was it badly damaged?”

“You should see it yourself,” Lewis replied. “That’ll ease your mind.”

I wiped my eyes, still playing my part. “I just wanted to know what happened, but you wouldn’t tell me.”

“Then come look.”

We stood and walked deeper into the shop.

The place was massive. Rows of parts lined the front, while the repair area stretched far back, larger than I expected. The air smelled of oil and metal. Mechanics moved with quiet focus, hands busy, heads down.

Nothing felt out of place.

Lewis’s car sat a short distance away. The front was damaged headlights cracked, bumper dented but nothing screamed danger.

“See?” he said. “I told you it wasn’t serious.”

I shot him a look. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

He gave a small smile. “I didn’t control the snow or the icy roads.”

I crouched to thank the mechanic working nearby. “Thank you for your help.”

“No problem,” he said easily. “Just be careful around here. Oil gets everywhere. The car won’t be ready today, especially the lights. We’ll call when it’s done.”

“Thank you.”

As we turned to leave, I paused and asked casually, “Could you show us where the restroom is?”

My voice was calm, but my instincts were already alert.

The young mechanic climbed out of the repair pit right away and gestured for us to follow him. As we walked, I casually started a conversation, keeping my tone light.

Business was busy today, judging from the noise and movement around us.

Lewis glanced at the young man and spoke calmly, carrying that quiet authority he never needed to raise. “You look young. Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

The boy laughed, a little awkward. “School isn’t for everyone. I started working early. When your car came in, I didn’t even dare touch it at first. It’s… expensive.”

Lewis replied easily, “It was a small accident. The other driver panicked. Instead of waiting around for traffic officers and insurance, we decided to handle it privately.”

“Must be nice,” the young man said honestly. “If that were my car, I’d be crushed. You’re lucky it’s just cosmetic damage.”

He talked a lot too much, really but sometimes talkative people were useful.

I pulled out my phone and smiled. “Let’s exchange contacts. My mate doesn’t move around easily, so it’d help if we could reach you directly about the car.”

“Of course,” he said quickly.

He wiped his hands on his work pants and added his number to my phone.

“The restroom’s just down that hall,” he pointed. “I’ll stay here with your husband.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

I walked off, passing beneath a security camera. I kept my expression neutral, steady, as if nothing was out of place. The door closed softly behind me.

The moment I was alone, my focus sharpened.

I remembered it clearly now. Back then, I hadn’t been locked in a stone room immediately. I had moved through underground corridors winding, layered, deliberate.

I tried to map it in my head, matching memory to structure.

From what I’d seen earlier, the repair area wasn’t fully finished. Bare cement walls. Rough floors. Dust settled in corners where light barely reached. The ceiling rose far higher than necessary, supported by thick stone pillars.

Nine pillars.

That number made my breath hitch.

Rural builds usually used six supports. Modern ones relied on steel. But nine stone pillars, evenly spaced, felt intentional. Ritualistic.

The lighting was installed low, cutting the pillars in half and leaving the upper sections swallowed by shadow. The lower floor was smooth and flat, but the stone above carved. Shaped.

I couldn’t see it clearly, but I didn’t need to.

Nine wasn’t random.

Stories whispered that number into bones, into blood memory. Power. Seals. Chambers beneath chambers.

What I’d seen before had only been the surface.

So how did they go down?

I scanned for anything out of place. Vents. Tracks. Hidden seams.

Nothing obvious.

No wonder Lewis’s teams had come back empty-handed. Whatever was hidden here wasn’t meant to be found easily.

I didn’t linger.

I left the restroom quickly and returned to the main floor.

Julain was standing nearby, absentmindedly turning a car part in his hands. “You took long enough. I was getting restless.”

“Sorry,” I said calmly. “My stomach was upset.”

He gave me a brief look, sharp but unreadable. “Let’s go.”

Together, we moved back to Lewis. I took hold of the chair and wheeled him toward the exit, my mind already working ahead.

The place looked ordinary.

But my instincts said otherwise.

And instincts like mine were rarely wrong.

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