Chapter 37
Lisa's POV:
The phone vibrated in my hand, displaying a number I didn't recognize but immediately knew who it belonged to.
I took a sip of my coffee before answering, keeping my voice low despite being alone in the hall.
"Hello?" My tone was clipped, professional.
"It's done," the gruff voice on the other end said without preamble. "The car's been abandoned exactly where you suggested. No one saw me leave."
I felt a surge of satisfaction warm my chest like the coffee in my hand.
Finally, someone who could follow simple instructions.
"Good," I replied, glancing at the framed photo of Noah on my desk—my beautiful son, forever frozen at nineteen.
"Any complications?"
"None that concerns you," he said, his tone shifting. "What concerns me is when I'm getting paid. The job's done, and I need my money."
I frowned, annoyed by his impatience.
"The full amount will be transferred once I confirm the effectiveness of your work."
"What do you mean by 'effectiveness'? I did exactly what you asked. I drove the car at them, made it look like an accident."
"From what I've heard, the injuries weren't that severe," I said, my irritation growing. "The Omega is already awake and recovering. That's hardly what I'd call effective."
There was a pause on the other end before the man's voice returned, now tinged with anger.
"Listen, lady, I did my part. It's not my fault that the girl has quick reflexes. You're not planning to back out of our deal, are you? Because that would be a very unwise decision."
"Are you threatening me?" I asked, my voice dropping several degrees.
"I'm just stating facts," he replied, unimpressed. "I took a massive risk doing this job for you. There's some force investigating the accident now. I'm close to being identified."
A flicker of unease passed through me. A mysterious force was investigating? That was unexpected.
Had Tori somehow befriended someone with actual status?
But I quickly dismissed the thought. She was just a disgraced Omega, unwanted and unwelcome in most circles. She couldn't possibly stir up any real trouble.
"You're letting a few lackeys scare you?" I scoffed. "The girl is nothing but a convicted Omega with no connections. She can't stir up any real trouble."
"You sound awfully confident," he said, his voice bitter. "Easy for you to sit back and relax when I'm the one in the hot seat, not you."
"Relax," I assured him, my voice smooth as ice.
"Even if they somehow manage to catch you and throw you in Silver Fang, I have enough connections to get you out. "
I could almost hear him weighing my words, calculating the risk versus the reward.
"Fine," he eventually conceded, though reluctance laced his tone. "But I want at least half the payment now. Consider it insurance for both of us."
"I'll transfer it to your account today," I agreed, knowing it was better to keep him placated. "The rest will come when the dust settles."
"It's better," he warned before the line went dead.
As soon as the call ended, I opened my encrypted messaging app and sent a brief note to my most trusted assistant.
"Driver becoming a liability. Clean the situation by the end of the week. No traces."
I smiled coldly at the screen. I wasn't about to let some amateur threaten me and live to tell about it. Threats against me always came with consequences, and I never left loose ends that could lead back to me.
I placed my phone on the desk and took another sip of my coffee, which had grown cold during the conversation.
The bitter taste matched my mood.
Tori Sullivan might have survived this attempt, but it was only the beginning.
I still remember the day I saw her at that café, sitting there as if she hadn't destroyed my life. As if she had the right to live peacefully while my son rotted in the ground.
The rage I'd felt had nearly consumed me. It still burned inside me, a constant flame that would only be extinguished when she suffered as I had suffered.
I had already arranged for people to "take care of her" during those four years she spent in Silver Fang. If I could reach her behind those secured walls, I could certainly do the same now that she was out.
The prison had its limitations, but out here? My options were limitless.
What was that old saying? An eye for an eye? No, that wasn't enough. I wanted Tori to live in hell every single day.
The memory of Noah's smile flashed in my mind, strengthening my resolve.
My hand unconsciously tightened around my mug until my knuckles turned white.
The sound of the front door closing pulled me from my thoughts.
My daughter Sophia stood frozen in the entryway of the living room, her body instantly tensing when she saw me sitting there.
Her eyes darted to the photo of Noah I held, and she became even more rigid, like prey sensing a predator.
"Where have you been?" I asked, my voice sharp.
"Just... school project," she mumbled, clutching her backpack tighter.
I felt the familiar irritation rise within me.
"All you ever do is run around outside," I snapped, the bitterness I'd been nursing all day finding a target. "School project this, study group that. Always an excuse to be somewhere else."
Sophia flinched, her shoulders hunching as if trying to make herself smaller.
"If you had been watching out for your brother four years ago instead of running off with your friends, he would still be alive!" My voice rose with each word.
"He... he told me not to come with him," Sophia whispered, her voice so faint I barely heard her.
She couldn't even look at me as she spoke, her eyes fixed on the floor.
"You dare talk back to me?" I snapped, rising from my seat.
The stinging slap across her face echoed in the quiet room.
"That's enough, Lisa."
I turned to see David standing in the doorway, his expression a mixture of weariness and disgust.
He moved forward, pulling Sophia behind him protectively.
"Haven't you caused enough damage?" he asked, his voice steady despite the anger I could see in his eyes. "It's been four years. Four years of this endless rage. Noah's death wasn't Sophia's fault."
"Then whose fault was it?" I demanded, feeling my control slipping. "Mine? For spoiling him, for letting him think he could do whatever he wanted?"