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00:00My mother-in-law slapped me so hard I hit the floor, then threw the divorce papers in my face.
00:05You're nothing but a worthless bitch.
00:07I clutched the letter my husband had written, tears slipping down my cheeks before I could stop them.
00:13With one sentence, a worthless Omega doesn't belong with an Alpha.
00:18He ended our five-year marriage.
00:20I looked at the papers and didn't argue.
00:25For years, I lived in a run-down cabin, wore cheap clothes, and pretended to be Sierra.
00:31The nobody with no family, no money, and no power.
00:35But Dominic never knew the truth.
00:37His training grounds, his territory.
00:40The money that kept him alive through war after war.
00:43I paid for all of it.
00:45I pushed myself to my feet and wiped away my tears.
00:49My mother-in-law demanded that I sign the papers and leave immediately.
00:52When she raised her hand to slap me again, my eyes flashed gold.
00:57I caught her wrist and slammed her against the table.
01:00Get out.
01:01For the first time, she saw that I wasn't some helpless Omega.
01:04Terrified, she ran.
01:07That night, I burned everything.
01:10Our photos.
01:11The donation receipts.
01:13My old clothes.
01:15And my wedding ring.
01:17Then I powered on an encrypted phone and called back the Lycan army that had been waiting in the shadows
01:22for years.
01:25By sunrise, I had packed one suitcase and made one final call.
01:33Tell my father, Sierra Blackwood, is coming home.
01:42Five years of hiding were over.
01:44And my ex-husband, Dominic Kane, had no idea who he had just thrown away.
01:53They forgot who I truly was.
01:57I took off my cheap old clothes, slipped into a custom suit, and walked into the Blackwood estate as Sierra
02:03Blackwood.
02:04Heir to the Lycan family.
02:07My half-sister Ivy rushed over to hug me.
02:10She was smiling, but her eyes were busy scanning my clothes and jewelry.
02:15Sierra.
02:16Wow.
02:17You look completely different.
02:19I didn't bother explaining.
02:21I went straight to my father's study.
02:28When you left this family all those years ago, you openly defied our clan.
02:32Ivy stayed.
02:33She understands what this family needs far better than you do.
02:37I noticed my mother's portrait was gone from the bookshelf.
02:41Where's Mom's photo?
02:42He refused to answer, and instead pushed another arranged marriage on me.
02:49If you come back home, you'll follow my rules.
02:53Don't worry.
02:54I haven't forgotten whose house this is.
03:01Outside the study, I used my Lycan hearing, and caught Ivy whispering on the phone in the sitting room.
03:08She was telling someone I had come back early, and that they needed to move up the plan.
03:13I stopped in the hallway, a small smile touching my lips.
03:16The estate was already full of secrets, fear, and betrayal.
03:22They thought they were playing each other.
03:24They had no idea I was the one moving all the pieces, and I was far more dangerous than any
03:29of them realized.
03:31I met Diana in a quiet Italian restaurant, far from the city.
03:36We hadn't seen each other in five years.
03:44She handed me an investigation file.
03:47The enemy I once knew is Rachel had changed her name to Victoria Crane, and somehow become my stepmother.
03:52Victoria had been draining Blackwood Group money through shell companies, fake charity programs, and shady investment deals.
03:59My father was so blinded by her that he didn't notice.
04:04The file also showed that three of Ivy's foundation programs had already failed.
04:09She had faked progress reports and buried missing funds under inflated management fees.
04:14The company's money was disappearing.
04:17So, was its reputation?
04:23Sierra, it's time to take back everything that belongs to you.
04:27I closed the file. Now I just had to find the right opening to take control of the company.
04:31Latter, I went to Marcus's art show.
04:34He recognized me right away, but he could tell I wasn't the same woman I used to be.
04:38During our conversation, he intentionally brought up Dominic.
04:42Since becoming alpha, Dominic's been working every social event in town.
04:45He's still single, and using it to court new allies?
04:50He's gonna regret that.
04:53Just as I was about to leave, my encrypted phone buzzed.
04:56It was an urgent message from Diana.
04:59Dominic had made contact with Ivy.
05:01He didn't know she was your sister.
05:03I stopped at the gallery entrance, frowning.
05:06Dominic was making moves.
05:08He was building his next alliance, and I was running out of time.
05:13At the Blackwood Foundation's annual gala,
05:16Ivy wore a glittering gown, soaking up praise from board members and donors.
05:20She proudly announced that her scholarship program had selected multiple students for financial aid.
