Chapter 6.

I didn't drive home immediately.

I sat in my car outside Silver Crescent Headquarters, staring at the building through the windshield.

The lights were still on.

People were still moving behind the glass.

Working.

Laughing.

Living.

My people.

My pack.

The same pack that had raised me after my parents died.

The same pack I had spent years trying to protect.

And somewhere inside that building was the man I was supposed to marry.

The man who had just promised someone else that I would be banished.

My phone vibrated in my hand.

I looked down.

Lucien

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

A second message appeared.

Where are you?

I stared at the words.

Then I looked at the insulated dinner bag sitting in the passenger seat.

The dinner I'd made for him.

The dinner I'd carried into the building because I wanted to surprise my fiance.

Because I loved him.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

I could ask him.

I could type the words.

I typed the first question.

How long have you been sleeping with her?

I deleted it.

How long have you been planning to hurt me?

I deleted it.

How long have you been pretending to love me?

My thumb moved.

Then deleted it.

I stared at the blank message box.

I couldn't do it.

Not yet.

Because I didn't know enough.

I had a recording.

I had heard them talk about evidence.

I had heard them mention the council.

I had heard the word banishment.

But I didn't know what evidence they were talking about.

I didn't know who else was involved.

I didn't know how long they'd been planning this.

And most importantly...

I didn't know why.

If I confronted them now, I would lose the only advantage I had.

They didn't know I knew.

That was the one thing I had.

So I typed:

"Something came up. I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow."

His reply came almost immediately.

"Everything okay?"

I stared at the screen.

Another message appeared.

"I love you."

My throat tightened.

I looked away.

I couldn't tell if the feeling in my chest was grief or anger anymore.

Maybe it was both.

I didn't reply.

I started the car.

And drove home.

I didn't sleep.

Not really.

I sat on the edge of my bed until the sky outside my windows began to turn gray.

My phone lay beside me.

The recording was open.

I had listened to it so many times that I knew exactly where every word fell.

I pressed play again.

Vivienne's voice filled the room.

"She's been useful."

I stopped the recording.

My eyes closed.

I pressed play again.

"The council will see the evidence."

Stop.

Again.

"It'll be enough to throw her out."

Stop.

Again.

"Banishment."

My hand tightened around the phone.

I didn't understand.

I had spent my entire life trying to be the perfect member of Silver Crescent.

I followed the rules.

I attended council meetings.

I helped with pack initiatives.

I worked alongside the administration.

I'd never betrayed my pack.

I'd never even considered it.

So what evidence could they possibly have?

Unless...

Unless they were planning to create it.

I opened my eyes.

The thought made my stomach turn.

Forged evidence.

A false accusation.

A carefully planned betrayal.

That was what they were talking about.

But why?

Why go that far?

Why not simply call off the wedding?

Why not admit they were in love?

Why did I have to be banished?

I looked down at the recording.

The answer was somewhere inside those minutes.

I just hadn't found it yet.

I needed to listen again.

I listened as someone investigating a crime.

I grabbed a notebook from my desk.

At the top of the first page, I wrote:

What I Know.

Underneath, I began.

1. Lucien and Vivienne are having an affair.

My pen paused.

Even writing it down felt like admitting something I wasn't ready to accept.

I continued.

2. They have been planning something involving me.

3. The council is involved, Or at least some members of it.

4. There is evidence being prepared against me.

5. I could be banished.

I stared at the list.

Then I added one more.

6. They don't know I know.

That was the most important one.

I underlined it twice.

Then I closed the notebook.

I needed proof.

Not just of their affair.

Of everything.

By eight in the morning, I had showered, dressed, and made a decision.

I was going to work.

The decision surprised even me.

But if I stayed home, Lucien would notice.

If I suddenly avoided him, Vivienne would notice.

If I started asking questions, they'd know.

So I would do the one thing they least expected.

I would act normal.

I arrived at Silver Crescent Headquarters at exactly nine.

The receptionist smiled when she saw me.

"Good morning, Cora."

"Good morning."

