Chapter 3

The HR email dropped first thing the next morning.

My COO access was dead. All my duties were transferred to the new "Operations Manager"—Lily Hale.

An exceptional promotion. Stepping right over my dead body. But Lily thought it was worth it.

When I got to the office, Lily was already in my chair. She wore a tailored Chanel suit, her hair in a tight updo. She really looked the part.

"Aurora," she cooed. Her voice dripped with fake concern. "Jasper asked me to handle the handover. Especially the file on Mr. Marcus Sterling. He’s coming Monday, and I need to prep."

Marcus Sterling. The Alpha of the Silver Moon Group.

A true, ancient, blue-blooded werewolf aristocrat.

Two years ago, I pulled heavy strings with the Arkin family just to get Jasper a meeting with him. Marcus respected true power and ancient bloodlines. Without the Arkin name backing him, a nobody like Jasper wasn't even fit to shine Marcus’s shoes.

And now, Lily wanted to take the credit.

"Everything is in the system. Read it yourself," I said coldly.

Lily leaned in. Her perfume was choking. "Some details aren't on paper. What does Mr. Sterling like? His favorite vintage? His hobbies?"

I looked at her desperate, greedy face.

“Mr. Sterling loves the most expensive Moonlight vintage,” I said calmly. “He refuses red meat, only eats deep-sea fish. And he plays polo.”

I wasn’t lying.

But which vintage? What kind of fish? Where did he play polo?

She never asked.

"Got it." Lily scribbled furiously in her notebook. "Thanks, Aurora. By the way, you don't need to come back. Jasper says your presence hurts pack morale."

"Perfect." I nodded.

That afternoon, I sat in a quiet coffee shop downtown. My family’s wealth manager was already waiting.

"Miss Aurora," he stood up respectfully.

"Let's get to work." I slid a file across the table. "Trigger the Sunset Clause. I want all liquid funds from the Arkin Trust pulled out of Thorne Industries at exactly 9:30 AM this coming Monday."

"Miss, that will bankrupt the company instantly."

"I know," I stared out the window. "I just want it done."

"Understood."

Instead of heading straight home, I took a walk through the downtown luxury shopping district.

I stepped into a high-end jewelry boutique I frequented.

I was admiring a new, limited-edition sapphire necklace when a sickeningly pretentious voice chirped from behind me.

"Well, well, if it isn't Aurora. What's the matter? After getting kicked out, is window shopping all you can afford?"

I turned.

Of course, it was Lily and Jasper.

Lily clung to Jasper’s arm like a proud peacock, and casually playing with her fingers was the very black-gold card I had surrendered that morning.

The sales associate, who had been politely distant with me moments before, recognized the card—a symbol of top-tier VIP status.

Her face instantly broke into a fawning smile for Lily.

Lily basked in the attention, then shot me a contemptuous glance, flicking the card in her hand. "Oh, that's right. I forgot your annual spending probably doesn't even meet the minimum requirement to apply for this card. Move aside, pauper, you're blocking the way for actual valued customers."

With that, she pointed to the very necklace I had been looking at and commanded the associate, "That one. I'll take it. Charge it to this card."

Jasper didn't look at me once.

He just stood there, his expression cold and detached, as if he was silently endorsing, even enjoying, this humiliation.

That card was not only backed by my family trust but was also the highest-level VIP pass for this boutique.

And now, they were using my status and my money to buy something I wanted, just to flaunt the power they had stolen.

What a perfect pair of parasites.

I took a deep breath and dialed my private banker.

"Hi. Freeze the secondary card under my name assigned to Thorne Industries. Cancel all their business credit lines."

"Yes, immediately. Mark it as a fraud risk."

I hung up. I thought about the $100,000 charge and hesitated for a second. Pulling the plug right now would be letting them off too easy.

If I was going to ruin them, I wanted to do it when they felt invincible.

I flagged down a cab. "Take me to the top commercial real estate agency in the city."

"You got it."

If we were settling accounts, we were settling all of them. The Thorne Industries office building? It was owned by the Arkin Trust. I had been leasing it to the company for practically pennies.

The lease expired on Monday.

Lily wanted to save the pack money and boost efficiency? Let's start with the rent.