Switched Bride, True Luna - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Logan
I had always believed I was capable of handling anything that came my way.
It was in my nature. I was more than an Alpha, I was a man in control. Only now I was faced with a fire I wasn’t sure I understood. The worst part was, it wasn’t my enemies setting the blaze.
It was Emily.
I hadn’t been able to speak with her all day. Every time I approached her, she would find a reason to run away, her eyes hard and unreadable and her voice lodged tight in her throat.
I hated it.
I sat at the edge of my desk, hands braced on the wood, staring at the spot she’d once occupied. She hadn’t looked back, hadn’t texted, and hadn’t yelled at me.
That silence said more than words ever could.
Then there was Chloe. I was almost positive she was behind the rumors spreading about me and Emily. I had a feeling it didn’t stop there either. My intention had been to find out where she was going with all of this and get a plan to get ahead of her, but Emily had stepped in at the worst possible time.
I hadn’t meant for things to go so far. I didn’t want them to. All I wanted was to get Chloe to feel comfortable enough to tell me what I wanted to know.
I wanted to fix it. All of it.
It wasn’t that Emily caught Chloe and I in an awkward position. Or at least, it wasn’t that alone. I’d done the same thing I had always done. I’d moved forward on a plan and didn’t involve her.
It’s not that I didn’t want to. I was simply used to either working on my own or delegating it to others. This time, it seemed like something I needed to get involved in directly.
The door to my office creaked open. Iris poked her head in without knocking.
“I thought you should know that Chloe’s organizing some kind of tea for the Lunas.”
I scowled. “She’s not even mated, and she’s definitely not a Luna.”
“She’s persuasive,” Iris said with a shrug. “You should be careful. She’s slipping into a lot of conversations, and what she has to say is not good for our reputation.” She handed me a file.
I had asked Iris to keep an eye on the media and the gossip that went around. She reported to me when she heard anything strange. The fact that she was immensely popular allowed her to have a cunning ear.
“Thank you, I’ll look into it,” I said.
As soon as Iris was gone, I flipped open the file. Iris had gathered together materials from not only the media, but she had compiled eyewitness accounts from people she spoke with personally. That included a report on Chloe’s movements.
She moved fast.
In all honesty, I didn’t want to think about Chloe anymore. She was nothing more than a thorn in my side.
What mattered was Emily. She was in a pinch, and I was in a position to help her. I just didn’t know if she wanted my help.
I’d already received the information that her case wasn’t going well. Although it was suspicious that her mother’s funds had disappeared, it wasn’t enough to win the case.
Whether she wanted it or not, I needed to play my hand. Not only for me, but for her.
I grabbed my phone and punched in a number. A few rings later, a familiar voice answered.
“I was wondering when you’d call,” said Alex Granger. “You must be looking for an update.”
“Tell me you have something,” I said.
There was a pause. “I do. And it’s not exactly pretty.” I’d hired Alex and his team to investigate Emily’s case some time ago. He’d been having trouble getting any leads, but now was the time to get something concrete.
“Get everything together as soon as you can.”
“I’ll get right on it, and then I’ll send it to your office.”
“No. Not to me. To Emily.”
Emily
I can’t sleep.
I sat cross-legged on the rug in my room, staring at the yellow glow of a single lamp. Every now and then, I’d glance toward the corner of the room where the envelope lay untouched on the table.
I hadn’t opened it yet.
Not because I didn’t want to, but because part of me was afraid of what I’d find. I was afraid it would confirm the worst. It might say that my family had stolen everything, and I was powerless to stop it. That they’d won.
Eventually, with a breathless sort of dread, I stood and peeled open the flap.
The documents inside were clinical and hard to follow. There were wire transfer receipts, offshore account names, and even a handwritten note that had been scanned and highlighted.
For the good of the family.
It was my father’s handwriting.
The accounts transferred from bank to bank, and even from person to person. It started with my mother’s name, then transferred to my father, to Hannah, to Chloe, and then back to my father again.
They’d done everything they could to hide this money. They never had any intentions to give it to me. They wanted it for themselves.
My chest clenched so hard I thought my ribs might snap. They’d taken my future and justified it like I was nothing more than a liability. In the process, they’d ruined my mother’s reputation.
The rage was hot and immediate, but it was tempered by the next realization. None of this was admissible in court. Whoever sent this hadn’t done so legally. There was no chain of custody. If I tried to bring it to a judge, it’d be thrown out in seconds.
I let out a sharp laugh that sounded more like a sob.
Someone had helped her. But not enough.
No, not someone. Logan. It had to be. He must have sent it to me directly, and being at such an odd hour, it must be fairly new.
I clutched the envelope to my chest. After such a horrible day, this was the start of something better. I had no doubts that it was Logan who was giving me this gift too.
Maybe I was too hard on him. He didn’t do things the way I wanted, sure, but that was something we could work on together. In the end, he was trying to help me.
Even if that meant getting a little bit closer to my step-sister.
The thought made me shiver as if a bucket of cold water had been dropped over my head. I hated Chloe had put her hands on Logan. Was I mad at her for doing it or at Logan for letting it happen?
Regardless, he had given me something precious. I might not be able to win in court yet, but I’d find a way to drag the truth into the light. If I had to set a trap, bait it, and burn the whole thing to the ground myself, I would.
Suddenly, I understood. Isn’t that what Logan had been doing with Chloe?
If I wanted the same thing, I’d need help. That meant facing Logan.