Closer to the Whispers

Ours

**TW mentions of drug use and violence.**

Charles's POV (Leo's father)

I walked through the massive grounds of my estate, slowly winding through the rose bushes and random beautiful flowers my wife planted before her passing. I never took the time to savor the gardens that rivaled that of Buckingham Palace itself while she was alive. Still, it was a place of comfort for me, and I didn't miss a day walking its entrancing paths now.

I had made so many mistakes over the years, and not taking the time to appreciate her was one of my biggest ones.

I stopped to smell a small blue flower that grew in clusters on a bush together and took in the aromatic perfume. It smelled like her.

I alone was responsible for her death and carried that blame every day. She overdosed on my formula specifically. My kids lost a mother because of it, and I lost my best friend.

We ran our business together, raised our kids together, killed together, and we were supposed to die together. I was stuck here waiting for my untimely end, separated from her.

"...so I told him, 'Yo, that's our name. Not many people in this area have that name.' And he said, 'Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? But maybe one of your cousins had a baby on the way and didn't tell you?' And I said, 'No way, I think it's a psycho trying to pin her bastard on my brother.'" My son Alfred explained, droning on and on and following me like a lost puppy around the gardens.

I hadn't paid much attention up to that point, but that caught my attention.

"Wait, someone's trying to say LEO got them knocked up? Have they even met him?" I said, surprised that my nerdy son would have such allegations before Alfred.

"Yeah, he says she's totally BS. She's a student, and all the girls are crazy for him." Alfred said enviously.

"Okay, so you went to threaten Chase while he was still in the hospital after your last beating, and you overheard the nurses talking about someone who had an ultrasound for a baby with our last name, right?" I asked, piecing together his chaotic story.

"Yeah, pretty much." He said nonchalantly, stepping on a flower that had fallen on the stone path we were walking on.

"How far were you from Chase when this conversation happened?" I asked him, fearful my idiot son had truly fucked up. 

"I was right outside his door. Why?" He asked obliviously, adjusting his shirt as a cute female worker came by.

"If you found out your mortal enemy had gotten a girl pregnant, tell me, Alfred, what would you do?" I asked him coldly, my voice iced and startling him out of his mind-numbingly daft trance.

"Beat her, torture her, and use her to get whatever I want from them." He answered correctly, his voice timid, realizing he had pissed me off but not getting why.

"Yes, Alfred. So that's exactly what Chase will do to this girl." His face paled, and he backed away, his jaw dropping in shock. I waved over one of our security guards quickly.

"I want a team of ten ready to go with rifles. Also, get my idiot son and take him to the Policinia mansion. His little girlfriend is there."

"But... Leo said the baby WASN'T his." Alfred said, horrified.

"Chase doesn't know that you dim wit!" I yelled, finally losing my temper. He shrunk back and started biting his nails like he always did when he was nervous.

"Let's go," I said coldly, waving to my guards to go on a search and rescue mission for the girl who could be carrying my grandchild.

Isabella POV: