xa

rning the familiar comfort into a gilded, suffocating cage. I dragged my worn Louis Vuitton duffel down from the closet top and tossed my clothes inside one after another. M

liberate, as if they had long hidden a cruel secret at my expense. I swept the frames up in one sharp motion and tossed them st

maid, pushed the door open without waiting for my permission. Her expression was ca

id, her voice flat and devoid of any warmth. "He's

d the heavy diamond ring off my finger and flicked it hard toward her chest. It bounced off her collarbone and cla

left. F

f harsh bleach. I slipped through the industrial kitchen, passing wide-eyed Omega maids and frozen, silent chefs. Not a single person moved to stop me. Not one dared speak. I did not slow

er Soho's cobblestone streets, I had spilled every ugly truth: Floyd's schemes, the damning dashcam footage, Barret's

n, her signature warm citrus scent washed over me. It usually calmed my frayed nerves, but tonight

in sharp, rapid succession. Each loop grew tighter, her fists clenched so fiercely her knuckles

them rattle, then filled both to the brim in a single, furious pour. It lo

made no move to drink. After a thick, h

the board is going

thick and unsha

strip every single thing I've built from t

into a deathly quiet for a sing

cracking like a whip, disbelief and

sacrifice-you bleed for that empire!" She raked a frustrated hand through her hair, then sl

gged. "We'll leak the dashcam footage. Hand it straight to the press and expose every last one of Floyd's lies." Her

uncle only care about one thing-their pristine reputation. If that video goes p

eration warring in her voice. "This might be the onl

"No. A scandal like this will trigger an immediate SEC investigation. Alexander Pack's stock will cras

rms tightly over her chest. "W

oting rights." My voice was steady, unyielding. "I need a backer-someone with enough capital a

morless laugh. "You're serious. Who on earth ar

gines, and him. A Lycan. Tall, immaculately composed, exuding a cold, unrivaled authority that commanded every room he s

Lycan. His aura was so overpowering it left me breathless. That cedar-and-i

shed entirely, replaced by raw dread. She gripped

shaky whisper. "Alexa... that's Alaric Maxwell. The Ghost of Wall Street. The Lyc

s. I turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at t

I whispered. "I've d

slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floorboard