Chasing His Scentless Mate

Chapter 378 Taking Action Against Steward

Joseph’s POV

I always knew my father was a scoundrel, but his actions went far beyond that. He had descended to something far worse than just being a creep or a harasser.

Three years ago, my father spent a long time in the city. Years before that, I’d bought out his shares in the company, but he’d already squandered everything and came looking for more. I refused, and he continued making trouble for me as usual. But suddenly, without warning, he disappeared and hadn’t been seen in Harbor Bay since—until now.

I never understood why he left. I vaguely knew about two women who came forward accusing him of harassment and forcing them into sexual relations, but I didn’t know the details, and they quickly disappeared.

But now everything was laid bare before me. My estranged father was a rapist. I began reading the report.

Three years ago, while he was still hanging around, he threw a party at his rented beachfront villa to show off his status. All his cronies were there. They were just as vile and despicable as him.

Two young women in their early twenties were invited to the party by a friend—the mistress of Elton Botelho. Sophia’s father was there too. The women just wanted to enjoy themselves and had rejected Steward earlier that evening. But he cornered them like a hyena. He had drinks prepared with date rape drugs and had the server give them to the young women. As soon as the drugs took effect, Steward took them to a room and sexually assaulted them.

It was disgusting! He recorded videos of them, abused them for hours, and kicked them out the next day, calling them whores and threatening to release the videos if they spoke up. The girls were terrified but decided to report it anyway, only to fall into the hands of a corrupt investigator looking to cash in on the situation.

The investigator found Steward, and they reached an agreement. That’s when my mother got involved. He created a huge scene, threatening that if my mother didn’t help him, he would manipulate Flora into killing herself. At the time, my sister was going through an extremely difficult period. She had just experienced a painful miscarriage and was suffering from severe depression. He had a significant influence over her—she loved him, seeing only his paternal side and not the monster he truly was.

My mother did as he said. She paid the money and covered everything up. But in the process of covering up the truth, she discovered this wasn’t his first offense. Before coming here, he had done similar things in other cities. He was a serial rapist!

As I began reading the chat logs, I felt even sicker; I was nauseated, nearly vomiting. They were exchanges between him and his buddies, mocking and ridiculing women, describing everything he had done to them.

The worst message was the one where he said he didn’t care; his exact words were: "I don’t give a damn, those two were drunk as hell, I just gave them a little something extra to make them behave, they don’t even know what happened. It’s their fault for getting drunk at a party. I fucked both of them. They played hard to get at first, but they really wanted it, so I gave it to them."

"That’s disgusting." I closed the folder and tossed it onto the table. "Do what you have to do."

"You know there’s enough evidence here to put him away for a long time, right?" Investigator Magnus asked me.

"As far as I’m concerned, you can kill him. I just want him away from Ava and my family." I answered firmly, but inside, my rage was burning white-hot. How could I be the son of such a revolting man? How could my grandfather have allowed my sweet, kind mother to marry this criminal?

"Joseph, everything will be okay," Ryan placed his hand on my shoulder. "Kyle will take the lead on this, follow up with the investigation; you don’t need to get involved."

"We’ll try to keep this confidential, Joseph, but you’re public figures, and this will eventually come out," Jace told me.

"Keep it as confidential as possible. My people will work to protect the company’s and the pack’s image," I said. "I need someone watching Ava now more than ever."

"Don’t worry," Draven said, "I’ve arranged for two security guards to watch her without her knowledge."

"She’s going to be furious when she finds out," I commented.

"That’s not a problem. What matters is keeping her safe." Draven shrugged.

"Well, we’re off to investigate." Magnus said, leaving with Jace after saying goodbye. "We’ll keep you updated on the situation."

"Joseph, I’ll stay in touch with your people to relay information. Who would you recommend?" Kyle asked.

"Contact Beta Jared. Thank you for taking the lead on this," I answered.

"That’s what friends are for," Kyle patted my shoulder.

"And for this, and to drown our sorrows," Ryan said, "let’s go to my place."

"Thanks, Ryan, but I need to get back to the company; I have a lot to do." I stood up, saying goodbye to my friends and thanking them for their support.

I was desperate to see Ava, couldn’t wait another moment. I went to her mother’s apartment building and parked outside when I saw her walking out laughing, embracing a tall, mature Alpha, Kenneth Flynn.

I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. Intense jealousy ate away at my insides like a tumor.

Dean howled in agony inside my mind. "No! She’s ours! Go get her back now!"

I sat frozen, unable to breathe through the pain crushing my chest. Had she found someone new in the two weeks I’d been gone? The thought was unbearable.

Ava looked relaxed and at ease. If he truly made her happy, what right did I have to disrupt that?

"Maybe it’s over," I whispered to Dean, who snarled in response.

"It’s NOT over! She’s our mate! We can’t lose her!" Dean growled, his pain matching mine.

I started the car and drove away before they finished saying goodbye. I couldn’t bear to see her kissing another man. I left, abandoning all company matters, and returned to the hotel where I drank myself into oblivion in my suite.