Chapter 18: The News Breaks

I woke up to chaos.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Texts. Calls. Notifications.

I grabbed it. The screen was full of news alerts.

PROMINENT FAMILY UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR TAX FRAUD

DILLARD ENTERPRISES ACCUSED OF BRIBERY

MARGARET DILLARD FACING FEDERAL CHARGES

It was everywhere. Every news site. Every social media platform.

My family was being destroyed in real time.

I should have felt guilty. These were my parents.

But all I felt was relief.

A knock on my door. "Lita? You awake?" Stacey's voice.

"Yeah. Come in."

She opened the door with her phone. "Have you seen the news?"

"Just woke up to it."

"It's everywhere. Your family is trending." She sat on my bed. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly? I don't know." I stared at my phone. "Part of me thinks I should care. But I don't."

"That's okay. They didn't care about you."

Another knock. Cole walked in. "Your mother's calling a press conference. In an hour."

"What?"

"Damage control. She'll deny everything. Claim it's a smear campaign." He sat on the bed. "She's also going to talk about you."

My stomach dropped. "What about me?"

"Her publicist claims you’ve been kidnapped by a cult and she’s worried about your mental health. They're asking the public for help."

"A cult?"

"Us. The gym. She's painting us as dangerous." Cole showed me his phone. "It's already spreading."

I read the tweets. People were picking sides. Some believed my mother. Some called her a liar.

But a lot were asking questions. About me. About the gym. About what we really were.

"This is bad," I said.

"It gets worse." Andres appeared in the doorway. "Someone leaked photos of the gym after last night. Blood. Destruction. All of it."

"How? The police sealed it."

“Someone inside. My guess? Your mother bought a cop.” He closed the door. “The photos are viral. People are asking questions.”

"What do we do?" I looked between them.

"We fight back," Cole said. "Tell our side. Press conference. Today. Before your mother controls the story."

"They'll ask questions. About the gym. What we do."

"We stick to the story. Training facility. Self defense. Boxing. MMA." Cole's eyes were intense. "Nothing illegal. Nothing supernatural."

"And if someone asks about wolves?"

Silence.

"We deny it," Alex said from the hall. He'd been listening. "Call it conspiracy nonsense. Blame your mother trying to discredit us."

"Will that work?"

"It has to." Cole took my hand. "Because the other option is running. And I'm done running."

An hour later, we stood in front of the gym. Cameras everywhere. Reporters shouting.

Cole stood at a microphone. I stood beside him. The pack behind us.

“Thank you for coming,” Cole said calmly. “I want to address the rumors about this gym and the people here.”

"Is it true you're holding Lita Dillard against her will?" a reporter shouted.

"No. Lita came here of her own free will. For her own protection." Cole looked at me. "She'll explain."

I stepped to the mic. My hands shook but my voice was steady.

"My name is Lita Dillard. I'm eighteen. For the past year and a half, I've been in an abusive relationship with Brian Mitchell."

Cameras flashed. Reporters wrote notes.

"He hurt me. Controlled me. Isolated me from anyone who tried to help." I pulled up my sleeve. Showing the bruises, fading but visible. "These are from him. The last time he grabbed me."

Gasps. More flashing.

"My brother James tried to help me. He died under suspicious circumstances at this gym a year ago. I believe Brian had something to do with it."

"Do you have proof?" someone yelled.

"I have my brother's journal. He wrote about Brian threatening him. About meeting him the night he died." I took a breath. "I gave everything to the police. They're investigating."

"What about your mother? She says you're mentally unstable."

“My mother knew and did nothing. She used pills to control me and threatened commitment when I tried to leave.” My voice hardened. “When I escaped, she sent an armed man after me.”

"That's quite an accusation."

“Marcus Chen. Works for my mother’s attorney. Broke in with a gun and syringe. Tried to drug me. Mr. Hartman stopped him.” I looked at Cole. “He saved my life."

More questions. Everyone talking at once.

Cole stepped back to the mic. "We've cooperated with police. Marcus Chen is in custody. Investigation ongoing. That's all."

"One more question!" A reporter pushed forward. "There are rumors this gym is a front. That you and your people aren't human. Care to comment?"

The pack tensed.

Cole smiled. Cold. "That's absurd. We're a legitimate business. Boxing, MMA, self defense. Nothing more. If you want to spread conspiracy theories, that's your choice. We deal in facts."

"What about the photos? The blood? The destruction? How does one man cause that?"

“He brought help. Five or six masked people. They attacked while we protected Lita. It got violent. We defended ourselves.” Cole’s voice hardened. “And we’ll keep defending everyone under our protection. Clear?”

The reporter backed down.

"Thank you. No more questions." Cole took my hand.

We walked back inside. The pack followed. Doors shut.

Inside, everyone was quiet.

"That went well," Marcus said. "Relatively."

"They're not convinced," Stacey said. "About the human thing. People are already posting theories."

"Let them," Cole said. "Theories aren't proof."

My phone rang. Unknown number.

I answered. "Hello?"

"Quite a performance." My mother. Colder than ever. "Did you really think that would work?"

"It's the truth."

"Your truth. Not the truth." She paused. "You made a mistake. A big one. Now you'll pay."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise. You want to play in public? Fine. Let's see how you handle what comes next."

She hung up.

I looked at Cole. "She's planning something."

"I know."

"What do we do?"

Before he could answer, Andres's computer started beeping. Loud. Urgent.

"What is it?" Cole asked.

Andres stared at his screen. Face pale.

"Someone posted our pack registry online. Names. Addresses. Photos. Everything."

"What?" Alex grabbed the computer. "How? That's encrypted."

"Someone hacked us. Or..." Andres looked sick. "Or someone inside leaked it."

Everyone started talking. Accusations. Denials. Panic.

"Quiet!" Cole's Alpha command filled the room. Everyone stopped. "Andres, can you trace it?"

"Already on it." His fingers flew. "It came from... no."

"What?"

"Inside this building." Andres looked up. "Someone here leaked it."

The pack turned on each other. Eyes suspicious.

"Who?" Cole's voice was deadly calm. "Who did this?"

No one answered.

Then the lights went out.

All of them. The whole building went dark.

Emergency lights kicked in. Red glow.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"Lockdown protocol," Alex said. "Someone triggered it from security."

"Who has access?"

"Just you, me, and Andres."

They looked at each other.

Then screaming. From upstairs.

We all ran.

In the common room, Erica stood over a body.

Tyler. One of the younger pack members. Blood pooled around him.

In Erica's hand, a knife.

"Erica?" Cole's voice was barely human. "What did you do?"

She looked up. Smiled.

But her eyes were wrong. Glowing.

Red.

"Hello, Alpha," she said. But it wasn't her voice. Multiple voices speaking as one. "Miss me?"