“We merge the companies. Consolidate power.”
“Exactly. Ravencrest Global and Thorpe Industries become one empire. Under our control.” There was a pause, then Selene’s voice sounded again. It was softer this time, almost intimate. “We’ve waited long enough to be together, Ethan. I’m not letting some charity case and her bastard stand between us and everything we’ve built.”
“We’ll move soon, but we must be smart. An accident. Clean. Untraceable. And once Dimitri is drowning in grief and guilt, the pack will see what I’ve always known—he’s not strong enough to lead alone. He never was.”
The recording ended.
Silence crashed down around us like a tidal wave.
The urge to break something—to break someone—was overwhelming. My wolf was snarling, clawing at my insides, demanding I shift and tear Selene apart. He wanted to hunt down Ethan and rip outhis throat.
My hands were shaking. I pressed them flat against the table, knuckles white, trying to anchor myself. Now I was absolutely certain about who sent that parcel to Isabella.
“When?” My voice came out rough, barely controlled. “When was this?”
“Just a few hours before the board meeting. I had surveillance installed in Selene’s car.” Edmund said.
“Deploy more security,” I said, my voice cold and steady despite the fury burning through me. “I want people on Isabella and Adele around the clock. Discreet. Make sure they don’t notice. I want our people watching them.”
“Already done.” Edmund paused. “But Dimitri, you need to tell Isabella about this threat. She has to be aware that there are…people trying to hurt her and her daughter.”
I shook my head. “That won’t be necessary. I don’t want her to panic.”
“She has a right to—”
“I said no, Edmund.” I stood abruptly, unable to sit still any longer. “If I tell Isabella about this, if she knows the real extent of the threat against her and Adele, what do you think she’ll do?”
Edmund was quiet, but I could see the answer in his eyes.
“Exactly, Edmund. She’ll leave. Again,” I said, my voice hard. “She’ll take Adele and disappear, just like she did five years ago.”
“So, you’re going to keep her in the dark while people actively plot to murder her and your daughter?”
“I’m going to protect her.” I turned to face him fully. “I’m going to make sure nothing happens to either of them, even if she hates me for how I do it.”
Edmund let out a sigh, but didn’t protest. “I don’t think Isabella will be too pleased about this when she finds out. She’s very protective of Adele.”
“At least she’ll be alive to be angry with me.” I crossed my arms. “I can live with her hatred, Edmund. What I can’t live with is losing them. Not again. Not when I just got her back.”
Edmund studied me for a long moment, then nodded his head. “I trust you, Dimitri. You’re a wise man.”
I smiled at his kind words. “Thank you, Edmund.”
He stood slowly, like his joints ached, and moved toward the door. But he stopped with his hand on the handle, his back to me.
“Your father would be proud of you,” he said quietly. “And I’m proud of you—for doing things right this time.”
Five years ago, I’d thought that doing things right meant gaining the approval of everyone—my mother, the pack council. But that had only led me down a path that I would forever regret. Now, the Moon Goddess had given me a second chance to do things differently, and I would not waste it.
I smiled, watching as Edmund opened the door and disappeared behind it.
I settled back into the seat, pulled out my phone, and opened the tracking app, watching the small blue dot pulse steadily on the screen. Isabella’s apartment. Adele was home. Safe. The GPS tracker I’d embedded in that plush dragon had been a calculated risk. If Isabella ever found out, she’d probably kill me herself. But it was worth it.
Isabella had mentioned during one of our brief phone conversations that Adele had fallen in love with the dragon. “She takes it everywhere,” Isabella had said, her voice softening in that way it only did when she talked about our daughter. “She even named it Ember.”
As for Isabella, she was probably driving home to Adele right now, and I made a mental note to call her later and check on her. I hoped she would answer the call.
I closed the app and stared out at the city sprawling below the windows.
