“Sir, we were able to confirm that the driver was indeed someone who received a secret payment from Talia Arden’s manager,” the man said, bowing slightly. “Just as you instructed, we made it clean and took care of everything else.”
Logan’s eyes flicked toward his secretary, Carl. “She wanted to harm her?<b>” </b>
Emery Vaughn had stormed out of their meeting after threatening him. She was fire–fierce, unyielding, and unwilling to back down. He hated that. His wolf craved control, but Emery was human. He had to force himself to slow down and think it through. But first, he had to start with the ident that almost harmed her and their child.
“It seems so,” Carl replied.
Logan’s grip on the tablet tightened. Targeting Emery? Targeting the woman carrying his child? Are they looking to die?
“Then make sure she gets a taste of her own medicine,” Logan said coldly.
19
AV
Carl gave a small bow and stepped forward, holding out another tablet. “Here’s what we have so far about Miss Vaughn’s information. I apologize for the dy. Her background was–intentionally buried. Most of it isn’t public.”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Hidden?”
“Yes<b>, </b>sir,” Carl said, nodding. “Miss Emery Vaughn, 28. She’s the second daughter of Mr. Be. But not from his wife. Her mother was an actress in the ‘90s. Died shortly after childbirth. The cause of death is vague–some illnesses, but the records don’t add up. Her record seemed to have disappeared, along with all information about her family. Our people are doing their best to find out more about Miss Vaughn’s mother. Meanwhile, Miss Vaughn was raised by the Be household, mostly by her paternal grandparents.”
Carl paused.
Logan nced up. “Not by her father?”
<b>Carl </b>hesitated before answering.
“She was raised under strict discipline by her grandparents and not her father<b>, </b>as his wife disliked her? Carl said quietly. “By the time she turned eighteen<b>, </b>she had already earned a degree in finance and was fluent in sevennguages—spoken and written. She’s a genius. But even that wasn’t enough for her grandfather or father.” He paused, the weight of it settling in the room.
“They expected more. They wanted her to master every facet of business <b>so </b>she could eventually support her brother, James Be- the heir <i>to </i>the Be family empire. So, she enrolled in a second degree<b>, </b>this time in International Rtions and Global Studies, determined to exceed their expectations.”
Carl’s voice dropped a little, tinged with regret. “And she did. She excelled at everything she touched. But all of it–she walked away from it all when she met Samuel Dwight. They met during her second year. And just like that… she gave up the future they built for her.”
“I didn’t think that the Be family would be this ruthless even to their own offspring.” Logan said.
“That’s not all…” Carl said. “The Be family didn’t introduce her as <b>a </b>Be. She’s–she’s, after all, the daughter of <b>a </b>mistress. She’s been using thest name Vaughn–her mother’sst name. They will only acknowledge her if—~
“If what?”
“If she gives them an heir,”
“A child?” Logan’s face turned ugly.
“Yes, sir,” Carl continued, adjusting the file in <b>his </b>hand. “First, she cannot im her inheritance unless she has a child of her own.”
Logan leaned back, fingers tapping the tablet screen “So they tied her entire future to <b>pregnancy</b><b>?</b>”
Carl nodded. “That’s correct. The grandparents were explicit. She can choose who to marry, but there’s <b>a </b>second condition. If she wants to marry someone, that person must never know about her real identity. If they find out~”
“What happens?” Logan asked.
“They’ll disinherit her And she’ll be forced to pay back everything the <b>Be </b>famuly <b>spent </b>on her education, security, and upkeep<b>,</b>” Carl replied. “And they won’t stop there. They’ll cut nespletely. No family name. No <b>legal </b>support. Nothing”
12:35 AM PP
Logan stared at the screen. Emery’s face didn’t give anything away. She looked calm, focused, and unreadable. Yet, he could feel the anger in her heart. It was pure, undeniable hatred.
“She was boxed in,” he muttered. Emery Vaughn, the woman carrying his child, must have thought that Samuel was her savior. Now that he had betrayed her, she needed her inheritance as a way out–and to do that, she needed an heir. Something that she could use against her own father.
“Yes,” Carl said. “That’s why she had no choice but to ept her father’s marriage arrangement.”
“But that’s not what happened,” Logan said, his eyes narrowing.
“No, sir,” Carl confirmed. “She refused the original arrangement and proposed a new deal instead. She told her father that if she could prove she could marry for love—without revealing her real identity–then none of the previous uses would apply.”
Logan lowered the tablet onto his desk.
“So that’s why she let Dwight think she was an orphan.”
“Yes. She’s been living under the name Vaughn, working entry–level jobs, and building a rtionship with Samuel Dwight for five years. None of the Dwight family knows who she really is.”
She gave up her name, her status, and her inheritance. All for that bastard,” Logan said, jaw tight. His wolf stirred restlessly beneath the surface–uneasy<b>, </b>alert, angry. But it wasn’t the kind of anger that came from betrayal or disloyalty. It was something else. Something deeper. Possessive. Unexinable.
She wasn’t his. He knew that.
But the idea that she had been someone else’s<b>–</b>someone like Samuel Dwight–made his fists curl. It made his wolf bare its teeth. That man didn’t just take her. He wasted her. Everything she could have been, everything she gave up, was thrown away like it meant nothing.
Logan paced to the window, not even aware he’d moved until he saw his reflection in the ss<b>. </b>His breathing was shallow, shoulders were tense. He didn’t like this. This feeling. This reaction.
Carl didn’t respond. He just set the remaining documents on the desk.
“Hold on…” Logan frowned, grabbing the files. If Emery had lost the bet with her father, then she was out of options<b>–</b>she’d be forced to marry the man he chose. Unless<b>… </b>“You said her grandfather will acknowledge her if she has a child?”
Yes, <b>sir</b><b>, </b>and-”
Logan suddenly got up, surprising Carl. “Track her location!” He grabbed his <b>coat </b>and rushed out of his office.
“Sir, our people said earlier that she’s in-”
“No. She’s not in that building. Confirm her location,” Logan said, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.
He didn’t need confirmation to know what happened. Emery was smart–too smart. She must’ve already realized he had someone tailing her. That’s how he kept finding her. And now she <b>was </b>gone.
Of course, she figured it out.
He muttered a curse under his breath and rubbed the back of his neck. A woman like her, <b>with </b>her brain and instincts, wouldn’t make it easy. She was probably two steps ahead already. And now she was out there–pregnant with a werewolf child–without knowing what that <b>meant </b>
He cursed again, louder this time. “I should’ve told her.”
He’d been so wrapped up in his own frustration, his <b>own </b>anger–<b>at </b><b>her </b>reaction, at her defiance–that he didn’t think it through. He didn’t exin anything. Not the physical toll. Not the risks. Not what carrying a werewolf’s child would do to a human body.
And now she was out there, probably thinking she could handle it like any other <b>pregnancy </b>
She couldn’t. Not without knowing the changes. Not without understanding what <b>was </bing. “Find her! Find her now<b>!</b>”
12:35 AM P Р