I saw several board members physically recoil. Heard gasps of shock and horror.
They’d just heard Selene and Ethan casually discuss murdering my daughter and her mother.
The recording ended.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
I stood slowly, my eyes locked on the screen where Ethan’s face was showing again. He looked pale now, his smugness completely gone.
“I think that answers any questions about today’s vote,” I said, my voice deadly calm.
Ethan’s image flickered. “This is—you can’t—that recording is inadmissible. It was obtained illegally—”
“This isn’t a court of law,” I cut him off. “This is a private company. My company. And you just admitted, in your own words, to conspiracy, fraud, and attempted murder.”
Almost immediately, the screen went black. Ethan had disconnected.
Coward.
I turned my attention to Selene, who was backing toward the door. “Going somewhere?”
“This is a setup. You fabricated that recording—”
“Did I fabricate the attack on my daughter four days ago? The one where someone dressed as a waiter tried to drown her?” My voice rose, fury bleeding through the control I’d been maintaining. “The one that nearly killed her? Was that fabricated, too?”
Selene’s face twisted with something ugly. “Your bastard daughter shouldn’t exist in the first place. She’s a stain on the Ravencrest name—”
She didn’t get to finish.
I was across the room before I consciously decided to move, my hand wrapped around her throat, slamming her against the wall. My wolf was snarling inside me, demanding blood, demanding justice.
“Dimitri!” Edmund’s voice cut through the rage. “Don’t. She’s not worth it.”
He was right. As much as I wanted to end her right here, right now, she needed to face justice properly. Face the consequences of every choice she’d made.
I released her throat, stepping back as she gasped for air.
“Security,” I said, not taking my eyes off her. “Detain her. She’s not to leave this building.”
Two guards appeared immediately, grabbing Selene by her arms. I’d already had them stationed outside the conference room in case Selene tried to run.
“You can’t do this!” she screamed. “My father will—”
“Your father will what? Start a war over a daughter who betrayed her Mate bond, conspired to commit murder, and tried to steal from the Ravencrest family?” I smiled coldly. “Somehow, I don’t think even he will defend you after this.”
She spat at me, but the guards were already dragging her away, her screams echoing down the hallway.
I turned back to the remaining board members. They looked shell-shocked, their faces ranging from horror to disbelief to—in a few cases—grim satisfaction.
“I apologize for the dramatic presentation,” I said, settling back into my seat. “But I wanted you all to understand exactly what we’ve been dealing with. This conspiracy has been in motion for five years. Five years of Selene and Ethan working together, manipulating situations, positioning pieces on the board.”
“You knew?” One of the board members asked, his weathered face incredulous. “You knew this entire time?”
“Yes. Long enough to gather evidence. Long enough to build an airtight case.” I looked around the table. “I couldn’t act sooner. Selene’s father, Alpha Cornelius, has been an ally of my family for decades. To move against his daughter without proof would have started a pack war. And I needed to understand the full scope of the conspiracy. Who else was involved. How deep the rot went.”
I let that implication hang in the air. Let them wonder if I suspected any of them.
“But when they tried to kill my daughter—not once, but twice—I couldn’t play their game anymore.” My voice hardened. “So here we are. The evidence is clear. The conspiracy is exposed. And I want to make one thing absolutely clear to everyone in this room.”
