LOGINSilas’s POVThe moment Elara placed Rowan’s note beside the documents we had recovered, I knew we were dealing with something more deliberate than a missing register, because the arrangement of the dates and the careful wording suggested that Rowan had been following a trail long before either of us understood how deeply the second authorization had been buried inside Blackwood’s records.I stood across the study table, studying the handwriting while Elara compared the note with the entries we had already collected, and although I had read the words several times, the meaning behind them continued to escape me. Rowan had written little, leaving no direct accusation and no explanation of the danger he had apparently discovered, but one reference appeared repeatedly in his notes, always beside dates connected to the review of Elara’s file.“He wasn’t merely looking for the person who approved the authorization,” Elara said, running her finger beneath one of the dates, “because if that h
Elara’s Pov: I concentrated back on what I was reading, ignoring Silas completely. The phrase written inside the envelope had not stopped bothering me since we discovered it, particularly because the second authorization remained valid until the heir was secured, which suggested that whoever created the arrangement had anticipated the possibility of losing control over individual members of the operation while ensuring that their larger objective could continue regardless of what happened to them.I watched Silas place the envelope beside the transfer register before carefully arranging the remaining documents across his desk, and although his movements were controlled, I could see that he was struggling to contain his anger as he examined the evidence that someone had used his family’s authority to establish an operation that had nearly cost me my life.“Before we begin examining these records again, I want every document we recovered from that property accounted for, including the
Elara’s Pov: I compared the date range in the folder with the entries in the ordinary transfer ledger, checking each number until I was certain that the secondary record had been reviewed after the original arrival entry had already been created. That meant someone had returned to my information later, but the surviving papers did not explain what had prompted the review or whether it had anything to do with the pregnancy that would eventually place my life in danger.“Someone examined my file after I had already arrived at Blackwood,” I told Silas, pointing toward the two dates. “We need to know what changed between those entries and why my information required another review. If this was only a routine administrative process, there should be some explanation, but whoever prepared this copy removed the details that might have given us one.”Silas searched the neighboring folders, checking whether any of the other records contained a similar notation, and discovere
Elara’s Pov: Silas ordered the fragment secured with the other documents, making sure the guards understood that nothing recovered from the property was to be discarded or handled carelessly. Before we could continue examining the remaining indexes, one of the guards approached us with a report that made Silas turn toward the entrance.A vehicle had been spotted near the outer approach to the property, remaining at a distance before moving away from the road leading toward the building. The guards had not been able to identify its occupants, and there was no confirmation that the vehicle had entered the grounds or that its presence had anything to do with our investigation.Silas immediately ordered the guards to remain alert, but he did not send anyone after the vehicle, refusing to divide our small team or leave the evidence unsecured in pursuit of an uncertain lead. I understood the decision, even though the timing unsettled me, because the vehicle had appeared after
Elara’s Pov:I had begun to understand that the abandoned Blackwood property was not simply a place where old family secrets had been stored, but a place where someone had carefully decided which secrets deserved to survive and which ones needed to disappear. The more records Silas and I examined, the more obvious it became that the missing register was not our only problem, and continuing to search the same rooms for something that might have been removed years ago would accomplish nothing if we did not first understand how the remaining documents were connected.Silas stood beside the damaged cabinet, studying the empty compartment while I arranged the papers we had already examined across the desk, separating the transfer records from the authorization documents and the fragments recovered from the hidden spaces. The small communication device discovered beneath the vehicle had been secured without anyone attempting to activate it, and the partial reference number we had found earl
Elara’s Pov: “If someone knew we were coming, they might have expected us to find the records,” I said quietly, looking toward Silas. “But we cannot assume the device was used to follow us until we know what it is capable of doing.”Silas agreed, although his expression showed that he shared my concern. He ordered the guards to examine the vehicle carefully and check whether anything else had been concealed around it before we decided how to proceed.Once the search was complete, we returned to the documents and organized the evidence into separate groups, keeping the property records apart from the material connected to Rowan’s murder. I wanted to avoid making the same mistake we had made earlier, when the trail leading toward Victor’s territory had encouraged us to treat separate pieces of evidence as though they belonged to one deliberate plan.The shipping records had pointed toward Victor, but we had never established who approved the shipments or whether
POV: ElaraI was sitting by the window in my newly emptied room when a sharp knock sounded at the door, and before I could even tell the person to come in, the handle turned and a woman with perfectly styled hair and a smug grin stepped inside.I recognized her from the party, or at least from the
POV: ElaraThe car ride to the pack house was silent and uncomfortable, and I spent the entire time looking out the window at the passing trees because I didn't want to look at Silas, who was driving with a frustrated grip on the steering wheel.When we finally pulled up to a massive stone buildin
POV: ElaraThe first thing I felt was a dull throbbing behind my eyes, and when I tried to move my hand, it felt like it was weighted down by lead pipes, so I just laid there for a moment listening to the steady beep of a machine nearby. I slowly forced my eyelids open, and the bright fluorescent
POV: ElaraThe plastic stick felt heavy in my hand as I stared at the two pink lines, and my heart was racing so fast that I could barely breathe.I had waited three years for this moment, three years of being the "rogue wife" everyone whispered about in the hallways, but I was sure everything wou







