Chapter 99. Letter
Leo sat in the Duke’s office, his fingers tapping the polished table with growing irritation, each tap echoing his mounting frustration. Someone had played the Caulem family like pawns, and the trail was growing colder.
Alric stood by the window, his face grim, while Dian shifted uneasily, clutching a stack of reports.
Leo exhaled sharply, his voice tight. "What’s the update on Marzella?"
"Our soldiers reached her daughter’s house, but we were too late. She’s dead, someone got to her first."
Leo’s fist slammed the table, the wood creaking under the force. "Damn it," he muttered. He’d suspected someone was manipulating Maria, pulling strings from back, but he hadn’t acted fast enough to secure Marzella. The loss of that lead stung, a misstep he couldn’t afford.
He forced a steadying breath. "What about the dark guild search?"
Alric nodded. "We recovered logbooks detailing mercenaries in Carthorn. The records show the remaining three Wolves checked out three days ago. No mention of their destination."
Dian added, "We detained some civilian workers from the guild, clerks, cleaners. They’re being interrogated now, but so far, they claim ignorance of the Wolves’ plans."
Leo’s gaze shifted to Dian, his voice deliberate. "The bodies at Marzella’s house, what was their condition?"
Dian’s face paled, his throat bobbing as he recalled the scene. "It was... horrific. We couldn’t identify the remains. The bodies were shredded, torn into pieces, like they’d been caught in an explosion. But the house itself wasn’t heavily damaged, no structural collapse, just blood and debris. Whoever did this used precise explosives, contained but devastating."
Leo’s eyes widened, a chilling realization dawning. He leaned forward, his voice slow, probing. "The blood splatter, was it concentrated on one side of the house, or spread everywhere?"