Chapter 189 Hiding Is Useless, Understand?

Chapter 189 Hiding Is Useless, Understand?

Ember's POV

Gamma had barely left when Zane came rushing over. He'd been speeding the whole way, his mind full of worry and lingering fear.

"Ember!" The car had barely stopped before Zane threw open the door and ran straight toward me. He stopped in front of me and looked me over carefully. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I shook my head gently at Zane, whose eyes were fixed entirely on me. "I'm fine. Luckily... Asher's gamma got here in time and kept them from hurting me." They'd even beaten the police here.

But Zane's eyes darkened for a moment. "You said it was Asher's gamma?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "I just found out too. He's... had someone watching over me in secret this whole time."

"As long as you're okay." Zane's voice was soothing. "Don't be scared. It's over now. I won't let anything like this happen to you again." But when his gaze landed on my badly damaged car nearby, something flickered in his eyes. He turned back to me. "I'll have someone take care of the car. Let me get you home first. Get some rest and try not to overthink things."

I didn't argue. I just nodded. "Okay."

Zane helped me into the car, then started the engine. On the way, he asked casually, "Oh, by the way, Ember — my dad wants to have you over for dinner. When are you free?"

Dinner again? I was caught off guard. That's been happening a lot lately. Ever since we talked about the two families merging at the restaurant last time, Zane's father had been noticeably warmer toward me. I pressed my lips together and was quiet for a moment before saying, "Zane, I've been swamped at work lately. I mean, I just took over, so I really can't find much time. If there's nothing urgent, can we push dinner to another time? What do you think?"

Zane pushed down whatever he was feeling and smiled, warm and easy. "You're right, Ember. Whatever works for you. But we're almost engaged — you and Asher... should probably keep your distance, don't you think?"

I frowned. "I've been keeping my distance from him."

Zane let out an indulgent laugh. "Of course. I trust you, Ember." Then he kept driving without looking over at me again. Still, something felt off about him today. But I didn't dwell on it. Between everything going on at the company and those people harassing me, I already had more than enough to deal with.

Half an hour later, Zane dropped me off downstairs. He turned off the engine and said, "Don't stress about the rest of it. Just get some sleep. I'll handle the cleanup."

"Okay." I let out a long breath. "Thanks, Zane. I'm heading up."

Zane watched me go inside before driving away. But I couldn't quite settle. Even after sinking into the couch, my mind was still all over the place. I didn't even know what I was thinking. One moment it was Zane's gentle face, the next it was what that gamma had said to me today...

---

Chloe's POV

Tristan was already making his move on Ember. I waited anxiously for news, and finally my phone rang.

On the other end, Tristan let out a vicious laugh. "Hahaha, that woman actually had the nerve to hurt me. Feisty little thing. Fuck!"

"You useless bitch, this was your brilliant idea! The whole thing fell apart — Ember's had a gamma on her the whole time, I couldn't get anywhere near her, and I almost got arrested! Did you set me up on purpose? Trying to get me locked up so you could keep all the money for yourself, huh?"

I was both shocked and furious. "How could I have done that? You can't even handle something this simple, and you're blaming me? If you got arrested, I'd be finished too!"

Tristan's anger exploded at being called out, and he turned it into a threat. "Don't give me that! The heat's on right now — the cops are going to track me down. Transfer me more money so I can lay low. Or I'll give you up and we both go down together!"

He had me cornered. I went cold, then seethed through my teeth. "Fine, I'll send you the money. But stay hidden and don't get caught."

"Hiding's not enough," Tristan sneered, turning a USB drive over in his fingers. "If I remember right, there was a little girl in the files you sent me, wasn't there? Nobody even knows who the father is — and Zane's still happy to play daddy? I'm going underground for now. You'd better figure something out fast."

A cold, vicious look crossed my eyes. I gripped my phone tight and said, "Got it." I hung up with a sharp click.

I stared at the black screen, my eyes going wild. "You pushed me to this."

---

Asher's POV

The lights burned bright in the Blackwood Group offices. I sat behind my desk, a dark, dangerous energy rolling off me. I fixed my gaze on my assistant and asked coldly, "What did you find?"

The beta assistant stepped forward quickly, his expression grave. "Alpha, the ringleader is a rogue who entered the country illegally. No legal status, and he's been operating in gray areas for years. His movements are unpredictable — we can't pin down his exact background or history. Right now we can only narrow down his general area of activity."

I tapped my fingers on the desk, my eyes like ice. "Entered illegally, and yet he targeted her specifically?"

"Yes."

My voice was cold as stone, each word deliberate. "Keep him under round-the-clock surveillance. Don't tip him off yet."

"Yes, sir!" The assistant turned to go, but stopped after a few steps like something had just come back to him. He looked toward me with some hesitation. "Alpha..."

"Say it." I was going through a report written entirely in German, my sharp features set in a hard, cold expression.

The assistant chose his words carefully. "The Sawyer family... is making wedding preparations. And — and word is that Ms. Hart has a new bracelet."

Crack.

The tip of the pen in my hand snapped against the paper.

I looked up at him, the coldness in my eyes almost taking on a physical weight. "What bracelet."

The assistant held out his phone with a shaking hand. "Th-this was taken by the gamma assigned to protect Ms. Hart."

The next second, a flash of green on the screen pulled my gaze in immediately. The photo wasn't the sharpest, but it captured every detail clearly enough. On Ember's pale, slender wrist sat an imperial green jade bracelet. The jade was deep and clear, rich with translucency, glowing with a quiet warmth even in natural light — not a single flaw or off-color anywhere.

A layer of frost settled over my expression. "Where did this bracelet come from." My voice gave nothing away, but the air around us seemed to drop several degrees.

The assistant kept his head down and answered quickly. "It's a Sawyer family heirloom. By tradition, it's only ever passed to the future Luna of the Sawyer family. For the past few years it's been with Mrs. Sawyer, but now..." He felt my sharp gaze cut toward him and immediately went quiet.

The silence was suffocating.

"Only passed to the Sawyer family's Luna?" I repeated the words, then let out a low laugh. There was no warmth in it — just a bone-deep bitterness, and a rage I couldn't quite hold back. That flash of green felt like a thorn in my eye, like a dull blade dragging across my chest, over and over.

Another sound — the pen in my hand bent out of shape from the force of my grip, ink bleeding across the page in an instant. The next second, I stood up.

My assistant froze. "Alpha — where are you going?"

"Watch the company while I'm gone. Handle anything that gets out of line." I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair and glanced at him.

He didn't dare push back under my stare. He just nodded.

I walked out of the office. The elevator descended, and with every floor, the pressure around me grew colder and heavier.

Marked by someone? By Zane?

Ember belongs to me and no one else.

The black Cayenne's engine roared to life. I pressed the accelerator to the floor, and the car shot forward like a bullet.