Chapter 5

"Well done!" Brynn didn't hide her support. "You can't be soft on a muddle-headed man like that and a scheming homewrecker!"

"But what are you going to do next? I heard that Lila is no easy opponent." Her tone became somber. "She's telling everyone she was wrongly accused, that you can't tolerate her as a junior, making many unsuspecting people think you're a jealous, evil Luna."

"I know, I read her long post." I picked up the organized file folder from the table. "Don't rush, let her perform for now."

The biggest mistake in a public opinion war is to let the opponent control the narrative.

She wants to play the victim and gain sympathy, so I'll give her enough stage to perform.

The harder she plays the victim now, the more innocent she portrays herself, the harder she'll fall when the undeniable proof comes out.

"I'm never interested in just a war of words with her," I tapped the file folder.

"What I want is for her academic qualifications to be revoked, for her to be completely blacklisted from the North American werewolf research community, with no chance of even touching core projects."

"So, what are your plans for today? Just staying in the cabin?" Brynn asked.

I looked at the bright sunshine outside the window and slowly said:

"No. I'm going to the university. There are some things I need to retrieve personally. And, it's time to meet the two main characters."

"Alright!" Brynn's voice was excited.

"Do you need me to come with you? To back you up! I'm free today and can come anytime."

"No need," I declined her kind offer. "This is my battle, and I'll fight it myself."

Hanging up the phone, I walked into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe.

I chose a charcoal-gray suit skirt, sharp in its cut and full of presence, paired with black ankle boots.

Then I sat at the vanity and applied sophisticated, sharp makeup.

Looking at the radiant woman with cold eyes in the mirror, I smiled with satisfaction.

Elara, welcome back.

This show has just begun.

I grabbed my car keys and left, my destination the Chicago University administration building.

I wanted to see just how far they'd taken this act without me, the "vicious shrew," present.

My car was a black Land Rover, a gift from the Blackspire Pack Elders to us the year Kian became Alpha.

Thinking about it now, it was ironic.

The car drove steadily towards the campus, where I had shared a research lab with him, and where a veritable trap awaited me.

The Land Rover pulled into the exclusive faculty parking spot.

I turned off the engine but didn't immediately get out.

I looked at myself in the rearview mirror: lips red as blood, eyes cold as ice.

Good, this was the battle attire I needed.

I pushed the door open and stepped out, my boots clicking crisply on the polished floor, the sound amplified in the empty garage like war drums.

Entering the elevator, I pressed the top floor directly; the department head's and Kian's offices were both on this level.

The elevator doors opened to a familiar hallway, familiar lab signs.

But today's atmosphere was entirely different.

The usually quiet and orderly office area was now filled with an eerie silence.

Everyone sat at their workstations, pretending to read literature or conduct experiments, but their wandering eyes, perked ears, and occasional furtive taps on their keyboards betrayed them.

The air was thick with gossip and speculation, mingled with a faint, almost imperceptible trace of white peach perfume.

When I appeared in their field of vision in a striking black suit skirt, the entire office area seemed to be paused.

All eyes simultaneously fixated on me.

Shock, curiosity, sympathy, schadenfreude… a complex web of emotions converged, enveloping me.

I walked straight ahead, chin slightly raised, my pace unwavering, heading directly towards the end of the hallway.

There was no need to care about the onlookers' gazes.

My objective was clear, and had been all along: to retrieve what was rightfully mine.

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