Page 144 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
“What’s the plan?” Charles asked. “He sounded dead serious.”
“I’m not handing over my company. Or this pack. They’ve survived my father’s corruption, and Victor will burn them to the ground.”
“But if you don’t—”
“There’s no room for ifs right now, Charles. We find Victor first.”
“That could take time.”
“Not if I call the right person.”
Grant picked up on the first ring. I dumped every detail on him. Minutes later, he called back. “Dock Street. Can’t pin the exact pier.”
“I’ll take it from here.”
I snatched my keys. “Get ten of our best security officers out on Dock Street right now,” I ordered Charles. “They wait for my signal. If they jump early, they’re done.”
“Got it.”
I climbed into my car and kicked the engine to a start. My foot hit the gas, and I drove like a lunatic toward Dock Street. Thirty minutes. I had thirty minutes to save Ollie and Leila.
And to end my brother.
When I arrivedat Dock Street, it didn’t take long to figure out where Ollie and Leila were being held. Their scent lingered in the air—sharp with fear and terror. Rage surged through me at the thought that Victor had dared to keep them like this, drowning in fear.
I stormed Pier Forty-Seven and found them strapped to chairs with rope. Ollie’s face was covered with a cloth, shielding him from seeing me, but Leila’s eyes flew wide the moment she did. She gasped, her expression tight with wariness.
“He has a gun, Luca!” she warned as I advanced.
Victor’s dry, sinister chuckle filled the space, stopping me cold.
“You’re predictable, brother,” he said, stepping into the light. That cruel smile on his face made the blood roar in my ears. “I expected you to find me. I knew you’d come. You always do. Which is why I came prepared.”
From a nearby table, he grabbed a brown folder and pen, tossing them toward me with a flick of his wrist. He motioned with the pistol in his other hand. “That’s the contract. Sign Vaughn Industries over to me, or—” he shifted the barrel toward Ollie, and my heart nearly stopped.
Leila’s sharp gasp echoed, tears spilling freely down her cheeks.
“Please, Victor, let him go,” she pleaded, her voice cracking with desperation. “He has nothing to do with this.”
Victor ignored her. His gun didn’t waver.
“Sign it, brother. Surely you care about your son more than you care about your empire.” He smirked, then moved closer to Leila, pressing the barrel against the back of her head. Her breath hitched, and my claws threatened to tear free.
“Or…” His tone dripped with mock delight. “Would you rather watch her go instead?” His eyes glinted, as though the thought amused him more than anything. “Tell me, Luca—if you had to choose, who would it be? Your darling Mate…or your own blood?”
Every muscle in my body coiled, ready to strike. My mind raced, calculating the distance, the angle, the risk. If I lunged, if I misjudged even slightly, he could fire—one twitch, and I’d lose them both.
My wolf begged to let him take over, to let him tear Victor apart, but I couldn’t afford recklessness. Not when their lives hung on the pull of a trigger.
“Why are you doing this, Victor?” I ground out, my jaw tight. “What do Leila and Ollie have to do with our own shit?”
“Because I’m tired of watching you take everything I ever wanted!” he yelled, veins bulging against his skin, eyes wild. “I’m tired of being the shadow while you get to be the perfect son. Our mother came back after twenty-one years, and who did she run to first?” He jabbed the gun toward me, shaking with fury. “You, Luca. Always you. It’s always going to be you. And I’m done.”
“We can talk about this,” I said, forcing calm into my voice as I edged a step forward. “Tell me what you want. Equal shares in Vaughn Industries? Done. I can make you second-in-command as Alpha—”
Victor’s laugh split the air, sharp and bitter. “You don’t get it, do you? I’m the firstborn. You should be bowing to me.”
“Fine!” My patience snapped. “Forty-nine, fifty-one. You can have the larger share of Vaughn Industries. I don’t care about the damn numbers. Just let them go. This is between us.”