05:26I'm going to tear down every lie you built myself.
05:31I walked up to her assistant, Jennifer.
05:33Feigning a bump, the USB drive clattered down.
05:36As she panicked, I secretly swapped it.
05:44The record showed that of the half million dollars donated to the program, only 50,000 remained.
05:50There were no scholarship recipients.
05:53The rest of the money had vanished into fake consulting fees and made up operating costs.
05:59I enlarged the numbers on the screen and pulled out printed copies of the evidence.
06:04Guests immediately began taking pictures.
06:07Board members and donors called their attorneys.
06:09No one believed Ivy's excuses anymore.
06:12Sierra, what the hell are you doing?
06:14I'm just letting everyone know where their money actually went.
06:18Victoria rushed over to contain the damage.
06:20Ivy stood frozen in front of the screen, pale and shaking.
06:23I was about to leave when a familiar scent hit me.
06:27I turned toward the entrance.
06:29Dominic was standing there.
06:30He recognized me too.
06:31Then he started walking through the crowd straight toward me.
06:34After five years in hiding, my true identity was about to be exposed.
06:40Dominic crossed the ballroom and stopped before me.
06:43Our mate Bond pulsed between us.
06:44He recognized my scent, but not the wife he'd cast aside.
06:47He slowed, studying my face.
06:49Have we met before?
06:50I suppressed the pull of the Bond and showed no reaction.
06:53No, Sierra Black Hood.
06:55My name erased his arrogance.
06:57Dominic Kane, Alpha of Silver Moon Ridge.
07:01Ivy rushed over and wrapped herself around his arm.
07:03She's my half-sister.
07:04She's lived over Sears for years and only recently came home.
07:08I didn't expose her lie.
07:09I glanced at the fingers tightening around Dominic's arm, then looked back at him.
07:13I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other.
07:16My gaze briefly shifted to the Foundation's accounts, still displayed on the giant screen.
07:21Ivy's smile stiffened.
07:22Then Victoria arrived and quietly warned Ivy that the board members and donors were waiting for an explanation.
07:27Ivy was forced to release Dominic and deal with the aftermath.
07:30I turned and walked out of the ballroom.
07:32Even as the doors closed behind me, I could still feel Dominic watching.
07:39Back at the safe house, Diana was waiting at the conference table.
07:43The screens in front of her were filled with photographs and videos from the gala.
07:47Three donors have frozen their funding and the board is demanding an independent audit.
07:52Ivy can't bury this.
07:54I looked at the image of Ivy's pale face.
07:56This is only the beginning.
07:57Diana closed the gala footage and slid a medical report across the table.
08:01There's more.
08:02Ivy is pregnant, but the baby isn't Dominic's.
08:05I looked down at the report, my expression turning cold.
08:09She's going to use the baby to force him into marriage.
08:11Then use Silvermoon Ridge to steal your inheritance.
08:15She's trying to trap him with another man's baby.
08:24That wedding is never happening.
08:28My father summoned me back to the Blackwood estate.
08:31Victoria and Ivy were already waiting in his study.
08:34They didn't mention the Foundation scandal.
08:36Instead, they had arranged a marriage for me.
08:39My future husband was Victor, the Wolf King of the North.
08:42He controlled shipping routes and private armies.
08:44But his last three mates had all died in accidents.
08:47The family wanted to trade me for his investments and military support.
08:51And Ivy was practically glowing at the thought of sending me away to the frozen north.
08:59Marry Victor, and you'll remain a black one.
09:02Refuse, and you lose your shares, your trust, and your inheritance.
09:08I read every page of the disinheritance papers.
09:10I didn't fight him.
09:11Not yet.
09:17Give me two weeks.
09:21Outside the estate, I called Diana.
09:25Move up phase three.
09:26Dominic will be at Ivy's private dinner tonight.
09:28He still doesn't know she's pregnant or that the baby isn't his.
09:30Then it's time he learned the truth about his future bride.
09:37I drove away from the estate.
09:39In two weeks, I wouldn't just stop this marriage.
09:43I would destroy Ivy's entire plan to use Dominic as her way to power.
09:51I sat in Diana's office, watching security footage from a university gala three weeks earlier.
09:56The video showed Dominic entering the event, scanning the room, then walking straight toward Ivy at the champagne bar.
10:01The second Ivy noticed him looking, she adjusted her posture and walked right up to him.
10:06That meeting was no accident.
10:08Diana had found out that after last year's territory dispute, Silver Moon Ridge was running low on money.
