Chapter 66

Third Person POV

Social media and trashy journalism were a terrible combination. People who had nothing going on in their own lives were hyper-fixated on the lives of those they considered higher class—the rich, the privileged, the children of leaders.

David had once thought he could use that to his advantage, but it had backfired spectacularly. Now, not only was he the subject of mockery online, but he had to watch happy pictures of Ella with Alexander flood his feeds.

The two of them were constantly in public, and it seemed like there was always someone nearby with a camera to document their dates.

David had hoped that Alexander's exes coming forward would change Ella’s mind. He had even gone to all of the trouble of paying several women to give exaggerated accounts to make sure the media would run with the story.

After all, Ella had been so infuriated by his own indiscretions, so why should Alexander get to slide?

But instead of leaving him, Ella defended Alexander, stood by his side, and even held his hand during that press conference Alexander had called to address the rumors.

The sight of her standing beside him, fingers laced with Alexander’s, was burned into David’s mind. It made his blood boil with rage.

How could she defend him? How could she stand by a man she barely knew when she had thrown David away so easily after everything they'd been through? It wasn’t fair.

And David was not going to stand for it. If Ella wouldn’t come to her senses, David would find another way to get to her.

It was as simple as that because there was no way he was going to let another man—let alone that bastard Alexander—have her. Ella was his. She always had been, and she always would be.

Whether she liked it or not.

Ella POV

"You look exhausted," my mother said as I walked down to breakfast.

“I didn’t sleep well,” I replied weakly, glancing around the table. I was later than I realized.

After finding David’s letter, I couldn’t sleep. My mind had been spinning, trying to figure out how he had managed to get the letter into the house.

It seemed impossible, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a traitor helping him. I had to find out who.

It was a stark reminder of how much work I had left to do.

By the time I had finally drifted off, it was well past midnight, and I had slept through my alarms. Most of the family had already finished breakfast, leaving just my parents at the table.

"Is everything alright?" my father asked, his concern obvious.

“No,” I answered honestly, sitting down beside him and reaching for a piece of toast with jam. “The letter that was left on my desk has upset me.”

“Letter?” my father asked, his tone sharpening.

"What letter?" my mother asked, her voice tight with worry.

I froze, dropping the toast, my eyes going wide as I stared at her.

My heart began to race, a wave of fear gripping me. My reaction must have startled them because my father shot up from his chair and quickly walked around to my side.

“Ella?” he asked, kneeling in front of me, his hand lightly gripping my arm. “What in the world is going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“If you and Mother didn’t have the letter brought up to my room, then how did it get there?” I asked, my voice shaky.

“What letter?” my mother asked again, fear clear in her tone.

“A letter from David,” I managed, struggling to control my emotions. “There was a letter from David sitting on my desk.”

My father stood up abruptly and hurried out of the room.

My mother moved closer, sitting beside me. She took both of my hands in hers, looking into my eyes with a seriousness that sent a chill down my spine. “Are you sure, Ella?”

“How could I be wrong about this? It was sitting on my desk when I got home last night. I assumed that you put it there.”

“We didn’t know you got any mail,” she replied, her voice tense. A flicker of anger crossed my mother’s face—an intensity I had never seen before. “We’re going to find out who’s behind this,” she declared.

“I know,” I replied, a mix of determination and dread swelling in my chest.

I hadn’t wanted to get my parents involved in this, but there was no avoiding it now. If the traitor had access to our house, we had to be on high alert. I would be putting them in danger if I tried to hide this from them.

The thought of what happened to my father in the original timeline made tears spring to my eyes. I wouldn’t let anyone take him away from me again. I had to find a way to protect him and my mother.

“Oh, baby,” my mother said, noticing my tears. She pulled me into a tight hug and rubbed my back, her touch gentle but full of reassurance. “I can only imagine how frightened you are, but it’s all going to be all right, I promise you. Your father and I will do everything in our power to protect you.”

I returned her hug, holding on tightly, and silently made her the same promise. I would protect them, no matter what.

Alexander POV

I sat in my office, fingers steepled under my chin, staring at the handwritten report before me. It was the result of a private investigation I had ordered into David Lake.

I shouldn't be getting involved in Ella's business, of course, but she was an asset to me, and I made it a habit to protect my assets.

At least, that was the explanation I gave August when he handed me the report, which had been enclosed in an envelope. He had stood by, waiting while I read the report.

I glanced up at him, and he met my eyes steadily; the critical raising of his eyebrow was the only indication he was judging my decision.

August was the best beta I could have hoped for—loyal, intelligent, and unafraid to tell me when I was making a fool of myself.

It was important to have someone you could rely on to call you out when you were making bad decisions. Too many alphas I knew treated their betas like glorified butlers. August was my equal, even if he was bound to follow my orders.

He stood across from my desk, looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to explain.

"You can speak freely, August," I said, glancing up at him. "I know you have something to say."

"Sir, I know that Ella Rowan has been helpful to us," August replied in his usual even, measured tone. "But I think we need to consider that this deal with her may be more trouble than it's worth. It's clear things are far more complicated than we initially believed."

I nodded as I mulled over his words. He was right—things had gotten far more complicated than I had expected. Initially, I thought I'd help Ella get a little revenge on her dirtbag of a boyfriend, and in return, she'd help me improve my reputation.

A simple enough proposition. We would both benefit, and then part ways.

But that wasn’t how things were playing out. It wasn’t Ella’s fault, though. In fact, she may have done me a world of good by pushing me to look deeper into David.

It turned out Mr. Lake had secrets—ones that went far beyond cheating on his girlfriend.

“The Lunar Lake Pack... they’re a threat to us, aren’t they?” I asked, my voice low.

“That very much depends on how you define ‘threat,’” August replied coolly. “They’re rivals, certainly, but I don’t see what danger they could possibly pose to us.”

“Take a look at the report,” I said, sliding the paper across my desk to him.

August picked up the paper, his sharp green eyes scanning it quickly. A grave expression crossed his face before he looked up at me again.

“That’s... unexpected,” he said.

“Very,” I agreed. “And it’s something we need to address. I can’t believe we’ve overlooked it for so long.”

August gave a knowing smile. “And I suppose you’re going to give Miss Rowan the credit for bringing this problem to your attention?”

“Shouldn’t I?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just be careful with her,” August warned. “It seems to me that trouble follows her, and we’d do well to avoid getting ourselves tangled in more of it.”