There are over a dozen tabs running. I minimise them all and head to her emails, scrolling until I find one marked as read with the subject line:
Look at me.
My stomach churns as I click it open.
Before I even read the text, the images hit me first. I scroll and scroll… and scroll, my chest tightening with each new picture.
There are hundreds.Hundreds. And they’re all of Revea.
Caught off guard, never looking at the camera, clearly taken at a distance. At her salon, walking down the street, getting into her car.
Inside her flat.
…Asleep in her bed.
I bite my tongue, use the sharp sting to keep my hands from snapping the laptop in half. I inhale. Close my eyes. Force my breathing steady before I look again, scrolling back to the top.
£500,000. Tomorrow night.
Beneath it sits a purple hyperlink. When I click, CCTV footage fills the screen. One I’ve already seen.
Revea punching that alpha, pushing him down, pressing her shears to his throat. But then it cuts abruptly. This version is much shorter than the one Rue showed us weeks ago. Skilfully edited.
Below it, more text:
You run a very public business, Miss Monroe. Imagine how your clients might react when they see this. Imagine how the police will react when the public starts asking why the chief’s sister gets to assault an alpha with a weapon and walk away.
Trials are messy things. Especially when the public decides someone needs to be made an example of.
And you would make the perfect one.
A violent omega threatening an alpha with a blade.
Omegas like you are starting to forget your place in this world. Perhaps a very public trial will remind everyone exactly where they belong.
Pay the money, and the footage stays private. Refuse, and tomorrow night, this goes everywhere.
News outlets. Social media. The police.
We will be watching. If you tell anyone, the deal is off.
Money or ruin.
Your choice.
“Revea,” I murmur, trying to keep my voice calm. “Please tell me you haven’t sent any money.”
She shakes her head. “I know the basics—never negotiate with terrorists.” She smiles sadly. “Which means soon, this will be everywhere. I’ll most likely be arrested tomorrow.”
I leave the laptop on the side as I close the distance between us, looking down at her.
“You’re not going to prison.” I can’t hold back my growl.
“It’s assault, what I did to him.” She nods to her laptop. “Excessive force. I broke his nose, threatened him, held shears to his throat.” She closes her eyes, trying to fight back tears that fall anyway. “I’ve been researching since my flight, then all day. Every answer says the same thing—”
“Do you know how easy it is to find what you want online? You can trick yourself into believing anything if you search hard enough—”
“That’s not this, Kaiden. You canseethe evidence.”