10:13Dominic got close to Ivy because he needed the Blackwoods to bail his pack out.
10:17In the footage, they walked through the gala together, making sure every major family saw them side by side.
10:22Then Ivy posted photos of them online.
10:28Ivy posted the photos.
10:29People are already talking about their wedding.
10:32I decided to keep phase three moving.
10:34Then I headed to the office of James, a forensic accountant who had spent years tracking Victoria's financial mess.
10:43I've been investigating Victoria's finances for years.
10:48Shell companies, inflated contracts, illegal projects, I have evidence of all of it.
10:53She deliberately let an overseas factory break regulations, then gave the repair work to her cousin's company.
11:00I've been waiting for someone strong enough to take control.
11:03After what you did at the charity gala, I chose you.
11:07Once you have this evidence, what are you going to do with it?
11:10What else?
11:11I'm taking back what's rightfully mine.
11:14I sat across from Thomas Reed, the Blackwood family attorney, as he unlocked a drawer that had been sealed for
11:20years.
11:20Inside were my mother's stock documents and proof that my father had repeatedly transferred assets to Ivy without authorization.
11:27Then I saw a handwritten letter from my mother.
11:29I served your mother for 20 years.
11:31I promised her that when you needed me, I'd stand forward.
11:34In it, she said she had already started to suspect Victoria.
11:37She told Thomas to save the evidence for me.
11:39Then he handed me another, much thicker file.
11:42It documented years of hidden contracts, missing company funds, and Ivy's failures inside the business.
11:48I flipped through page after page, my hands tightening into fists.
11:52But just when I thought I had seen everything, Thomas pulled one final document from the bottom of the file.
11:57His face changed.
11:59You need to see this, right now.
12:02I took the document.
12:03The second I saw the original hospital record, I stopped.
12:09My mother's death had never been a simple heart attack.
12:11The hospital records showed that on the night she died, toxicology tests found traces of digitalis in her blood.
12:18The amount was far beyond a normal medical dose.
12:21It was poisoning.
12:22But the official cause of death had been changed to sudden cardiac arrest.
12:27And the original report had disappeared just hours later.
12:31Your mother didn't die naturally.
12:33Victoria had married into the Blackwood family only three months before my mother died.
12:38That was right when she had started learning about the family's assets and inheritance structure.
12:45You think she did this?
12:47There were too many coincidences.
12:49I clenched the hospital report in my hand.
12:51My wolf stirred beneath my skin.
12:53This wasn't just pain or anger.
12:55It was the cold, controlled hunger of a predator that had finally found its prey.
12:59Before I leave, I want you to begin the process of making my mother's real cause of death public.
13:06As the elevator doors closed, I looked at my reflection in the steel.
13:10I wasn't just fighting for revenge anymore.
13:12I was going to get justice for my mother.
13:14The evidence Victoria left behind would be what destroyed her.
13:21Monday morning, Diana and I sat in a secure conference room, watching Blackwood Group's stock price across multiple screens.
13:28Everything was moving exactly as planned.
13:30Several investors dumped their shares at the same time.
13:33The company's regulatory problems were leaked to the press.
13:36Within hours, Blackwood Group's stock dropped 8%.
13:39Major shareholders started demanding an emergency board meeting.
13:42The stock is still falling.
13:46Then Ivy appeared on a live financial news show.
13:49Mrs. Blackwood, regarding the labor violations at your Asian factories, can you confirm these allegations?
13:55Blackwood Group has always followed the law, but independent reports suggest systematic violations.
14:01Are you denying these findings?
14:03We can meet whatever demands are being made.
14:04So you admit the company is aware of these violations?
14:07No, that's not what I meant.
14:09I mean...
14:10And there you have it.
14:12We will continue to follow this developing story.
14:15The cameras were still rolling.
14:18Ivy has never been able to handle real pressure.
14:21After that disaster, the stock dropped even more.
14:24More investors demanded answers from management.
14:26And I was ready to use the crisis to take my seat on the board.
14:33Over the next 48 hours, I prepared for the board vote.
14:36James kept digging into Victoria's shell companies and trust funds,
14:40while collecting proxy votes from institutional investors.
14:43Thomas organized my mother's stock documents,
14:45proving that I was one of the group's key shareholders.
14:48I also met with board members, one by one.
14:51I showed them the company's financial risks and the failures of its current leadership.
14:56I've watched your father run this company for the past five years.
15:00It's no secret.
15:01The numbers haven't been working.
15:03Your father's results simply haven't satisfied the shareholders.
