Chapter 115: The Anonymous Benefactor
Sierra's POV
I couldn't sleep after the threatening message. Adrian held me all night, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw that red X drawn over my face.
Evelyn has been attacking us in the shadows now she’s out showing herself and telling me she can hurt me personally.
When morning came, I was exhausted and scared. Adrian wanted to cancel all my appointments for the day, but I refused. I wouldn't let whoever sent that message win by hiding.
The Luna Foundation’s office that I’ve started as part of my Luna duties was quiet when I arrived. My assistant handed me my schedule with a concerned look.
"There's someone waiting for you," she said. "Xavier Reed. He says it's important." My stomach dropped. Xavier Reed was one of the pack's wealthiest members. He owned half the businesses in town and had a reputation for getting what he wanted. I had met him briefly at the charity, but we had never spoken privately.
Xavier stood when I entered my office. He was older than Adrian, maybe fifty, with silver hair and sharp blue eyes. His suit probably cost more than my car. "Luna Sierra," he said, shaking my hand. His grip was firm.
"Thank you for seeing me without an appointment." I gestured to the chair across from my desk. "What can I do for you, Mr. Reed?"
He sat down and pulled an envelope from his jacket. "I want to help fund your projects. The community programs you mentioned at the Charity. The ones for mothers and children." He slid the envelope across my desk. "This is a check for fifty thousand dollars. Consider it a starting donation." I stared at the envelope without touching it. Fifty thousand dollars was more money than I had ever seen. "That's very generous," I said slowly. "But I have to ask why you're offering this."
Xavier smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I believe in what you're trying to do. Supporting families, helping mothers who struggle. It's important work."
Something felt wrong. My ability whispered warnings I couldn't quite hear. Xavier’s emotions were carefully controlled, but underneath, I sensed desperation. Fear. He wasn't doing this out of kindness. He needed something from me.
"I appreciate the offer," I said, pushing the envelope back toward him. "But the Foundation has protocols. All donations go through our board for approval. I can't accept personal checks."
Xavier’s smile tightened. "I understand. But Sierra, may I call you Sierra?" He didn't wait for my answer. "Sometimes good work needs fast funding. Bureaucracy slows things down. This money could help families right now, today."
I kept my voice steady. "Then donate it through proper channels. I'm sure the board will approve it quickly." Xavier leaned forward. His desperation leaked through stronger now. "I'd prefer this stays between us. Anonymous donation. No paperwork, no questions."
There it was. The real reason. He wanted something off the books. Something he could hold over me later. "Why?" I asked directly. "Why does it need to be secret?"
Xavier stood abruptly. "I thought you'd understand. Thought you'd want to help people without all the red tape." He picked up the envelope. "My mistake. Forget I came."
He walked to the door, then paused. "You know, Sierra, in this world, sometimes you have to bend the rules to do real good. Adrian understands that. I thought you would too." Then he was gone, leaving me alone with questions churning in my head.
I called Ben immediately. "I need you to look into someone," I said when he answered. "Xavier Reed. Everything. His finances, his businesses, his connections. Something's wrong." Ben was quiet for a moment. "What happened?" I told him about the meeting, the fifty thousand dollars, the insistence on secrecy. "He was desperate, Ben. He Almost panicked when I refused. People that rich don't panic over rejected donations."
"I'll dig into it," Ben said. "Give me a few hours." Those hours felt like days. I tried to focus on work, reading grant proposals and planning community events, but my mind kept circling back to Xavier. What did he want? Why me? Why now, right after that threatening message? By late afternoon, Ben called back. “I’m on my way to your office."
I met me at the door with a grim expression. "Sit down," I said, gesturing to a chair. He pulled up files on his computer. "Xavier Reed is being blackmailed. Has been for six months." My breath caught. "Blackmailed? By who?" Ben shook his head. "Don't know yet. But whoever it is, they're bleeding him dry. He's liquidated assets, pulled money from investments, even borrowed against his businesses."
"What do they have on him?" I asked. Ben pulled up another file. "That's the interesting part. Xavier had an affair ten years ago. The woman got pregnant and he paid her to disappear, to never tell anyone the child was his." He looked at me. "That child would be nine now. Old enough to challenge Xavier’s legitimate heir and to split his fortune if the truth came out."
I felt sick. "So someone found out and is using it against him." Ben nodded. "They've been demanding payments. Fifty thousand here, seventy thousand there. Xavier is running out of liquid cash. That's why he came to you."
Understanding hit me like cold water. "He wanted to use Foundation money. Make it look like legitimate donations, but actually use it to pay his blackmailer."
"Exactly," Ben said. "And if you had accepted that check, if you had agreed to keep it secret, you'd be complicit.
He could've blamed you later when the money trail was investigated." My hands shook. "Who's blackmailing him?" Ben pulled up one more file. Security footage from various locations where Xavier had made payments.
The blackmailer was careful, always wore hoodies, and always kept their face hidden. But in one clip, the camera caught something.
A flash of burgundy fabric. A woman's hand with perfectly manicured nails. And on one finger, a distinctive ring with a large emerald stone. I had seen that ring before. At the Charity event on Evelyn's hand.
"No," I whispered. But the evidence was there. Evelyn wasn't just spreading rumors and sending threatening messages. She was actively blackmailing pack members, using their secrets against them. And she'd tried to make me part of her scheme.
"We need to tell Adrian," Ben said.
Before I could respond to Ben, my phone rang. Adrian's name flashed across the screen. My hand trembled as I answered.
"Sierra, where are you?" His voice was tight with worry. I could hear traffic in the background, horns honking, people talking. "I'm at the Foundation office with Ben. Why? What's wrong?" Adrian's breath came fast, like he'd been running. "Stay there. Lock the doors. I'm coming to you right now."