Chapter 113
Emily
It had also become a daily ritual to check every file for mistakes, and for the use of my name where it didn’t belong
Today, the discrepancy was small. Eighty–seven points was barely whisper in the quarterly ledgers. Easy to miss. Easier to ignore.
But I couldn’t ignore anything after the first almost–disaster.
I learned long ago that sabotage doesn’t start with fireworks. It starts with faint smudges on otherwise clean glass.
And I’d spent enough time cleaning up after Chloe to recognize her fingerprints, even through layers of accounting software and digital mistakes.
The flagged entry was hidden in a routine transaction between one of Titanfang’s suppliers and Eldrin & Vale, Chloe’s new workplace.
I opened the archived contract logs, cross–checked dates, and reviewed the access history.
Someone had deliberately rerouted funds through a dummy holding account under Chloe’s signature access level and then adjusted timestamps to make it look like I’d signed off on the expense for Titanfang.
It was a setup. A subtle one. By the time anyone noticed the pattern the suspicion would fall directly on me. Again.
But they hadn’t counted on me noticing it first.
I pushed back from my desk, heart pounding. For a brief moment I thought about going to Logan, but I couldn’t.
It still stung that he hadn’t believed me the first time, and while I wanted to believe he would have my back, the doubt lingered.
Instead, I composed a short, direct message to the executive leads and finance department
Meeting at noon. Attendance mandatory. Preliminary audit attached.
– Emily Blackwood
I couldn’t sit back and wait for Logan to handle this. I also wasn’t going to let someone else drag me down in another scandal.
So by the time the meeting room filled, I had a full audit report printed and distributed at every seat. Logan entered last, scanning the room, then his eyes landed on me.
I held his.gaze as I called the meeting to order.
“I’ve called this meeting to clarify a breach in our financial systems,” I said once everyone was seated, voice calm and clear. “I believe, yet again, someone attempted to plant evidence of fraud in my name. They failed.”
I clicked the remote, and the projector lit up behind me. Ledger records. Transfer logs. Accounting flags. I had highlighted anomalies and circled each one boldly in red.
I walked them through it step by step. I didn’t make it dramatic, I just showed my proof.
And they actually listened.
Logan didn’t interrupt once. But when I glanced his way partway through the presentation, while laying out the timeline they likely used, his eyes were sharp and locked on mine.
He gave the smallest nod of approval. As if we her were in alignment with me and what I was doing. We were in rhythm, even without speaking.
“I believe this breach originated from a new consultant at Eldrin & Vale,” I concluded. “Based on clearance logs and endpoint locations, the access came from Chloe’s workstation. Whether she acted alone or with help from this office is unclear.”
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Chapter 113.
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A murmur passed through the room. Eyes darted and the whispers started.
She underestimated how much I’ve been monitoring the system I added, my voice soft but deliberate. “She didn’t know I had mirrors on the back end.”
Logan leaned forward slightly, voice smooth but cutting. “We’ll be conducting a broader review of all auxiliary personnel. Anyone working under Titanfang’s name will be held to Titanfangs standards.”
Silence followed. Heavy and satisfying. No one defended Chloe, no one dared since it would be contradicting Logan… and who they believed was his future Luna. Me.
I hadn’t really thought about my position here, or by Logan’s side. What it ultimately means. A twinge of nervousness fluttered in my stomach at the thought, but I shoved it down.
When the meeting adjourned, people cleared the room quickly. A few offered compliments at my ‘attentive nature.‘ I gave polite nods in return, but didn’t really engage.
Logan remained seated, watching me as I gathered the reports back into my folder. The look he gave me wasn’t surprised anymore. It was an unexpected look of respect.
And when I turned and walked out without a backward glance, I knew it was because I couldn’t quite believe that Logan hadn’t taken over for me, or cast any doubts on my report.
I hadn’t expected so much support for going around him in this.
Footsteps caught up to me, echoing softly down the corridor. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Logan who followed me.
He stopped a few feet from me, tie loosened, hair slightly out of place like he’d dragged his hand through it a dozen times.
His gaze dropped briefly to the folder in my hand.
“You didn’t need me in there,” he said, voice low and even.
I turned to face him fully. “No,” I said simply. “I didn’t.”
He nodded, and for a moment, it seemed like he might just walk away. But his weight shifted, like something held him there.
I spoke before he could. “But I still wanted you there.”
A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes. Not at the words, but at the truth in them. I’m not sure why I admitted it, but I meant it.
He stepped closer, and I felt the change in the air between us.
“You had them from the first word,” he murmured.
€
I shrugged one shoulder, letting the corner of my mouth lift. “Didn’t hurt having a brooding Alpha glowering at the end of the table. Added a little flavor.”
His lips twitched into an almost–smile.
“I wasn’t glowering,” he said.
“You were glowering.”
“I was calculating.”
“While glowering.”
We stood like that, barely a foot between us, and I fought the urge to reach out and touch him.
Logan looked at me like he wanted to say something more. But he held himself back too. And that restraint- that control of his -it did something to me.
The Logan I thought I knew from our first night together would’ve talked of revenge and started to strategize.
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But this Logan, the one just standing here beside me, saying nothing, demanding nothing…felt infinitely more tempting
flowered my voice. “She’s going to try again. Chloe doesn’t like to lose.”
“I know,” he said. “But she’ll be playing catch–up now.”
I nodded once, then held up the report. “I’m sending it in. I just… needed a minute.”
His eyes searched mine. “You want company?”
I thought about it. Then I handed him the folder.
“I want a witness.”
He took it slowly, fingertips ghosting against mine and held the faller like a precious object. As if he knew how much it meant to me to show he was on my side.
I watched him set it carefully on the nearby table before stepping back toward me, closer than before.
“You’ve changed things here,” he said quietly.
“I’m not trying to.”
“You’ve changed me, too.”
Ididn’t mean to move. My hand lifted on its own, brushing the edge of his jaw with the backs of my fingers. Not pulling him in. Just touching. Just confirming he was real.
He caught my wrist in a gentle hold and pressed a kiss to the inside of it. Soft. Slow. Like a thank you he didn’t know how to say. My breath caught and my body heated with anticipation.
But he let my hand fall gently back to my side and I knew something between us had shifted again.
It felt like neither of us was pretending not to want whatever this was between us.
Chapter 114
+25 BONUS
Chapter 114