15:07I'm ready to support new leadership.
15:08Your mother always knew you had what it takes to lead.
15:11By Wednesday night, I had enough proxy votes.
15:14Thursday's board meeting wouldn't just be about the stock crisis anymore.
15:18It would decide who controlled Blackwood Group.
15:21I was in my hotel room reviewing the final voting documents.
15:24When my encrypted phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.
15:30He wanted to meet at the Lone Wolf Bar at midnight.
15:33Tomorrow, I would take Blackwood Group back from my father.
15:36But tonight, I had to face Donnick, the man who had finally figured out who I was.
15:43At midnight, I walked into the Lone Wolf Bar.
15:46It was hidden beneath a human bookstore.
15:49Werewolves, vampires, and every kind of supernatural creature came there to trade secrets, favors, and information.
15:56Dominic was sitting alone in the corner.
15:58The moment I sat down, he admitted he had looked into my past.
16:00He found records of an Omega mate at Silver Moon Ridge who had never been seen in public.
16:04He found the anonymous accounts that funded the Pax expansion, the Swiss bank transfers, and the Alliance strategies.
16:11I found records of an Omega mate at Silver Moon Ridge who had never been seen in public.
16:17I found the anonymous accounts that funded the Pax expansion.
16:22I found the Swiss bank transfers and the Alliance strategies.
16:28The money, the advice, all of it came from you, didn't it?
16:33Did you know who I really was back then?
16:41The mate bond never fully broke.
16:44Because I didn't want you to die.
16:46Only someone with lichen blood could survive an incomplete separation like that.
16:50You're Licon.
16:54After Dominic learned I was Lichen, he didn't push for more answers.
16:58That isn't why I asked you here tonight.
17:02Ivy told me she's pregnant.
17:04She claims the baby is mine.
17:06I never touched Ivy.
17:08But without proof, my word won't be enough.
17:11The Blackwoods can use the baby and the scandal to trap Silver Moon Ridge.
17:15I have one condition.
17:20I'll find out who the father really is.
17:23But tomorrow, at the board meeting, you publicly support me taking control of Blackwood Group.
17:32Deal.
17:32We reached across the table.
17:34The second our fingers touched, the mate bond, silent for five years, came roaring back.
17:38My wolf recognized him instantly.
17:40Dominic felt it too.
17:41His hand tightened around mine and he didn't let go.
17:43I pulled away fast.
17:44This deal doesn't change what happened between us.
17:47If it's really over, why does my wolf lose control every time you're near me?
17:50I turned and walked out of the bar, but I couldn't quiet the mate bond pounding in my chest.
17:55Tomorrow, I would take control of Blackwood Group.
17:57And Dominic would be the key to winning that vote.
18:06I arrived at Blackwood Group headquarters, 45 minutes early.
18:09At exactly 9 o'clock, I pushed open the boardroom doors.
18:12The second, my father and Victoria saw me.
18:15Both of them look nervous.
18:17This is a closed board meeting.
18:19You need to leave.
18:22After my mother died, her original shares were legally transferred to me.
18:26The documents were verified by three law firms and filed with regulators this morning.
18:30I have every right to attend this meeting and vote.
18:35I'm a voting shareholder.
18:37I have every right to sit at this table.
18:42Now, let's examine Blackwood Group's performance over the last 10 years.
18:47Once inflation and market growth were factored out, Blackwood Group had been declining for years.
18:53The numbers only looked better because management had manipulated the books.
18:59You're ignoring market volatility.
19:02The market data is already included.
19:04The industry recovered.
19:05Blackwood Group did not.
19:06The economy changed.
19:08Costs increased across every division.
19:10Our competitors faced the same economy.
19:12Their performance grew while ours continued to fall.
19:16Regulatory pressure disrupted our operations.
19:19Those regulatory failures came from management decisions.
19:22The data counts for every factor you've raised.
19:26Dominic walked in as the official representative of the Silvermoon Alliance.
19:30Every board member turned to look at him.
19:35Dominic entered the boardroom and immediately made Silvermoon Ridge's position clear.
19:40As one of Blackwood Group's biggest partners, his decision could affect major contracts and future projects.
19:49The Silvermoon Alliance supports Sierra Blackwone's leadership plan.
19:54Victoria went pale.
19:56If he also didn't expect Dominic to stand by me.
19:58My father immediately objected.
20:01Dominic has no place in a board meeting.
20:05But Margaret spoke up.
20:07Silverland Ridge was one of the company's most important business partners.
20:11Dominic had every right to state his position.
