Chapter 48 It's getting harder by ×2
Elara waited and watched Adrian sleep, and exactly ten minutes later her phone pinged with an email from Elena containing a list of three names.
Two were visiting pack officials she recognized from council meetings.
The third was someone named Victoria Chen, listed as a distant cousin of Kai's mother.
"Chen," Elara whispered and felt cold dread settle in her stomach.
She texted Maya: "Does Kai have a cousin named Victoria Chen?"
Maya's response came fast: "No. His mother was an only child. Why?"
"Because someone using that name is staying in the guest quarters," Elara typed back.
"That's not good," Maya replied. "Stay away from the third floor."
But Elara was already moving, carrying Adrian carefully and locking him in her bathroom with pillows and blankets before heading upstairs.
The third-floor corridor was dark and quiet, and she moved silently toward the east wing where light showed under one door.
She pressed her ear against it and heard a woman's voice speaking quietly.
"—confirmed the bloodline claim will proceed. The regional council meets in two weeks."
A pause, then: "Yes, Mandivus is out and moving toward Crescent Falls. He should arrive within forty-eight hours."
Another pause: "Darius sends his regards and reminds you that failure isn't acceptable."
Elara's blood went cold because whoever this woman was, she was coordinating with both Mandivus and Darius.
She pulled out her phone to record but the door opened suddenly and a woman stood there—mid-thirties, sharp features, cold eyes.
"Elara Whitmore," the woman said. "I was wondering when you'd figure it out."
"Who are you?" Elara demanded.
"Victoria Chen, though that's not my real name obviously," the woman said. "I'm what you might call a facilitator."
"You're working with Darius and Mandivus," Elara said.
"Among others," Victoria said. "There are quite a few people interested in seeing you and your son removed from the picture."
"Why?" Elara asked.
"Because you're complicating things," Victoria said. "The bloodline claim threatens existing power structures, Adrian's existence creates succession problems, and frankly you've made too many enemies who are willing to pay for solutions."
"Solutions like murder," Elara said.
"Solutions like whatever's necessary," Victoria corrected. "Now, you have two choices—withdraw the bloodline claim and disappear quietly, or things get very unpleasant for everyone you care about."
"I'm not withdrawing anything," Elara said.
"Then you've chosen unpleasant," Victoria said and pulled a gun from her jacket. "Nothing personal, just business."
Elara dove sideways as the gun fired, the bullet hitting the wall behind where she'd been standing, and she ran for the stairs while Victoria pursued.
"Guards!" Elara screamed. "Security!"
More gunshots and Elara felt one graze her arm as she tumbled down the stairs, hitting the second-floor landing hard.
Victoria appeared at the top of the stairs reloading, and Elara scrambled toward Kai's office where she knew he kept weapons.
She burst through the door and locked it, hearing Victoria's footsteps approaching while she searched frantically for anything to defend herself with.
Her fingers closed around a letter opener on Kai's desk as the door splintered under Victoria's kicks.
The door gave way and Victoria entered with her gun raised, and Elara threw the letter opener with everything she had.
It hit Victoria's gun hand and she dropped the weapon with a curse, and Elara tackled her before she could retrieve it.
They fought viciously, Elara using everything she'd learned in two years of borderlands survival while Victoria fought with professional training.
Victoria got on top and her hands closed around Elara's throat, squeezing until black spots danced across her vision.
Then Victoria jerked and went limp, collapsing sideways.
Kai stood behind her holding a fireplace poker, his face pale.
"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling Elara to her feet.
"Adrian," Elara gasped. "He's in my bathroom."
They ran to her room and found Adrian exactly where she'd left him, sleeping peacefully despite the chaos.
Kai called security and had Victoria restrained, then turned to Elara. "What happened?"
"She's working with Darius and Mandivus," Elara said. "Coordinating attacks, I heard her on the phone."
"How long has she been here?" Kai demanded.
"Three days according to guest records," Elara said. "Claiming to be your cousin."
"I don't have a cousin named Victoria," Kai said. "And my security team should have caught that."
"Unless someone on your security team is compromised," Elara said.
Kai's expression darkened. "I'm purging the entire staff and starting over, no more trusting anyone."
"What about the bloodline claim?" Elara asked.
"Goes forward," Kai said firmly. "I'm not letting terrorists dictate pack policy."
"They'll try again," Elara said.
"Let them try," Kai said. "Next time we'll be ready."
But even as he said it, Elara knew ready wouldn't be enough when they were surrounded by enemies on all sides.