Chapter 134

Ella POV

I answered the phone as I walked through the upper levels of the shopping center. Alexander's warm voice greeted me, and my mind drifted for a moment to the first day we officially met. It had been in his office building, on the day this very shopping center opened.

Back then, Alexander had no reason to trust me. He didn’t truly know who I was, yet he had agreed to the terms of my offer—to help me get revenge against David.

In exchange, I would help him achieve his ultimate goal: becoming king. So much had changed since that day, and yet that was still what tied us together. That, and the contract Alexander had drawn up.

The contract guaranteed his loyalty to me for the duration of our "relationship." It was an odd thing to promise someone you weren’t actually involved with, but I understood why he’d done it.

Alexander was determined to protect me from any potential scandals that might tarnish my reputation. It had been a thoughtful gesture to calm my fears, yet every time I thought about it now, I couldn’t help but feel... uncomfortable.

“Ella?” Alexander's voice pulled me back to the present. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sorry,” I answered quickly. “I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“That’s understandable,” he said gently. “There’s a lot to think about right now. In just a few more days, we’re going to be married.”

“That’s right,” I said, feeling a little awkward. “What were you calling about?”

I could hear August’s voice in the background of the call. There was another voice responding to him, but I couldn’t place it. I was sure I had heard it before.

It was probably nothing; I’d spent enough time at the office now that I had likely heard every employee speak at least once.

“The wedding, naturally,” he said, a slight chuckle in his tone. “There’s one last detail we need to decide on before the big day.”

“There is?” I asked, surprised. “I thought we’d taken care of everything—the flowers, the clothes, the decorations, the music—”

“The wine,” Alexander interrupted. “We haven’t chosen the wine yet.”

“Oh! How could I be so thoughtless?” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I completely forgot.”

“Well, luckily, I’ve arranged a wine tasting for us. That is, if you’re available to join me tomorrow?”

“Of course,” I answered with a smile. “I think it’ll be good for us to see each other in person one more time before the wedding.”

“That’s a bonus,” Alexander said, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “What are you up to right now?”

I could still hear voices in the background, but I couldn’t make out any words. August sounded annoyed, though. I was curious, but I didn’t want to pry so I didn’t ask about it.

“I’m just leaving the tailor at the shopping center,” I answered. “I’m meeting my parents for lunch, and then we’re going to meet with the DJ to go over the music details one more time. You’ve already arranged for the string quartet to play during the ceremony, right?”

“All taken care of,” he assured me. “Tell your parents I say hello. How’s your father? Has he made any progress on the Solar Farm plans?”

“It’s progressing well,” I said, lowering my voice slightly as I glanced around. “But he wants to keep the plans a secret until we’re ready to start construction. He doesn’t want to tip David off in case he tries to vandalize the land again before we can place guards.”

“That’s smart,” Alexander said, his tone genuinely impressed. “If there’s anything more I can do to help, let me know.”

“Of course,” I replied, smiling at his sincerity. The voices in the background grew louder. I hesitated before asking, “What’s that sound?”

“What sound?” Alexander replied, a hint of something unreadable in his tone.

“I think I hear voices,” I said hesitantly. “It sounds like August.”

There was a brief pause before Alexander responded, his tone calm but clipped. “I have a meeting that’s about to start. Don’t worry about it.”

As Alexander’s voice grew more tense, my unease deepened. “A meeting?” I repeated, the faint background chatter growing louder in my mind. I knew that second voice, but I couldn’t place it. Something about it made me uneasy.

“Yes,” he said firmly, a trace of irritation slipping through his usually composed demeanor. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

But the words did nothing to reassure me. For a moment, I hesitated, wondering if I should push for more details. Before I could decide, Alexander spoke again, softer now, almost tender.

“Ella, everything is under control. Trust me.”

I wanted to—desperately. But as the call ended and I stood there clutching my phone, a troubling thought gnawed at me. The voices I’d heard weren’t faint whispers or distant echoes; they were distinct and urgent.

What kind of meeting was he in? And why did it feel like Alexander was hiding something from me?

As I turned to leave, a text message appeared on my phone, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. The sender was unknown, and the message was simple yet chilling:

“Be careful who you trust. Not everything is as it seems.”

Third Person POV

“Be careful who you trust. Not everything is as it seems.”

Brianna stared down at the screen of her phone, her fingers hovering over the message she had just sent. The words felt insufficient, their weight not nearly enough to deliver the blow she intended.

With a frustrated sigh, she deleted the message from her history. It didn’t matter. This phone wasn’t hers anyway—just a cheap throwaway device, a temporary means of contacting Miss Rowan without the messages ever being traced back to her. She’d use it a couple more times, then ditch it.

David wanted the wedding stopped, but even he wasn’t delusional enough to think Brianna could single-handedly bring that about. Still, his suggestions had been laughably desperate.

"Tell her you slept with Alexander," he’d sneered. "Tell her you’re pregnant. Tell her Alexander is a killer, and you have proof."

Brianna had scoffed at the absurdity of it all. Ella Rowan wouldn’t fall for such outlandish lies, no matter how convincingly they were delivered. David’s desperation oozed from every ridiculous claim.

She had come up with a better plan. A little poison had worked for her in the past. It had taken Ella years to realize her medication had been tampered with. So, poison would work again.

It was easy to track her movements and even easier to get access to the winery. A little extra added to the wine bottles, with a syringe thorough the corks, and her job was done.

No one would die, but a wedding that makes the guests ill is memorable for all the wrong reasons. It would make David happy.

But Brianna wasn’t doing this just for David. She had her own reasons, her own score to settle with the Rowan family. David was merely a convenient source of resources—a pawn she manipulated to fuel her quest for revenge.

When he outlived his usefulness, she would discard him without a second thought.

The thought of that day made her smile, a slow, venomous curve of her lips. David would be furious, of course. He would rant and rage, unable to comprehend why someone like her—a “lowly” creature in his eyes—dared to defy him.

His indignation would be delicious.

These privileged children of alphas thought they could step on anyone who crossed their paths, use people as tools to further their own whims. They were wrong. Brianna would make sure they learned that lesson the hard way.

It didn’t matter to her if Ella Rowan got married. Good for her. It just meant that when Brianna followed through with her plan, she could take Alexander Black down at the same time. Nothing was going to stand in the way of her revenge.

And the best part was, they would never see it coming.