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Home / Werewolf / Ten Ways To Kill Alpha PENKING / Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

All Chapters of Ten Ways To Kill Alpha PENKING : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

93 Chapters

Chapter 81

Summer came fast.The kids were out of school. Lazy days. Pool time. Boredom complaints.Normal kid stuff.Ellie turned seventeen. Got her license. Immediately wanted the car all the time.“No,” Amelia said for the hundredth time.“Why not? I’m a good driver.”“Because we need the car too. And you just got your license. You can use it when we don’t need it.”“That’s never.”“That’s parenthood.”Ellie stomped off.Penking laughed. “She’s exactly like you.”“I was never that dramatic.”“You absolutely were. Just in different ways.”“Name one time.”“When I first brought you here. You threw a contract at my head and called me a bastard.”“That was justified.”“Still dramatic.”She threw a pillow at him. “Shut up.”He caught it. Grinned. “See? Dramatic.”They were happy. Comfortable. The kind of couple who teased and laughed and fit.It had taken years. So many years. But they’d gotten here.To normal. To good. To right.One afternoon, Amelia got an email.From a producer. About her book.

Chapter 82

With Ellie gone, the house felt emptier.Sam was a senior now. Busy with basketball. College scouts. SATs. His own life.Hope was twelve. Middle school. Growing up too fast.Amelia and Penking had more time alone. Dinners without kids. Quiet evenings. Space to breathe.It should have been romantic. Peaceful.Instead, it felt strange.“We don’t know how to be just us anymore,” Amelia said one night.They were sitting on the couch. TV playing something neither watched.“What do you mean?”“We’ve been parents for so long. Our whole relationship has been about the kids. Protecting them. Raising them. And now. They’re leaving. And I don’t know who we are without that.”Penking muted the TV. “We’re the same people who fell in love. We’re just older. Greyer. More tired.”“Are we though? We fell in love in chaos. In survival mode. Now it’s just. Normal. And I don’t know if we work in normal.”“You think we only work when things are hard?”“I think we’re good in crisis. Great even. But day to

Chapter 83

They spent all day strategizing.Called Marcus. Explained the situation.“Extortion is a crime,” Marcus said. “We can report it. Get the police involved.”“And risk Viktor retaliating before they catch him?” Penking asked. “No. Too dangerous.”“Then pay him. Half a million is a lot but not worth your family’s safety.”“Paying sets a precedent. Next year he’ll want more. And more. It never ends.”“So what’s your alternative?”Nobody had an answer.That night, Amelia found Penking in the garage.Looking at old tools. Old equipment. Things he’d used in his previous life.“What are you doing?” she asked.“Remembering. How I used to solve problems.”“Those solutions don’t work anymore.”“Don’t they? Viktor’s threatening our kids. The old me would have handled that in an hour. Permanently.”“And the new you?”“The new me is useless. Can’t protect anyone. Can’t do anything except wait for Viktor to make good on his threats.”She sat beside him. “The new you built a life Viktor can’t touch. A

Chapter 84

Penking came home at noon.Walked in carrying both bags. Looking shell-shocked.Amelia ran to him. “What happened? Are you hurt?”“I’m fine. Viktor. He didn’t take the money.”“What?”“He just wanted to prove a point. That I haven’t changed. That I’ll always default to the old ways when threatened.”“But you didn’t kill him. You didn’t use violence. You tried to negotiate. That’s different.”“Is it? I still came ready to pay extortion. Still played by his rules. Still let fear drive my choices.”“You protected our family. That’s not wrong.”“Isn’t it? I spent months telling kids at the youth center that violence isn’t the answer. That there’s always another way. And the first time I’m really tested, I fall right back into old patterns.”“You didn’t—”“I did. And Viktor saw it. That’s why he walked away. Because he proved his point. I’m still the same person I always was. Just with better PR.”He dropped the bags. Walked to the bedroom.Amelia followed. “Don’t do this. Don’t let Viktor

Chapter 85

Viktor disappeared after that.No more calls. No more threats. No more games.Just gone.Like he’d made his point and moved on.But the damage was done.Penking was different. Quieter. More withdrawn.He still went to work. Still came home. Still played with the kids.But something had shifted. Like a light had dimmed.“He’s depressed,” Ellie said one day. She’d stayed home an extra week. Wanted to make sure things were stable.“I know,” Amelia said.“What are you going to do about it?”“What can I do? He has to work through this himself.”“That’s bullshit. He needs help. Therapy. Something.”“He won’t go. I’ve suggested it. He says talking won’t change who he is.”“Then make him go. You’re his wife. You have influence.”“It doesn’t work like that.”Ellie stood. “Then I’ll talk to him.”She found Penking in the garage. Working on something that didn’t need fixing.“Dad. We need to talk.”He looked up. “About?”“About you falling apart and pretending you’re fine.”“I’m not falling apar

