Chapter 61

Renee

"Daddy--"

One of them held up a hand. "Second verse same as the first. Ask your mother for a cut of her allowance if you must."

Margo flushed.

Vivian’s mouth opened, then snapped shut. Her gaze darted to the other alphas, all watching with cool curiosity. She turned red.

I stared, stunned. My chest twisted with surprise, a flicker of sympathy, and an odd, deep relief. It couldn't be easy to start drawing hard lines with her after all these years, but I was glad that he was proving to be… the kind of alpha I thought he was.

I was really surprised because in my last life she hadn't been cut off this early. I wonder what happened.

"Well, have a good night."

"You as well, Renee." He nodded at Neil as we turned to leave. The men with him waved us goodbye as I heard Dominic telling the staff that if Vivian and her friends tried to leave without paying, call the police.

I almost laughed as Neil walked me to the awaiting car.

"Thanks for bringing me out tonight, Neil." Some of my nervousness resurfaced, but he grinned down at me.

" I really thought the night was ruined when they showed up, but I couldn't have asked for a better way to end things.”

I laughed. "Right?"

"You get some good sleep. All right? Text me when you get home?"

I nodded. "I will."

He opened the door for me, ushering me into the car and didn't even hesitate to walk away. All that nervousness sort of deflated, and I sank back against the seat. The car pulled away from the curb, and I watched the city lights blur past the window, my body ached with the kind of fatigue that settled in deep, dragging my eyelids closed. My phone buzzed for the fifth time in a row, and I already knew what it was.

Vivian.

Another message popped up on my screen as I checked it.

You're going to pay for this.

You think it'll last? He doesn't want some little nobody.

You're still a fat cow, you've just got better clothes now.

I didn’t reply. I took a screen shot and sent it to Arielle. I was going to let her continue to dig her own grave. As we headed back to the condos, something kept circling in the back of my mind.

Why had Dominic cut her off so publicly, so decisively? He hadn’t done that so soon in the past. When she'd lost access to Brightclaw money before it had been quiet. Sudden, yes, but behind closed doors. The humiliation had come from the way she'd had to tone down her life, not something so public. SO why now.

I wanted to think it was just because he’d finally reached his limit. But that didn’t track.

So… what was it?

I had no idea, but I really wanted to know. I was still turning it over in my head when the car pulled up to the condo building. I thanked my bodyguard and headed inside, sending Neil a message saying I was home.

Sweet dreams. He replied and that was all.

I rode up the elevator, smiling like a fool, relieved and touched and practically glowing. I got to the penthouse's door and found Arielle waiting.

She was perched on the couch like a jaguar mid-stretch, her head turning the moment I stepped inside. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her nostrils flared and she smirked at me with a teasing, glint in her eyes. I froze.

"Nice handkerchief." I shoved my phone into my pocket, shoving the handkerchief down. "There a reason you smell like tears, grilled meat, and Lord Blackfang you want to talk about tonight?"

I huffed. "You can't smell all that on me."

"I do. A hint of your daddy alpha, too and that wench's perfume,” she said, rising. “And her. What happened?”

I opened my mouth to lie. To brush it off. But she was already walking over, crossing her arms.

“Don’t even try it. What happened?”

I sighed and dropped my bag onto the counter and sank into a seat by the bar.

“We went out,” I said, tugging my shoes off. “Neil and some of his friends from work. Vivian showed up.”

Arielle’s eyebrow arched. “And?”

“She was basically throwing herself at him across the table. Neil paid for my dinner, her friends’ cards all got declined… And then, when we were leaving, Dominic showed up with some of his friends.”

"Glad to hear I don't have to instruct Lord Blackfang on proper courting etiquette." Arielle blinked. “Dominic has friends?”

I nodded. “He introduced me. Nicely. Like, professionally. Didn’t mention I was his ward.”

She tilted her head like she was reevaluating something.

“And Vivian?”

“She complained about the bill,” I said, shrugging my coat off. "And--"

"Not her tantrum. The screenshot you sent me?"

"Oh… that was after."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Anything else?"

"Dominic cut her off, told the restaurant to call the police if she didn't pay."

Arielle let out a low whistle, “About time."

“I know. He never did anything like that before.”

"Before what?"

I grimaced, waving my head. "I meant before, like, when she would throw tantrums."

She hummed, eyeing me like she didn't buy it, but she didn't ask. Instead, she held out her hand.

"Your phone, dearest." I scoffed and handed it to her. "I promise not to judge if you're getting nudes from Neil."

I scowled at her. "That is not happening."

"Yet or ever?"

I sputtered. "You are the worst."

"I'm the best…" She frowned, scrolling back. "How long has she been talking to you like this."

"Arielle, it's not--"

"Answering would be faster than getting a warrant for your text records."

I grimaced. "… forever, I guess."

She pursed her lips. "You've reached the point in which you know she was never your friend, right?"

I nodded.

"And you never said anything to Dominic before because…"

I shrugged. "I… thought it was normal. I didn’t want to make it a thing.”

Arielle gave me a flat look. “I'm going to castrate Philip at first opportunity."

I laughed at that as my phone continued to chime. The notifications came in one right after the other. She scrolled through them, humming to herself.

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave a low, incredulous laugh. “She’s spiraling. Hard. This is wonderful.”

“Understatement,” I said quietly. “She’s furious about mNeil tried to threaten me in the office."

"Thank you for telling me I need to subpoena security footage, dear."

I sighed as Arielle started reading some of the messages.

They all sounded the same.

"You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re going to regret this.” She snorted. “She’s not even subtle.”

“She never is.”

“Has she ever threatened you before?"

"No," I said, closing my eyes. "And I'm not afraid of her.”

"I would never expect you to be." Arielle looked at me carefully. “So what's that look on your face now that the boring bits are out of the way?"

I frowned. "I just… feel weird."

"Should I point you in the right direction?"

I looked up at her. She handed my phone back. “How the hell does she even have this number?”

I blinked. That stopped me cold. I hadn’t thought about it. This was the new number Arielle had arranged, the second one. It should have been just me and a handful of other people to have it. Barely more that ten people should have my new number.

My stomach dropped.

“She… shouldn’t,” I whispered. “She shouldn’t have it.”

“Exactly,” Arielle said. “So someone gave it to her. Someone in your circle.”

My breath caught in my throat. My heart beat faster, louder. I went through the list.

“There’s Neil,” I said slowly. “A few people from school who have it—maybe three, tops. Administration, of course. And…”

I didn’t want to say the last name, but Arielle said it for me.

“Dominic.”

My blood turned to ice.

I stared down at the phone in my hands like it might spit the answer out if I just stared hard enough.

No.

I didn’t want it to be any of them. Not Neil. Not my study group, and definitely not Dominic.

But one of them had to have given my number to her.

Arielle’s voice came softer now. “We’ll find out who. I promise. Don't block her, just silence the chain for now. It's best to be able to sue her and throw her under the jail.”

"Dominic won't let you," I said automatically. " He might have cut her off, but he's not going to just throw it to the wolves. She's still his daughter."

And unlike Philip, that meant something to Dominic.

"We'll see."

I nodded once, gripping my phone tightly as a new kind of burn settled behind my ribs. That dread and fear was back. I heard the howling wind over the ocean and instead of Tyler's face, it was Dominic leaning over the railing, watching me fall. My stomach lurched and my eyes burned.

This couldn't be happening.