Chapter 525
Julian leaned forward, his predator’s gaze pinning me in place. “I don’t touch another Alpha’s property—but if the King is incapable of claiming what’s his, then the property is considered forfeit.”
The humiliating memory of Dallas shoving me off his lap flashed through my mind. I swallowed the lump in my throat and held Julian’s gaze. “He is incapable. The property is forfeit.”
A wicked smirk touched Julian’s lips. He reached into his jacket, produced a magically bound Pack checkbook, and wrote the sum without hesitation.
I didn’t waste a second. I drove straight to Hyde Manor and burst into the Council Chamber, where the air was thick with old money and stale desperation. Marcus Hyde looked up from the massive mahogany table, his face haggard. Braydon stood by the window, jaw tight, hands clenched into fists at his sides.
I slammed the magically glowing check onto the table. “Two hundred million. The debt to Dallas is covered.”
Marcus exhaled a shaky breath of relief, but Braydon’s eyes zeroed in on the signature at once. “Julian Thorne?” His voice was sharp, his face draining of color. “How did you get this, Adella?”
“I agreed to a two-year contract Marking,” I said flatly. “I’ll be his Luna.”
The air in the room shifted. Braydon’s face contorted, rage and disbelief twisting his features in equal measure. He lunged forward and snatched the check from the table.
“You sold yourself to him?” Braydon roared, his eyes flashing.
“I sold nothing,” I snapped, my voice cold. “This is business. The Everett Trust is my parents’ legacy. I’m taking it back.”
“If I can’t have you, that bastard Thorne sure as hell won’t!” Braydon snarled.
Before Marcus or I could react, Braydon’s claws extended. With a vicious rip, he tore the magically bound check into shreds, the glowing parchment dying as the pieces fluttered to the floor.
Marcus choked on a gasp of pure horror. My heart plummeted into my stomach. My sacrifice, my humiliation—all of it destroyed in a single second of petty jealousy.
Braydon stepped closer, his chest heaving. “This wasn’t about the Trust, Adella. It was about you choosing a side. And you chose wrong.”
I stared at the torn fragments scattered across the floor. Two hundred million. Gone. The Everett Trust would default back to Dallas by sunrise.
“You idiot,” I whispered—not to Braydon, but to myself. “You absolute idiot.”
I grabbed my coat and walked out. I didn’t look back. Not at Braydon, not at the shredded check. There was nothing left for me in this house but ash.
Dallas
From the backseat of the black armored SUV parked across the street from Hyde Manor, I watched the live surveillance feed on my encrypted tablet. Through the hidden cameras in their Council Chamber, I saw Braydon Hyde tear the two-hundred-million-dollar check into confetti. I saw the absolute devastation on Adella’s beautiful face.
A small, bitter smile touched my lips.
Duncan sat in the driver’s seat, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.