Chapter 4

The next morning, I found the study drawer open.

The resin night-light lay shattered in the recycling bin. Cracks split the ultrasound into jagged pieces, and the footprint card had been dropped into cleaning solution until the ink began to bleed.

Vivienne stood in the doorway, white-faced and wide-eyed. "I didn't mean to do it. I came in looking for my mood journal, and when I saw something from the hospital, my wolf took over. By the time I came to, the light was on the floor."

I picked up the wooden base. A sharp edge of resin cut my fingertip, and a drop of blood landed across the words Little Star.

"The drawer was locked."

Tears filled her eyes on cue. "Maybe one of the housekeepers forgot to lock it. I know you've been emotional since the crash, Aria, but you can't blame me for everything."

Margaret hurried in at the sound of her voice and immediately stepped between us.

"It's only a lamp. Have another one made. You know Vivienne has PTSD, so why would you keep something like that in the house?"

She hadn't looked closely enough to see what was sealed inside it. She hadn't looked closely enough at me to notice that my body had changed.

I set the broken base in the box and met her eyes. "What if I told you there can never be another one?"

Margaret frowned. "Stop saying awful things. The baby's fine, and you're cornering a traumatized widow over some trinket. What kind of Luna behaves like this?"

Behind her, Vivienne watched me in silence.

She knew the truth. She also knew Margaret didn't, and she was perfectly happy to let Kieran's mother keep attacking me.

I had planned to wait until Kieran came home and let him see the truth for himself. Standing there with my son's ruined footprint in my hand, I decided I was done waiting for anything from him.

I called my attorney and moved the finance meeting from the following week to that afternoon.

Three members of Blackpine's finance committee, two elders, and Margaret sat around the conference table. Vivienne arrived last, her eyes still red from crying.

I placed the audit file in front of them. "Over the last four years, $2.16 million was paid to Vivienne from accounts jointly owned by Kieran and me. That amount covered a private residence, medical care, family debt, and personal expenses unrelated to any pack responsibility."

The committee chair flipped through the first set of statements, and his expression hardened.

I opened the public settlement records for Damon's life insurance and trust. "Vivienne received $4.2 million after Damon's death. She wasn't left without an income, a home, or the means to pay for treatment."

Vivienne's lips went pale. "That money came from Damon. I was afraid to touch it, and Kieran offered to take care of me."

"He can be generous from his private account. He can't use jointly owned marital assets or the pack trust without my approval."

I turned to the next tab. "These are the shipping records for my baby's belongings. Nothing was delivered to the pack relief center. Everything went to Vivienne's cousin. Margaret approved the transfer, but Vivienne arranged the delivery."

Margaret snapped her head around. "You told me a group of newborn orphaned pups needed those supplies."

Vivienne gripped the hem of her dress. "My cousin just had a baby, and she's struggling. I was going to replace everything before Aria needed it."

"How exactly were you planning to replace gifts made for my son, with his name on them?"

I connected my laptop to the screen. A social media photo appeared, showing her cousin's baby wrapped in my forest-green blanket. A sticker covered most of Little Star's embroidered name, but the last gold star still showed.

The only sound in the room was the low hum of the air conditioner.

The committee suspended Vivienne's access to the pack trust on the spot. Until the audit was complete, she would also have to leave the Alpha House.

One elder asked whether I intended to freeze her medical treatment. I slid her active insurance policy across the table and pointed out that I had protected every legitimate appointment and prescription. The restrictions applied only to private shopping, family debts, and withdrawals no one had authorized.

The committee chair gave Vivienne until sundown to surrender her cards and account access. "This isn't punishment," he said. "It's what should've happened the first time Alpha funds and private money were mixed."

She ran from the room. This time, Margaret didn't follow.

Upstairs, I packed. I didn't own as much as I had once thought. Clothes could be replaced; furniture didn't matter. The only things I needed were my legal documents, my work files, and the box of broken pieces no one else had the right to keep.

I left the signed divorce petition and mate-dissolution application on the table beside the front door.

The lock turned as I zipped my suitcase.

Kieran walked in with cold air at his back and Vivienne behind him. She looked as if she'd cried the entire drive.

He had clearly heard about the meeting. Anger tightened every line of his face. "If you wanted to review the accounts, you could've waited until I came home. Why would you cut off Vivienne's medical care when I wasn't here? She nearly lost control on the road."

"I froze her luxury spending and her access to the trust. Her insurance still works."

"She said the accident frightened you and now you're assuming the worst about everything. We can sit down and talk this through, but don't drag a suitcase out to make a point."

I looked past him at Vivienne.

That was the story she'd fed him for four days: I was shaken, emotional, and overreacting. Nothing serious. Nothing he needed to see for himself.

I lifted the suitcase and headed for the door.

Kieran stepped in front of me and reached out to stop me. His forearm caught the edge of my coat, pulling the loose fabric away from my body, and he went perfectly still.

A werewolf couldn't mistake the change in his mate's scent. There was no longer a pup beneath my heart, no living presence entwined with mine. The rounded belly he had left at the crash was gone.

Kieran stared at my flat stomach as every trace of color drained from his face.

"Aria... Where's our pup?"