Chapter 3

Clinging to Cain's arm, Elias cooed, "Lupita, I can't thank you enough for the blood you gave me. I was so worried about getting an infection. Cain, darling, shall we all go up together?"

Cain tapped the tip of her nose affectionately. "Always so considerate."

Then, his gaze fell on me. "What are you dawdling for? Let's go."

Since I needed to retrieve my passport anyway, I didn’t object to Elias's "kindness."

In the private elevator, I saw exactly what Elias wanted me to see: the faint, overlapping love bites on the column of her neck.

Our mate bond was still intact, so I knew Cain hadn't truly marked her, yet he continued to let Elias humiliate me.

"Ow, it still stings a little," Elias whined, burying herself in Cain's arms and tapping his chest coquettishly. "You can't be so rough next time, Cain."

Cain chuckled and murmured an apology, all while his eyes darted to my face. When he saw no trace of anger, a familiar flicker of irritation crossed his features.

"Lupita, you've been glued to that phone since you stepped in here." His tone was sharp, laced with jealousy. "Plotting with your old flame again? Scheming to bring down the Knight family?"

Having just booked a private jet, I shut off the screen. "Just checking the market."

His brow furrowed. Before I could react, he snatched the phone from my hand.

"Password?" he demanded.

"The date you begged me to be your mate."

Cain's fingers flew across the screen, entering five digits. But he paused just before the last one.

He never unlocked it. When the elevator doors opened to the penthouse, he simply tossed the phone back to me.

Cain wrapped an arm around Elias’s shoulders, led her into the master bedroom, and instructed the housekeeper to prepare all of her favorite dishes.

I walked to what was once my walk-in closet. It was now filled with Elias’s belongings. My gowns were crumpled in a corner, some slashed to ribbons.

Fortunately, the passport and anonymous bank card I’d hidden in a secret compartment were untouched.

Just as I secured my documents and turned to leave, Elias blocked the doorway. She held a crystal decanter of whiskey, her eyes raking over me with contempt.

"Lupita, I have to admire your patience. I've moved into your home, made you a laughingstock, and still, you cling to the Knight family, refusing to let go."

She smirked. "Then again, that old crone in your family finally kicked the bucket last month. With your biggest backer gone, you have to hold on to Cain for dear life, don't you?"

A malicious memory seemed to spark in her eyes. "Do you remember that day? You were sobbing, begging Cain to take the helicopter to see your mother one last time. Do you know why he refused? He’d promised to take me to a Sotheby's auction. See? I still have the picture on my phone."

The mention of my mother shattered my composure. I slapped the phone from her hand and, my control finally snapping, lunged for her throat.

The decanter slipped from Elias's grasp, whiskey splashing across the floor. In the ensuing struggle, she stumbled back, knocking over a lit scented candle. The high-proof alcohol ignited instantly.

Thick smoke and roaring flames consumed the room.

Weakened from the blood loss, I was quickly overwhelmed by the smoke and collapsed. Through the roaring in my ears, I heard Cain's voice.

"Lupita!"

It was followed by the housekeeper's frantic shouts. "Alpha, it's too dangerous! You can't go in! Wait for security to bring extinguishers—"

"Get out of my way! Lupita's in there!"

Heedless of the danger, he burst into the inferno. But he hadn't expected to see Elias there, too.

"Cain… save me…" Elias reached a weak hand toward him.

She didn't need to finish. Without a flicker of hesitation, Cain swept her into his arms and raced out, not sparing me a single glance as I lay on the floor.

I watched his back disappear through the doorway, my vision blurring with smoke. In that instant, my last illusion burned away to ash.

Half an hour later, when security finally extinguished the fire, I was gone.

I had used the chaos to slip out the emergency escape on the window ledge, then took the service elevator straight to the underground garage.

A familiar pair of black headlights flashed twice.

I scrambled to the car, wrenched open the door, and fell inside.

The car sped toward a private airfield on the outskirts of the city. On the way, I took out my phone, wiped all call logs and contacts, and powered it off for good.

When we arrived, a small private jet was waiting on the tarmac.

"Lupita," the person who had come for me said, taking my hand. "Are you sure? Once you go, there's no coming back."

I looked into his worried eyes and smiled, a real smile, for the first time in years. "I've never been more certain."

Cain, you always believed that while I didn't love you, I would never leave you.

You were wrong. This time, even if a part of me will always love you, I'm truly gone.

*

Meanwhile, after settling Elias down, Cain searched the entire penthouse. He found no trace of me.

He took out his phone to call me, only to be met with a dead tone.

He tried to reach me through their mate bond, but there was only silence.

Just then, his assistant rushed in. "Alpha, the Pack Elder just returned from London! He's calling an emergency pack meeting, effective immediately!"

Cain’s brow furrowed, a sense of unease coiling in his gut. He glared at his assistant. "Can't you see I'm looking for the Luna?"

"But, Alpha, the Luna is probably just blowing off steam. She'll be back in a day or two. The Elder's meeting concerns the entire pack."

Cain took one last look at the empty apartment. After a long moment, he said, "Fine. Let's go. And have a twenty-percent equity transfer agreement drawn up. Put it in the Luna's name."