Chapter 86

Hope turned sixteen.Got her license. Immediately wanted independence.“I’m going to Jessica’s house. Be back by eleven.”“Ten,” Amelia said.“Mom. I’m sixteen. Not twelve.”“Ten thirty. Final offer.”Hope rolled her eyes but agreed.She drove off in the old car they’d bought her. Nothing fancy. Safe. Reliable.Amelia watched from the window. Heart tight.“She’ll be fine,” Penking said.“I know. But she’s my baby. My last baby. And she’s growing up.”“That’s what they do. Grow up. Leave. Build their own lives.”“I hate it.”“Me too.” He pulled her close. “But we did good. All three of them. Happy. Healthy. Whole. We did that.”“We did.”“So we let them go. And we hold onto each other.”“Deal.”Life with Hope was different than with the older two.She was easier. Less dramatic. More comfortable in her own skin.Maybe because she’d grown up in Connecticut. Away from Brooklyn. Away from the heaviest weight of Penking’s past.Or maybe just because that was who she was.Either way, her tee

Chapter 87

Five years passed in what felt like moments.Hope graduated college. Got a job in publishing. Moved to Boston.Ellie was in grad school. Psychology. Wanted to work with trauma survivors.Sam played professional basketball. Overseas. Living his dream.All three thriving. All three happy. All three proof that good parenting could overcome complicated history.Amelia and Penking were sixty now. Grey. Slower. But content.Second Chances had expanded to twelve cities. Helped thousands of kids. Became a model nationwide.Penking was asked to speak. At conferences. Universities. Prisons.About reform. About change. About second chances being real.He said yes more often than not.One day, an invitation came that surprised him.His old prison. Wanted him to speak to current inmates. About life after. About rebuilding.“Do you want to?” Amelia asked.“I don’t know. Going back there. Seeing those walls. Those cells. I don’t know if I can.”“You don’t have to. You can say no.”“But maybe I shoul

Chapter 88

The call came on a Tuesday morning.Amelia was making coffee when her phone rang. Unknown number.She almost didn’t answer. But something made her pick up.“Hello?”“Is this Amelia Penking?” A woman’s voice. Professional. Cold.“Yes. Who’s this?”“My name is Agent Collins. FBI. I need to speak with you about your husband. Can you come to our office today?”Amelia’s blood went cold. “What about my husband?”“I’d rather discuss this in person. Are you available at two PM?”“I. Yes. What’s this about?”“Two PM. I’ll text you the address.”She hung up.Amelia stood in the kitchen. Hands shaking.FBI. Calling about Penking. After twenty years of peace.She called him immediately.“The FBI wants to talk to me. About you.”Silence on the other end.“Kael?”“I’m here. Just. Processing. Did they say what about?”“No. Just that they need to talk in person.”“Don’t go. Call Marcus first. Get a lawyer.”“I don’t need a lawyer. I haven’t done anything wrong.”“Neither have I. Recently. But that do

Chapter 89

The forensic accountant found it three days later.A single discrepancy. In one of the fake transactions.A timestamp that didn’t match. An IP address that traced to a computer in Brooklyn.Penking’s old territory. Where Viktor used to operate.“It’s not proof he did it,” Marcus said. “But it’s a start. Shows the documents originated from someone in your past. Not you.”“Is it enough for the FBI?”“I don’t know. But it’s something.”They took it to Agent Collins.She reviewed it. Frowned. “This shows the documents may have been created by a third party. But it doesn’t prove your husband wasn’t involved.”“How would he be involved in creating documents that implicate himself?” Marcus asked.“Maybe he’s trying to cover his tracks. Make it look like a setup.”“That’s circular logic and you know it.”“It’s caution. We can’t dismiss the possibility that this is all theater. That Mr. Penking is very good at playing innocent.”Amelia spoke. “My husband has been clean for twenty years. He’s b

Chapter 90

The arrest happened at dawn.Six FBI agents. Guns drawn. Knocking on the door.Penking answered. Hands up. Compliant.“Kael Penking, you’re under arrest for money laundering, wire fraud, and conspiracy. You have the right to remain silent.”They read him his rights. Cuffed him. Led him to a car.Amelia watched from the doorway. Tears streaming down her face.Twenty years. Twenty years of peace. Of building. Of trying.Gone. Because of a lie.Marcus met them at the federal courthouse.Arraignment. Bail hearing. The whole process.The prosecutor argued Penking was a flight risk. Had means. Had motive to run.Marcus argued he’d spent twenty years being a model citizen. Had family. Had roots. Wouldn’t run.The judge set bail at two million dollars.They posted it. Using the house. Second Chances. Everything they had.Penking was released pending trial.But the damage was done.News broke immediately. “Reformed Crime Lord Arrested on Federal Charges.”Reporters camped outside their house.

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