Chapter Five

Natalie pov 

The glow of my laptop screen was the only light in the dark office. 

Outside, the city lights flickered, but my eyes were glued to the red-flagged document on the Blackwood server.

My heart pounded a terrifying rhythm against my ribs. 'Marcus Ernest. Elena Ernest.' My parents.

I stared at their names written under a heavy Blackwood security seal. 

My hands trembled as I clicked through the attached files, trying to pull up more information. Most of the text was covered in solid black ink.

 Sentences were crossed out, dates were missing, pages of financial records had been moved into deeply restricted pack archives that even my administrative code could not touch.

Someone had scrubbed these records. They had spent a long time hiding something.

I leaned back in my chair, pressing my cold palms against my burning eyes. 

All my life, I believed my parents died in a tragic rogue-wolf attack when I was seven years old.

 That was the official story the pack elders gave me. I was just a child back then, too young to ask questions, too broken by grief to wonder why two strong wolves could be cornered so easily. 

I had accepted it. I had spent my life believing I was just an unlucky orphan who turned out wolf-less.

Now, sitting in the dark room where I built Adrian’s empire, the official story felt like a carefully constructed lie.

I dug deeper into the hidden financial archives, bypassing basic security protocols. I pulled up old transaction records from twenty years ago. 

My breathing grew shallow as a paper trail emerged. My father had not just been an ordinary pack member; he owned a small research firm

 Shortly before his death, he was negotiating a massive, multi-million-dollar land and bloodline agreement with the Blackwood family.

Then came the red flag. Three weeks before the accident, my father abruptly tried to pull out of the deal. He tried to cancel the contracts, lock his research, and sever all ties with Blackwood.

Three weeks later, both of my parents were dead.

My throat felt tight, dry as dust. Why did he run? What did he find?

A sudden, terrifying thought took root in my mind.

 For years, I believed my wolf-less status was a biological failure, a cruel joke played on me by nature. But what if it was not? What if something had been done to me?

Memories I had locked away for years began to resurface, jagged and broken like shattered glass.

I remembered my mother’s pale, terrified face whenever powerful visiting Alphas came to our packhouse. 

I remembered my father pulling me into his study, his hands shaking as he held my shoulders. *"Never let them see how smart you are, Natalia,"* he had whispered into my ear, his voice tight with fear. *"Never show them what you can do. Promise me."*

I remembered the night they died. My mother had rushed into my bedroom while the house was dark. 

She didn't give me a stuffed animal or a toy, she pulled a simple silver chain over my head, tucking a small, heavy stone pendant beneath my shirt.

 *"Keep this hidden, sweet girl,"* she had sobbed, pressing a frantic kiss to my forehead. *"Never take it off."*

I reached up with a trembling hand, slipping my fingers beneath the collar of my shirt. 

My skin met the cool, familiar stone of the pendant. I had worn it every single day for three years, believing it was just a mother’s parting gift.

The air in the room felt heavy, suffocating. They had been protecting me from Blackwood.

An automated email popped up on my screen, shattering the heavy silence. It was an invitation from the executive board for a morning meeting.

The subject line read: 'Transfer of Five-Year Strategic Expansion Plan to Scarlett Crescent.'

I stared at the screen, a bitter, icy smile creeping across my lips. 

Adrian was not losing any time. He was already handing my soul to his new Luna.

The next morning, I sat at the edge of the long glass table in the main boardroom. 

I wore the dark blue dress Adrian liked, appearing as quiet and obedient as he wished. I did not say a single word.

I watched as Marcus and the senior directors sat around Scarlett, pouring praise on her like she was a goddess. 

Scarlett sat beside Adrian, her long blonde hair falling gracefully over her designer jacket. She smiled, accepting their compliments for the expansion strategy I had spent six sleepless months creating.

"This regional acquisition model is pure genius, Lady Scarlett," Marcus gushed, sliding my printed document toward her. "The way you restructured the territory tax laws will save us millions."

"Thank you, Marcus," Scarlett replied, her voice smooth and sweet. She flashed a dazzling smile at Adrian. "I just wanted to make sure I brought something truly valuable to Blackwood when I became Luna."

Adrian stroked her hand, his eyes filled with pride. He looked at her the way I had prayed he would look at me for three years. He did not look at me once. To him, I was just the quiet girl taking notes in the corner.

Let them celebrate and steal.

Under the table, my fingers worked silently on my lap. 

I was not backing down. I quietly backed up every single original draft, every timestamp, every legal filing, and every digital footprint proving that I created the strategy. 

I routed the evidence into three separate, encrypted external drives. If Adrian wanted to erase my name from Blackwood, I was going to make sure the truth was burned into the foundation of his downfall.

When the meeting ended, I returned to my office and re-entered the confidential database. I used a custom decryption code I had built to crack the final locked attachment on my parents' file.

The progress bar filled up. '100%. Access Granted.'

An old, high-resolution photograph opened on my screen.

My breath caught in my throat. My parents stood in a dimly lit marble hallway. 

They looked young, but their eyes were wild with fear. Standing right beside them was Adrian’s father, the former Alpha of Blackwood, looking down at them with cold triumph.

The photograph was taken twenty years ago, years before Adrian ever stepped into that college library to recruit me.

My eyes drifted to the background of the image. Behind the adults stood four figures dressed in dark, formal robes. 

On their lapels was a golden crest I had never seen before, a coiled serpent holding a broken moon.

One of the robed figures was reaching out, holding a small object in his palm.

I zoomed in on the image until the pixels blurred. My heart nearly stopped.

It was the exact same stone pendant resting against my chest.

I dragged my mouse down to read the handwritten note scanned onto the back of the photograph. The ink was faded, damaged by water, but the final sentence was still clear:

'...they are hiding the child. The girl must be secured before she learns what her blood can do.'

A violent shiver ran down my spine.

Adrian had not found me by accident in that library.

 He had not chosen me because he admired my hard work. I had been targeted from the very beginning. The Blackwood family had been watching me my entire life.