Chapter 4
Aurora glanced up from the tablet in her lap before looking at me with an expression that was somewhere between admiration and disbelief.
"You really left them a financial guide?"
I looked up from the book resting on my knees and nodded.
"A simplified one."
She let out a dry laugh.
"You're too kind."
"Not really."
The guide I had left behind only covered the company's daily financial operations. Anyone with enough experience could understand it after spending a little time studying.
The real financial framework of Quinn Corporation...
That was something else entirely.
Eleven years of revisions.
Eleven years of hidden safeguards designed for both Quinn Corporation and the Mooncrest Pack's assets.
The guide couldn't even scratch the surface.
Aurora leaned against the sofa, crossing her arms.
"So you already knew this would happen."
"I knew they'd struggle."
She smiled knowingly.
"And Kendrick?"
I slowly closed my book.
"He'll find out soon enough."
Aurora's lips curled upward.
"I almost feel sorry for him."
I didn't.
...
That afternoon, my phone rang unexpectedly.
An unfamiliar number.
I almost ignored it before answering.
The moment the call connected, a young woman's sobbing voice poured through the speaker.
"M-Ms. Moretti..."
I recognized it immediately.
Mary.
"Evelyn..." she cried, barely able to breathe. "Please... please help us."
I remained silent.
"The accounts are a mess." Her voice trembled uncontrollably. "We've been working for two days without sleeping, but nothing balances. Every time we solve one problem, three more appear."
I stared quietly out the window.
Outside, the afternoon breeze carried the scent of pine trees and wildflowers.
How peaceful.
Nothing like the panic on the other end of the phone.
"Ms. Carter..." Mary continued through tears. "She said if we can't balance the books before tonight, she'll fire the entire department."
Avery.
Of course.
I could almost picture her standing in the finance department, trying to establish dominance over a room full of terrified wolves who had no idea what they were looking at.
"Did Avery ask you to call me?"
"No!"
Mary answered almost immediately.
"I secretly got your number from Ava Walker in Administration."
Her breathing remained uneven.
"Evelyn... we all know what happened wasn't fair. None of us ever forgot how much you taught us. Please... just this once. Help us."
There was genuine desperation in her voice.
A few months ago...
Perhaps I would have softened.
Now...
My heart remained perfectly still.
"Mary."
I spoke quietly.
"I've already left Quinn Corporation."
She cried even harder.
"But... there's a forty-million-dollar discrepancy."
"We can't find it anywhere."
"If we don't solve it tonight, the company's stock will crash tomorrow morning."
Forty million.
A faint smile touched my lips.
They hadn't even reached the real problem yet.
The forty million was merely the first contingency layer.
Beyond that...
There were dozens more.
Every emergency reserve.
Every hidden investment.
Every classified pack fund.
Every financial transfer connected to inter-pack treaties.
I had built those safeguards one by one over eleven years.
Only I knew how every path connected.
"That's no longer my responsibility."
My voice remained calm.
Almost indifferent.
"But..."
"Back then," I interrupted softly, "Ms. Carter said Quinn Corporation needed people who were more professional than me."
I paused before adding,
"Then let the professionals solve it."
Silence.
Mary's sobs were the only sound left.
"I'm sorry."
I ended the call.
Without hesitation, I blocked her number.
Aurora, who had listened to the entire conversation from across the living room, slowly raised a thumb.
"Finally."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"That's exactly what they deserve."
I smiled faintly.
Perhaps.
...
That evening, my phone vibrated again.
Unknown international number.
I ignored it.
It rang again.
And again.
Six missed calls.
Then eight.
By the tenth call, I already knew who it was.
Kendrick.
Only he would continue calling with such relentless confidence, convinced I would eventually answer.
The phone stopped ringing.
Seconds later, a text message appeared.
Evelyn.
Answer your phone.
Even through a screen, the message carried the familiar authority of an Alpha accustomed to giving orders.
No explanation.
No concern.
No asking whether I was all right.
Just a command.
For eight years, I had obeyed that tone without question.
Now...
It felt strangely unfamiliar.
The corners of my lips lifted into a cold smile.
One tap.
Block.
His international number disappeared from my phone alongside every other way he had once reached me.
I set the phone down.
"This is where your story ends, Kendrick."
I whispered the words to myself.
Then I shook my head.
"No."
"The story that ended..."
"...was ours."
As for mine...
It was only just beginning.
...
The following morning, Quinn Corporation dominated every financial headline.
[Quinn Corporation Delays Quarterly Financial Report. Internal Crisis Suspected.]
[Financial Turmoil Sends Quinn Corporation Stock Plunging at Market Open.]
[Rumors of Senior Staff Departure Shake Investor Confidence.]
One article after another flooded the business pages.
The accompanying photographs showed Quinn Corporation's headquarters surrounded by reporters, camera flashes illuminating the entrance while employees hurried inside with exhausted expressions.
Aurora scrolled through the news while eating toast.
Then she let out a whistle.
"You really struck the Alpha where it hurts."
I calmly stirred my oatmeal.
"If this keeps up, Kendrick must be furious."
"Good."
The word slipped out more quietly than I expected.
Aurora looked up.
I continued eating before speaking again.
"If he isn't forced to feel the consequences..."
"...he'll never understand what he lost."
She studied me for several seconds before asking,
"So..."
"You've blocked him?"
"Every number."
"Even his international line."
Aurora grinned.
"I wish I could've seen his face."
I almost laughed.
"You probably will."
She raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
I placed the spoon down.
"Knowing Kendrick..."
"The first thing he'll do after landing is go back to the condo."
"He'll expect me to be waiting there."
"When he finds it empty, he'll lose his temper."
"And after that?"
I looked out through the window toward the distant skyline of Riverdale.
"He'll have Tyler track me down."
Aurora nodded slowly.
"And when he finally finds you?"
A quiet smile appeared on my face.
"I'll hand him the divorce agreement."
Outside, a cold wind stirred the treetops.
Somewhere across the city, an Alpha was probably tearing apart conference rooms trying to put out a fire he never saw coming.
He still believed this was a financial crisis.
He had yet to realize...
The real loss wasn't Quinn Corporation.
It was his Luna.