20:14Then James called for a vote.
20:17I call for a vote.
20:18I propose naming Sierra Blackwood interim CEO of Blackwood Group with full authority to begin the reforms.
20:26I second the motion.
20:29Faced with the financial data and the risk of losing Silvermoon Ridge, the others raised their hands one by one.
20:35In the end, only my father voted against me.
20:43Sierra, you can't do this.
20:48Margaret seconded the motion first.
20:50I didn't turn around.
20:51My father was left sitting alone in the chair that had once belonged to him.
20:54And as the board congratulated me, I officially took control of Blackwood Group.
20:59But this was only the beginning.
21:00Now that I had access to the company's records,
21:03I could finally expose Victoria's money trail
21:06and uncover the full truth about my mother's death.
21:11The board meeting wasn't over.
21:13Next, I addressed the Foundation scandal.
21:16Ivy sat at the table, nervously twisting the bracelet around her wrist.
21:20I knew that habit.
21:21She only did it when she was nervous.
21:23I opened the next file.
21:25Then I revealed that Ivy was pregnant.
21:27But the test results proved Dominic
21:30was not the father.
21:32She's planning to lie that the child belongs to Dominic,
21:36using public opinion and family pressure to force him to get engaged.
21:39Once the engagement is set,
21:41no one outside will keep digging into who the child's father is.
21:45The test results proved Dominic Kane is not the father.
21:48The board members read the messages
21:50and began discussing the deception
21:52and the risk to the company.
21:54Dominic shot to his feet
21:55and publicly denied ever being involved with Ivy.
21:58That baby isn't mine
21:59and I have never touched her.
22:02Ivy looked at him
22:03and for the first time,
22:04she realized her perfect wedding plan was dead.
22:09Ivy couldn't accept Dominic's public rejection.
22:12Instead,
22:13she accused him of chasing her first.
22:17Dominic shut her down in front of everyone.
22:18He said Ivy had been the one constantly approaching him.
22:21He hadn't called her out before
22:22because he was trying to be polite.
22:24Ivy snapped.
22:25She shoved her chair back,
22:27ran at Dominic
22:27and clawed three bloody lines across his face.
22:30Security rushed in and pulled her away.
22:32Dominic didn't fight back.
22:33He said Ivy mistook basic courtesy
22:36for a promise of something more.
22:38I never promised you anything.
22:40You just believed whatever you wanted to believe.
22:43Ivy turned on me next,
22:45crying hysterically.
22:46She screamed that I had stolen everything from her.
22:48Our mother's attention,
22:50our father's approval,
22:51and now her engagement.
22:53Security dragged her out of the boardroom,
22:54but her screams still echoed down the hallway.
23:00I've always hated you!
23:02Why do you always have to take everything from me?
23:06The room fell quiet again.
23:10I didn't respond.
23:12I simply brought the meeting back to the company reforms.
23:15James stood and made his position clear.
23:17The current leadership
23:18was no longer capable of running Blackwood Group.
23:26For the first 90 days after taking over Blackwood Group,
23:29I worked almost every day
23:30fixing problems that had been ignored for years.
23:33My father's office had been cleared out and reorganized.
23:35I also created an independent ethics committee
23:37with Margaret leading the investigation
23:39into illegal company transactions.
23:41Her first report found 23 suspicious payments.
23:44Victoria had personally approved 17 of them.
23:46The other six came from departments under her control.
23:49Millions had been funneled into connected companies
23:51while regular employees faced layoffs and benefit cuts.
23:55Either she's been dangerously incompetent for years
23:57or she's been stealing from this company.
24:01The next day, I called an executive meeting.
24:04Only 12% of Blackwood Group's management positions
24:07were held by women.
24:08So I launched a leadership development program
24:10to change that.
24:12Starting the following day,
24:13every department's promotion data would affect its budget
24:16and executive bonuses.
24:18Some of the old guard pushed back.
24:20I didn't back down.
24:21After the meeting,
24:22Diana warned me that rolling out so many reforms so quickly
24:24could unite the former leadership against me.
24:26This company has wasted enough time already.
24:29But that night,
24:29I never expected the first person to storm into my office
24:32would be Dominic.
24:35Late that night,
24:36I was alone in my office reviewing contracts
24:38when Dominic walked in without waiting for permission.
24:40His face was serious.
24:42He placed a file on my desk.
24:44Victoria's name was on it.
24:46So it was a date from five years ago.
24:48This is about your mother's death.
