Lethal Temptation (by Michelle Ray) novel Chapter 188

188 The Price Of Loyalty-1

Lucian

My father was serious. He wanted Martha gone.

And while I couldn’t blame him, I couldn’t ignore the ache in my chest either. The man was too young to live alone. Too bound to a woman he no longer loved. As long as she lived, he couldn’t bond with anyone else. That was the curse of the mate link-it tethered you to someone, even when love was long dead.

Martha had wrecked everything. She thought seduction could patch the hole she tore through our lives. She dressed up in lace and silk like it still held power. But her problem wasn’t in her looks-it was her

poison personality. If her heart matched her face, my father would have hit the jackpot. Instead, he ended

up with a woman who burned everything she touched.

hoped she would finally give Darian the truth about Alaric. We needed to close that chapter before it

swallowed us all.

Back in the room, I collapsed onto the couch. Mara sat beside me, silent. There was nothing to celebrate.

I’d wanted Martha gone for a long time-but not like this. Not with my father left picking up the pieces of

twenty-three wasted years.

He was only letting her go because of me. Because of Darian. That truth sat heavy in my gut.

I wrapped an arm around Mara and held her close. She didn’t need to speak for me to hear her heart. I looked at her and wondered-if she ever became bitter, if she lashed out like Martha, would I let her go?

The answer was no. I’d take her away from it all before I ever gave her up. We’d disappear if we had to. Start again far from anyone who made her feel less than.

Martha said my father’s love for my mother broke her. Maybe it did. But she let the bitterness grow. She

lashed out at everyone but him, and now it was too late.

Mara shifted beside me. “Lucian, is everything alright?”

I placed my hand on her belly. Our future. Our peace.

“I don’t think it’s wise they separate. It’ll break them both,” I said.

She shifted in her seat, thoughtful. “What do you want him to do? Stay and be miserable? Keep living in a cage of guilt?”

“If Martha gives up Alaric and helps us end this, maybe they could get away for a while. Let us handle everything. Maybe they can start over.” I suggested.

Mara shook her head gently. “Your father’s done, Lucian. He’s been done for a long time. He just didn’t know how to walk away.”

She looked at me with clear eyes. “If she loved him like she says, she would’ve done everything she could

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to make him happy-even if that meant letting go of her pride. But she didn’t. She won’t even give us Alaric. She’s still holding on to secrets.”

I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. She was right. Still, it hurt.

“I’d settle for a temporary separation,” I said, voice low. “Let them breathe. Let them miss each other. But

this… permanent exile? It feels final.”

Mara leaned her head on my shoulder. “Some things need to end so better things can begin.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed that. But right now, I just needed to hold on to her. Everything else could wait.

Mara’s phone rang. She answered, murmured a few words, then turned to face me.

“The auditor wants a video call. She sent an invite to my inbox.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

She thanked Mary and hung up, already pulling her laptop closer. A few clicks later, the screen lit up, and a woman appeared. She looked polished and serious, probably in her late forties. Dark hair, Driftwake

features. She didn’t waste time.

“Good afternoon, Alpha Nighthorn. Luna Mara,” she greeted.

“Good afternoon,” I said. “You are?”

“Alice McBride,” she replied with a practiced smile. “I’m lead auditor for Grayson & Marks.”

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I nodded, bracing myself.

“We’ve completed our review,” she said. “There are… severe discrepancies. The most critical involve transactions with Winston’s Corp.”

That name alone set off alarms in my head.

“Steel Corp is missing two hundred and ninety-six million,” she continued. “There’s nearly a billion in unpaid loans and wages. And three of your corporate accounts have been drained by anonymous

withdrawals over the last five years-amounting to over six billion.”

My chest tightened.

“If this pattern continues, Alpha… Steel Corp will be bankrupt in less than a year.”

A long silence passed.

“Can you come to the Nighthorn Mansion?” I asked her. “We need to go over this with my father. Mara and

I only took over recently.”

She nodded. “I’ll be there shortly.”

The call ended. For a few moments, neither of us moved.

Mara was the first to speak. “Lucian… what do we do?”

I couldn’t answer right away. Six billion gone. Two hundred and ninety-six million vanished. A billion in unpaid obligations. What the hell had they been doing all this time?

“I need to know how much of that Martha stole,” I finally said and got up.

Mara stood, her expression tight. “Where are you going?”

“To confront her.”

She reached for my arm. “Lucian, wait-give her a moment.”

I pulled away gently. “We’re past that. While she’s sulking, someone’s still bleeding us dry. I need answers

now, Mara, Before this whole thing sinks.”

“Fine,” Mara said, her voice like steel wrapped in silk. “Then we arrest Daniel Northwood and every board member of Winston’s Corp. We hold them until we sort this out. The auditor traced most of our losses back to Winston’s. And Chase is on their board. This might be how we get to the bastard. Someone in that circle knows where he is.”

She wasn’t just being logical-she was being ruthless, and she was right.

I opened a link to Denis, needing him to move now, before I went to question Martha.

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