Chapter 3

The next two days passed like the stillness before a storm.

I packed light. A single backpack was enough. A few changes of clothes, some basic toiletries, and a handful of things I'd brought back from the Silver Moon pack—a dagger from Alpha Lucian, an ancient tome on lupine history, and the last letter he ever wrote me.

*"Remember, Seraphina,"* the final paragraph read. *"True strength doesn't come from blood. It comes from the person you choose to become."*

I folded the letter carefully and tucked it into the innermost pocket of my pack.

Then I began my investigation.

The herb shipment route had been classified. Only three people knew it: me, Alpha Marcus, Vivienne, and Owen, the Beta captain in charge of the escort.

How did those "rogue wolves" just happen to show up at that exact time, at that exact location?

Too many coincidences.

I contacted Owen and asked to meet. He agreed, though he looked visibly on edge.

"Miss Seraphina," he whispered at a clearing along the forest's edge, eyes darting in every direction. "Something about the attack that day didn't add up."

"How so?"

"They were too professional." Owen's voice was tight. "Those so-called rogue wolves—their tactics, their coordination—that was trained. And..." He hesitated.

"Say it."

"They didn't kill anyone. Rogue wolves usually go for maximum casualties, but these ones just knocked us down and took the cargo. The only one who was actually injured was—"

"Vivienne." I finished for him.

Owen nodded. "Her leg was hit by a 'falling rock.' But Miss Seraphina, I went back and checked the scene. There were no rocks at that location."

So Vivienne's injury was self-inflicted. A bid for sympathy. A way to dodge accountability.

"Thank you, Owen," I said. "If anyone asks—"

"We never met." He said it quickly, then vanished into the trees.

I stood alone in the clearing, turning the information over in my mind. Vivienne had orchestrated the entire attack. She'd hired those "rogue wolves," sabotaged the deal, and set me up to take the blame.

But why? Simple jealousy? Or was there something deeper?

My communicator buzzed. Marcus's name lit up the screen.

"Seraphina, get back to the manor. Now. Something's happened at the mine." His voice was harsh and furious.

......

By the time I reached the manor, the sun was nearly down. Burnt-orange light slanted through the windows and spilled across the corridor, casting everything in an ominous glow.

My old office—Vivienne's now—had its door shut tight. I knocked.

"Come in." Marcus's voice, from inside.

I pushed the door open and knew at once that this was a trap.

Marcus stood behind the desk, his face like iron. Helena sat on the sofa, wearing a look of concern. Nathaniel leaned against the window, arms crossed. Vivienne was curled in another chair, eyes red and swollen, looking as though she'd just been crying.

A perfect tribunal.

"You need to explain yourself." Marcus didn't bother with preamble. He hurled a stack of documents onto the desk. "The mine's books don't add up. The numbers are off. Someone's been siphoning funds."

I walked to the desk and picked up the papers. Account statements, transaction records, reconciliation reports. Sure enough, a large sum had been transferred out of the mine's main account.

Date of transfer: two days ago. Right after I'd handed management over to Vivienne.

"How much?" I asked, perfectly calm.

"You're asking *how much*?" Marcus's voice climbed. "Seraphina, this is stealing from your own family! Five hundred thousand!"

I kept flipping through the documents without looking up. "Where was it transferred?"

"To a Silver Moon pack account—the pack that raised you." Nathaniel spoke, a strange tension in his voice. "Seraphina, if you needed money, or if your foster parents needed it, you could have come to me, or asked Alpha Marcus. But you can't just take—"

"I didn't take anything." I raised my head and met Marcus's eyes. "That transfer wasn't mine."

"Then whose was it?" Helena's voice went shrill. "Seraphina, don't try to wriggle out of—"

I pulled every Silver Moon pack account card from my wallet and laid them one by one on the desk.

"Check every transaction. I haven't received a single transfer from the mine."

The room fell quiet for a beat.

Then I turned to Vivienne. She was shrunk into her chair, biting her lip, looking equal parts frightened and wronged.

"Have you looked at Vivienne's activity logs?" I asked Marcus. "She's the one running the mine now. Maybe she can explain this mysterious transfer."

Vivienne's tears spilled over immediately. "How could you say that, Sera? I—I would never do something like that!"

"Enough!" Marcus slammed his fist on the desk. "Seraphina, I will not let you pin this on your sister. Vivienne just took over. She's still learning the account passwords."

"Is that so?" I said. "Then who gave her the passwords? Who transferred full access to her two days ago?"

I scanned every face in the room. Marcus's fury. Helena's indignation. Nathaniel's unease. Vivienne's "terror."

And just like that, it clicked.

Vivienne didn't just want control of the mine. She wanted to destroy my reputation before I even left.

I looked at Vivienne. She was watching me through her tears. And in that one instant, the corner of her mouth twitched upward—just for a second—but I caught it.

She was gloating.

I drew a deep breath and gathered my account cards. "Believe whatever you want to believe, Marcus."

Then I turned and walked toward the door.

"You're just going to *leave*?" Helena shrieked. "You're not even going to explain yourself?"

I stopped in the doorway without turning around. "I already did. You chose not to believe me. That's on you."

"Seraphina—" Nathaniel started.

"The truth will speak for itself." I said it, opened the door, and walked out.

In the corridor, my hands were shaking. Not from anger—but from a strange, soaring sense of release.

They had abandoned me completely. Even with the evidence staring them in the face, even when basic logic demanded they investigate every possibility, they still chose Vivienne.

Good.

I went back to my room, took out my phone, and sent Owen a message: *"After tomorrow, I think the Alpha and Luna need to know the truth about that day."*

A few seconds later, his reply came: *"Understood."*

I also contacted two other Betas I trusted—Silas and Freya. They'd been my training partners back in the Silver Moon pack and had followed me when I came to the Shadow pack.

*"Investigate Vivienne,"* I wrote in an encrypted message. *"Find out where the money they're pinning on me actually went."*

Both replied almost simultaneously: *"Yes, Miss Seraphina."*

The next morning, I drove out alone. No one saw me off. No one said goodbye. Marcus and Helena didn't even step outside the manor.

Better that way. I didn't need hollow concern.

And Silas and Freya's findings were already in—the missing money was Vivienne's doing, exactly as I'd expected.

But their report documented more than just this frame-up. Far more—enough to tear this "happy" family apart.

And all of it would become my final gift to them.