CHAPTER 18: SIGN AND DISAPPEAR

EMBER'S POV

Logan Reeves.

I've always known him as Gale's business partner—polished, strategic, the kind of man who calculates every word before it leaves his mouth.

He was at our wedding, gave a toast about loyalty and partnership that made everyone cry. He visited our house for dinners, brought expensive wine, complimented my cooking. I never suspected. Not once.

Now he's standing between me and the door, perfectly composed, studying me like I'm a problem he's already solved.

"You're in over your head, Ember." His voice is quiet, controlled. "Playing dress-up with the Lycan King. Pretending you belong in rooms like this."

"I'm not pretending anything."

"Aren't you?" He tilts his head. "You're a nobody omega from Seattle who lucked into a scandal. That's all this is. Luck and timing."

My hands curl into fists. "You're one to talk about luck. You're the one Gale was cheating with. You're the reason my marriage was a lie."

The words come out sharper than I intended, raw and hurt.

Logan's expression doesn't change. "Cheating implies deception. There was no deception, not between Gale and me. We've been in love for years. You were the one standing in the way of something real."

"I was his wife—"

"You were his cover," Logan says flatly. "His father would have killed us both if Gale came out. Literally. So he married you. Played straight. Did his duty. And I waited." He pauses. "We were surviving. Then you had to go and make it complicated by trying to matter to him."

The casual cruelty of it steals my breath.

"You don't know what he did to me," I say, voice shaking. "The bruises—"

"I saw them," Logan interrupts quietly. "I know he hurt you. I know you stayed anyway, made excuses, covered for him. And I'm not impressed by your martyrdom, Ember. You chose to stay in a situation that was destroying all three of us."

His words land like slaps. He was blaming me…

"But you're becoming a problem now," he continues, straightening. "For me. For Gale. For everyone who wants to move on. And I don't let problems linger."

"So what? You came here to threaten me?"

"No." He pulls an envelope from his jacket—thick and sealed with red wax. "I came to offer you mercy."

He sets it on the counter between us.

"One billion dollars. Tonight. There's a car waiting outside. New identity, new life, wherever you want to go. No Knox, no Gale, no Summit, no scandal. Just you and your freedom."

My brain stutters. "You're joking."

"I'm not." His eyes are cold, serious. "I'm offering this because, despite everything, I respect you. You're a good woman, Ember. Strong. Resilient. The kind of woman I might have admired if I were attracted to women. You deserve better than being collateral damage in someone else's war."

Something in my chest tightens. "What's the catch?"

"All you have to do is sign a letter before you leave."

"What letter?"

He slides the envelope toward me.

I pick it up with trembling hands, pull out the contents. A phone. An ID with a fake name. A credit card. And a folded sheet of paper.

I unfold it, and the words swim in front of me:

To whom it may concern,

I, Ember Aragon, make the following statement of my own free will and in my right mind.

On December 24th, I was forcibly abducted by Knox Volkov, the Lycan King of North America. Over the next several days, I was held captive in his penthouse suite at the Mystic Resort, where I was repeatedly sexually assaulted and coerced into making false statements against my husband, Gale Crawford.

Mr. Volkov threatened my life and the lives of anyone I might contact unless I cooperated fully with his demands. He forced me to appear at public events, make statements to the press, and participate in staged romantic displays—all under duress.

I am not, nor have I ever been, in a romantic relationship with Knox Volkov. Our entire public relationship has been a fabrication designed to humiliate my husband and damage his reputation.

The accusations about Gale's sexuality and alleged infidelity are malicious lies planted by the Lycan King to justify his predatory behavior toward me. Gale Crawford has always been loving, faithful, and devoted. Any suggestion otherwise is a coordinated attack on his character.

I deeply regret my complicity in this deception, but I acted only out of fear for my life. I wish to return home and repair my marriage to the man who has always protected me.

I am making this statement freely and request immediate protection from Knox Volkov and his associates.

Signed,

Ember Aragon

The paper crumples in my shaking hands.

I look up at Logan, horrified. "You want me to say Knox raped me?"

"I want you to disappear," Logan says calmly. "This is the price."

"He never—Knox never touched me against my will. This is a lie. All of it."

"I don't care what he did or didn't do." Logan's voice is flat, businesslike. "This is about control. About protecting what's mine. Sign it. Take the money. Start over somewhere no one will ever find you."

My hands are shaking so hard I nearly drop the paper.

"No."

Logan's expression doesn't change. "Think carefully, Ember. This is the only mercy you'll get."

"I said no." My voice is stronger now. "I won't destroy an innocent man. Not for a billion dollars. Not for any price."

He goes very still. The air in the bathroom turns cold.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," he says quietly. "Because I genuinely wanted to help you. You're better than this mess. You deserve an escape."

"I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity. It's respect." He steps closer, voice dropping to something darker. "But if you won't take my offer, then what comes next won't be kind. You think you've seen the worst of this? You haven't. I have resources you can't imagine. Connections. Leverage. Political capital that spans three continents. And I will use every single card I have to destroy you if you keep standing in our way."

I take a step back, heart hammering.

He moves forward—just one step, sudden enough that I flinch.

He laughs, soft and humorless.

"Relax. I'm not stupid enough to hurt you when the Lycan King is fifty feet away. That would be idiotic." He adjusts his cuffs. "But what I have planned is so much worse than anything physical."

He moves toward the door, pauses with his hand on the lock.

"Enjoy your evening, Ember. You've earned it."

Then he's gone. The second the door clicks shut, my lungs seize. I can't breathe.

The room tilts, walls closing in. My hands go numb, vision tunneling. Not now. Not here.

But my body doesn't listen. I'm back in Seattle. Gale's hand around my throat. The sound of glass shattering. His voice in my ear, cold and cruel: You made me do this.

My knees buckle. I stumble toward the stalls, trying to hold on, but the panic is a living thing clawing up my chest.

I hit the cold tile floor hard.

Can't breathe. Can't think. Can't—

The bathroom door slams open.

A woman screams. "Oh my god! Someone help! She's—"

Footsteps. Shouting.

Then heavier footsteps, running.

The door crashes open again and I catch a flash of black suit, gold eyes, Knox's voice—raw and panicked.

"Ember—"

Then everything goes black.