"How was your evening?"

I smiled.

"Busy."

The lie came easier than I expected.

I walked toward the elevators.

My reflection followed me in the mirrored doors.

I looked the same.

The same dress.

The same hair.

The same smile.

No one looking at me would know that I'd spent the entire night listening to my fiance plan my banishment.

The elevator doors opened.

I stepped inside.

And for the first time in my life...

I understood why people lied.

Sometimes, the truth was dangerous.

Lucien was waiting in my office.

He was sitting on the edge of my desk when I walked in.

A coffee sat beside him.

My favorite.

He smiled.

"There she is."

My heart twisted.

I hated that it still did.

"Good morning."

He stood.

"I was worried about you."

I placed my handbag on the chair.

"I'm fine."

"You disappeared last night."

"Something came up."

"What?"

I looked at him.

His eyes were searching mine.

For a second, I wondered if he knew.

If he'd somehow discovered that I'd been standing outside that conference room.

Then he smiled.

"You're acting strange."

There it was.

My first test.

I forced a laugh.

"Maybe I'm tired."

He stepped closer.

I didn't move away.

That was difficult.

So incredibly difficult.

His hand touched my waist.

The same waist Vivienne's hands had been wrapped around hours earlier.

I nearly flinched.

But I didn't.

I smiled.

"Wedding planning is exhausting."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

He studied me.

Then leaned down and kissed my forehead.

My skin crawled.

"You're sure?"

"Of course."

I reached for the coffee.

"Thank you."

He smiled.

"Your favorite."

I looked at the cup.

Then back at him.

"You're sweet."

The words almost made me sick.

But Lucien only smiled wider.

"I try."

I took a sip.

It tasted like nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

He wrapped his arms around me.

I let him.

I even rested my head against his chest.

I could hear his heartbeat.

Steady.

Normal.

How could someone who was planning to throw me out hold me like this?

How could he say he loved me?

How could he sleep beside me and then go to her?

I closed my eyes.

And made myself a promise.

I would find out.

Every lie.

Every secret.

Every person involved.

I would know everything before I made my move.

Because I wasn't going to confront them with anger.

I wasn't going to give them the chance to destroy me first.

I was going to let them believe they had won.

And then...

I was going to take everything back.

The first day, I found nothing.

The second day, I almost gave up.

The third day...

I saw Vivienne leave.

I was standing near the administrative wing when she walked out of the building.

Alone.

I checked the time.

2:17 p.m.

She'd told me earlier that she was attending a meeting with the charity committee.

I watched her get into her car.

I stood there for several seconds.

Then I turned around.

I walked back to my office.

I picked up my car keys.

And followed her.

I didn't know where she was going.

I didn't even know what I expected to find.

Maybe nothing.

Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe there was an explanation.

I needed there to be one.

Because despite everything...

A small, pathetic part of me still wanted to be wrong.

Vivienne drove across the city.

I followed from a distance.

She stopped outside a small cafe.

I parked two buildings away.

She stepped out.

I reached for my phone.

Then stopped.

What was I doing?

I felt ridiculous.

I almost started the car again.

Then another vehicle pulled into the parking lot.

Black.

Familiar.

My breath caught.

Lucien.

I watched him step out.

He looked around.

Then smiled.

Not the smile he gave me.

Something else.

Something private.

Something that belonged to them.

Vivienne walked toward him.

His hand immediately found the small of her back.

I felt something inside me crack.

My phone was already in my hand.

I lifted it.

Click.

The photograph captured them standing together.

Click.

Lucien leaning down to whisper something in her ear.

Click.

Vivienne laughing.

Click.

His hand sliding lower.

I lowered the phone.

My hands were shaking.

But I didn't stop.

I took another photograph.

And another.

Then I watched them walk inside the cafe together.

I stayed in my car.

Waiting.

For the first time since the night before...

I didn't feel helpless.

I felt certain.

Whatever happened next...

I would be ready.

Because I had finally stopped being the woman they thought they knew.

I was watching now.

And I wasn't going to stop until I knew the truth.