Cade POV:
I stalked into my study, the scent of old leather and whiskey doing nothing to soothe the raging beast inside me. I yanked at my tie, the silk knot feeling like a noose around my neck.
Her eyes. All I could see were her goddamn eyes. Cold, defiant, and utterly alien.
Finn Hayes, my Beta, stood by the desk, a manila folder in his hand. He placed it in front of me with the quiet efficiency I usually appreciated. Tonight, it grated on my nerves.
"Alpha, are you certain about this?" Finn asked, his voice carefully neutral. "Rejecting a fated mate... the consequences can be severe."
"She brought this on herself," I snapped, the sound echoing in the quiet room. I picked up the pen. "She thinks this little drama will get my attention? I'll give her exactly what she asked for."
I scrawled my name on the line. The nib of the pen tore slightly at the paper, the sound a satisfying rip in the oppressive silence.
The moment the signature was complete, a hollow ache bloomed in my chest. A strange, unnerving emptiness. I ignored it, shoving the feeling down and labeling it as anger. It was the insult to my authority, nothing more.
I tossed the folder across the desk at Finn. "Arrange everything for tomorrow."
I stood up, needing to move, to do something other than think about the woman in that hospital room. I grabbed my car keys from the bowl on the credenza.
"I'm going to see Sloane," I announced, as much to myself as to Finn.
The thought of Sloane-her softness, her fragility, her unwavering devotion-was the only antidote to the poison Aurora had just injected into my veins. I needed to be reminded of what was real, of who truly needed me.
I left the study without another word, the image of Aurora's face a burning brand behind my eyes. I would go to Sloane, and I would forget all about this madness.
Aurora POV:
I closed the door to my bedroom-a room that had never felt like mine-and twisted the lock. The click was a small, satisfying sound of finality.
For three years, this room had been my gilded cage. Decorated in pale creams and soft whites, it was a reflection of the woman Cade wanted me to be: meek, submissive, invisible.
I went to my jewelry box, a gift from Eleanor that was more of a statement than a present. I ignored the pearls and simple gold chains. My fingers went to the velvet lining, prying up a false bottom I had installed myself, a relic of a life I was only now remembering.
Inside lay a sleek, black satellite phone. Untraceable. Unhackable.
I turned on its power. I took a deep breath, the air tasting of freedom, and dialed a number that was etched into my very soul.
It was answered on the first ring.
"Boss? Is that really you?" The voice was young, frantic with a mixture of disbelief and explosive joy.
A genuine warmth, the first I'd felt in years, spread through my chest. "Lucian," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "It's me."
Lucian Vance—heir to the Vance family fortune and the sharpest programmer on our team—was practically sobbing on the other end of the line. "You've been gone for three years! Three years! We thought you… were going to stay there forever."
"I had an accident," I cut him off, my tone crisp and businesslike. No time for sentimental talk. Not yet. "I lost my memory. But I've recovered now."
I didn't have time for explanations. I was his commander, and he was my soldier. "I need you to do a few things. First, be at Sterling Manor tomorrow at nine in the morning. You're picking me up."
Lucian froze. "Sterling Manor?" His voice was thick with bewilderment.
"Yes, that's where I'm living now," I said briefly. "More precisely, where I'm trapped. Because right now, I'm Cade Sterling's… partner."
A sharp gasp came through the phone, followed by dead silence. I could hear his ragged breathing, as if he was struggling to process the sheer absurdity of it. A few seconds later, he exploded in a furious growl: "What?! That bastard?! He dared—he actually dared to lay his hands on the Montgomery heir?! How dare he treat you like that?!"
"So," I interrupted, my voice firm, "tomorrow we're going to city hall and officially dissolving this godforsaken partnership."
Lucian fell silent again, but this time the silence was laced with relief. He drew a deep breath, his voice now brimming with barely contained excitement and resolve: "Damn right! Boss! He's not worthy of you! That arrogant jerk—who does he think he is? The Montgomery heir, our commander—how could anyone let themselves be shackled by someone like him? You should have done this ages ago! I've always hated his guts!"
"Second," I continued, a small smile touching my lips. "I need you to use our resources. Dig into everything you can find on Sterling Corporation's recent activities."
"Already on it, boss. And you'll love this," Lucian's voice turned sly. "About a month ago, Sterling Corp tried to hire 'MY' through a dozen different headhunters. Offered a ridiculous sum for a consultation."
I raised an eyebrow. 'MY'. My alias. The name whispered in fear in corporate boardrooms and government agencies. The world's most elusive hacker.
"And who did they want me to target?" I asked, a sense of dark amusement curling in my gut.
"Their main competitor," Lucian said, and I could hear the grin in his voice. "Montgomery Enterprises."
A cold, sharp smile spread across my face. The irony was exquisite. Cade Sterling wanted to hire me to destroy my own family's company. To destroy myself.
"I see," I said softly. "Be here on time tomorrow, Lucian."
I hung up the phone, and the room fell into an eerie silence. I knew clearly that from this moment on, things were different. Before, others called the shots; now, it's all up to me.
I walked to the vast walk-in closet. Pushing past the rows of pale, inoffensive dresses Cade had approved of, I went to the very back. Tucked away in a garment bag was a dress I had bought on a rare, secret outing, a rebellion I hadn't even understood at the time.
I unzipped the bag.
It was a long-sleeved dress of deep, emerald green silk. The color of life, of envy, of poison.
The color of my new beginning.
