Chapter 5 - The Midnight Confession and the Arrival of Vivian’s Spy
Before I could ask Kane what he meant by that, the sharp, shrill chime of an intercom system pierced the silence of the suite.
Kane cursed under his breath, turning away from me and striding across the room to press a sleek black panel embedded in the wall.
“Report,” Kane barked, his Alpha authority returning instantly.
“My Alpha,” Gideon’s voice crackled through the speaker, sounding urgent and tense.
“We have a security breach on the lower perimeter. Someone tripped the eastern gate sensors.”
Kane’s posture went rigid.
“Who?”
“It’s not an outsider,” Gideon hesitated, the background noise of rain and rushing wind bleeding through the intercom.
“It’s Vivian Mercer. She bypassed the security checkpoint using her sister’s old biometric clearance code. She’s heading toward the private wing service elevator right now.”
A dark, murderous shadow crossed Kane’s face.
The golden light in his eyes flared back to life with terrifying intensity.
“Lock down the lower elevator,” Kane ordered, his voice dropping into a lethal snarl.
“Escort her off the property immediately. If she resists, use force.”
“We tried,” Gideon replied grimly.
“She’s not alone, Kane. She brought pack council members with her. Three elders from Cascade who claim they have an emergency petition to remove you from the development agreement under ancestral dispute laws.”
My blood ran cold.
Pack council members?
Cascade elders?
My father must have orchestrated it behind my back.
While I was locked in this fortress trading my future to wipe out his debt, Richard Hayes was mounting a legal sabotage operation to reclaim control of the negotiations—or worse, to discredit me so completely that Kane would have no choice but to seize our entire territory.
“It’s a coup,” I whispered, horror washing over me.
“My father sent them.”
Kane turned slowly from the intercom panel, his golden eyes fixing on me with a terrifying, calm clarity.
“Your father is playing a very dangerous game, Harper,” Kane said softly, his voice dangerously quiet.
“He thinks he can use a midnight council petition to invalidate the debt settlement while you’re standing inside my fortress.”
“If the council invokes ancestral dispute laws,” I said, my mind racing as I connected the legal dots, “they can claim the debt agreement was signed under duress and force a complete judicial review of Cascade’s assets. Which means…”
“Which means,” Kane finished for me, “instead of wiping out three million dollars, I legally seize every acre of Cascade territory by dawn.”
My chest tightened into a knot of sheer panic.
All my sacrifices.
All my sleepless nights auditing ledgers.
Standing in this room facing the Monster of Croft Estate.
It was all about to be wiped out because my father couldn't resist playing one final, disastrous political game.
“I have to go down there,” I said, grabbing my jacket from the bed.
“No,” Kane commanded, his hand shooting out to grip my wrist with an iron-clad, unyielding hold.
“You aren't going anywhere.”
“Kane, my father’s cronies are about to hand our entire pack on a silver platter to you! If you seize our lands, hundreds of families become homeless today!”
Kane pulled me closer, his face inches from mine, the raw power of his Alpha aura washing over me in a tidal wave of protective dominance.
“Let them come,” Kane whispered, a dark, dangerous smile curving his lips.
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“Let your father’s little council try to steal my territory while their daughter is standing right beside me.”
He gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look up into his blazing golden eyes.
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