Chapter 87 Someone from across the table laughed, looking at Professor Liam. “Old Liam, you really can’t help yourself, can you? We’re supposed to be eating and you’re still going on about work p> Another person chimed in, grinning. “He was doing the same thing at the exhibition. Spent forever
Chapter 86 The group moved toward Dante like. The Industry leaders, all of them, closing the distance. Elodie and Johnny followed a few steps behind. Dante saw them coming. His expression didn’t change. It remained calm, and composed, like he was watching people he barely knew approach. Nothing flickered across
Chapter 85 SIENNA~ I wasn’t actually desperate to work at Cole. Not really. The company was impressive, sure. Johnny Gray’s operation was one of the best in the pack territories but I had options. Dante was already arranging for me to meet Professor Nolan. That door was opening, and it
Chapter 84 LOGAN~ Logan spotted Johnny across the hall and his jaw tightened. This was the problem with these events. Too many people. Too many connections that needed managing. And Johnny Gray wasn’t someone he could afford to ignore, not with the kind of influence the man had in the
Chapter 83 ELODIE’S POV~ I thought we were done. Thought I could just escape, maybe. Get back inside. Start working on that impossible review. Drown myself in work until I forgot the look in Nolan’s eyes. But he turned back and looked right at me. My spine went rigid before
Chapter 82 SIENNA’S POV~ I stared at Dante, trying to process what he’d just said. “What do you mean he doesn’t think highly of you p> That didn’t… it couldn’t mean what I was thinking, right? Dante’s expression was so calm. Too calm. Like he’d just told me the weather
Chapter 81 ELODIE’S POV~ I saw them coming before Johnny did. The conference hall was filling up with voices bouncing off the high ceilings, chairs scraping, that weird echo that happens when too many people try to talk at once. Johnny was showing me something on his tablet, some note
Chapter 80 ELODIE’S POV~ Elodie was mid-sentence, saying something about encryption layers, her finger tracing the screen of the tablet, when she paused. Just for a second. Half a second, maybe. Simon noticed. “You okay p> “Yeah, I just—” Elodie shook her head, refocusing on the screen. “Sorry. The biometric
Chapter 79 ELODIE’S POV~ Over here, at the far end of the hall, I was trying to focus on what Mr. Tyler was saying. Something about drone technology. The new models. How the stabilization systems had improved. I wasn’t really listening. “Over there,” Mr. Tyler said suddenly. He nodded toward
Chapter 78 SIENNA’S POV~ The exhibition hall was packed. I smoothed down my dress, the red one that made me look good under these lights and scanned the room. Tech displays were everywhere. People in expensive suits all pretending to care about algorithms and robotics when really they just wanted
Chapter 77 ELODIE’S POV~ I hung up the phone and just… stood there for a second. Staring at the screen. The driver couldn’t make it. Of course he couldn’t. Nothing was working today. Nothing had been working for weeks, actually, but who was counting? “I’ll have someone handle this for
Chapter 76 Liora~ When her mom asked if she’d eaten lunch, Liora felt the tension drain out of her shoulders. She didn’t sound angry at all. Not about Liora sneaking away Saturday morning, not about the whole weekend spent with Daddy and Aunt Sienna. Relief washed over her. See? She
Chapter 75 Elodie’s POV I shouldn’t have done it. Shouldn’t have opened my laptop when I got back to my apartment. Shouldn’t have searched for the gala. Shouldn’t have looked at the comments. But I couldn’t help myself. Like pressing on a bruise to see if it still hurts. The
Chapter 74 Elodie’s POV The truth was, I didn’t mind being alone. Actually, I preferred it. Here, in this empty resort with just the rain and the hot springs and my thoughts, I could breathe. Could exist without having to perform. Without having to pretend I was okay. So I
Chapter 73 Elodie’s POV Then I heard his voice, that deep Alpha timbre that used to make my pulse quicken, but makes my chest tighten so much now. “Have you eaten yet p> “Not yet, but Mommy’s almost done cooking!” Liora’s voice carried from the living room, bright with excitement.
Chapter 72 Logan was practically salivating over the possibilities. For years, the Brown family had poured money into the AI sector, massive investments, aggressive acquisitions, partnerships with tech firms across multiple Pack territories. But despite all that capital, they lacked one crucial thing: strong core technology. Their development had stagnated.
Chapter 71 Elodie’s POV The faint smile I’d been forcing disappeared the second I saw Liora’s name on my screen. I stared at it for two, maybe three seconds, my thumb hovering over the answer button. Finally, I pressed it. “Hello p> “Mommy!” Her voice was sweet, that little sing-song
Chapter 70 Elodie’s POV Cara had been quiet this whole time, but I could feel her piecing it together, who these people were, what they’d done to me. “Ah, so they’re just a bunch of scumbags,” she muttered under her breath, loud enough for them to hear. Then she grabbed
Chapter 69 Elodie’s POV~ “It’s nothing, Grandma. Really. I just didn’t want to go back right now and I miss you so much.” I tried forcing a smile to my lips but failed woefully and saw as my grandmother kept searching my face and then pursed her lips as though
Chapter 68 Elodie’s POV I was rubbing my temples, trying to figure out how to tell Liora I couldn’t come, when she spoke again. “Daddy’s on a business trip, so it’s just me and Sabina here. I’m so lonely, Mommy. Please come home soon p> Dante was on a business