24:49The file showed that one month before my mother died,
24:52Victoria had paid a large sum
24:53to a supplier who sold wolf toxins.
24:56There were bank records,
24:57wire confirmations,
24:59and messages between them.
25:00The supplier had kept copies of everything as insurance.
25:03The evidence matched the toxicology report
25:05Thomas had found.
25:07The digitalis in my mother's blood
25:09that hadn't been an accident.
25:10Victoria had likely planned her death in advance.
25:13And someone had helped alter the official report afterward.
25:18Where did you get this file?
25:19I used Silvermoon Ridge Intelligence Contacts.
25:22The mate bond stirred again.
25:23But this time,
25:24I didn't let it distract me.
25:26My mother's case came first.
25:27What are you going to do with Victoria?
25:29I closed the file.
25:30The money trail.
25:31The poison deal.
25:32The toxicology report.
25:33It was finally a complete chain of evidence.
25:35Now, I was going to make Victoria admit what she had done.
25:40I sat in my office,
25:42going through every bank record,
25:44wire receipt,
25:45and message Dominic had brought me.
25:46The evidence showed that Victoria
25:48had transferred $50,000
25:50to someone known as Dr. Nightshade.
25:53Why did you help me?
25:54Five years ago,
25:55I was the one who asked for the divorce.
25:58I thought a weak Omega
25:59would get in the way
26:00of everything I wanted to achieve.
26:02Only after he discovered
26:03that Silvermoon Ridge's expansion,
26:05its alliance negotiations,
26:07and even its investment money
26:08had all come for me.
26:09Did he understand
26:10what he had owed me?
26:11You held up my whole world,
26:13and I threw you away
26:14with a divorce paper.
26:20Dr. Nightshade was an underground
26:22wolf world poison maker.
26:23He specialized in toxins
26:24that were difficult to detect
26:25through normal testing,
26:27especially poisons designed
26:28to target lichen bloodlines.
26:30The transfer had been made
26:31one month before your mother died.
26:33It was also around the time
26:34she had been preparing
26:35to expose Victoria
26:36for stealing company money.
26:38Suddenly, everything made sense.
26:40My mother hadn't become weak
26:42because of some ordinary illness.
26:43I'm going to see Victoria myself.
26:45I grabbed the evidence
26:46and walked out of my office.
26:47It was time for her
26:48to face the poison deal
26:49five years ago.
26:53I went to Victoria's penthouse
26:55and found the front door
26:55unlocked.
26:56Half-packed suitcases
26:57were scattered
26:58across the living room.
26:59She was shoving documents
27:00into a briefcase.
27:01Apparently, she was trying to run.
27:03I said one name.
27:04Dr. Nightshade.
27:05Victoria's face went white.
27:07The briefcase slipped
27:08from her hands,
27:09papers spilling
27:10across the floor.
27:11Fifty thousand dollars
27:13sent to a poison maker
27:14one month before
27:15my mother died.
27:20Your mother died of heart failure.
27:21The doctors confirmed it.
27:23Those doctors had no idea
27:25they were supposed to test
27:26for a toxin made
27:26to target them blood.
27:27My father can deny it
27:29all he wants.
27:29The board, the media,
27:31and the courts
27:31will make sure
27:32these records are investigated.
27:34Enjoy what little freedom
27:35you have left.
27:37I turned toward the elevator
27:38when Thomas called.
27:39Thomas?
27:40He had found my father's
27:41former housekeeper,
27:42Mrs. Patterson.
27:43She was the only witness
27:44who had been there the night.
27:45My mother died.
27:47Five years ago,
27:48Victoria had threatened
27:48her into silence.
27:50Now, she was ready
27:51to testify.
27:53I flew to Moscow
27:54on a private jet
27:55with my Lycan tracking team.
27:57From there,
27:57we headed north
27:58to Victor's estate.
28:01The marriage arrangement
28:02my father had tried
28:03to force on me
28:03was dead.
28:04But Victor told me now
28:06that I had taken control
28:07of Blackwood Group.
28:08I was far more valuable
28:09as a business partner.
28:11I'm not here
28:12to discuss marriage.
28:14I'm here for Victoria.
28:15Victor had tracked
28:16every move she made
28:17after entering Russia.
28:18She had traveled
28:19under a new identity,
28:20arranged a secure place
28:21to stay,
28:22and planned to disappear
28:23in Russia for good.
28:24She was hiding
28:25at a private estate
28:26about 20 miles
28:27outside Moscow.
28:28High walls.
28:29Armed guards,
28:30independent security systems.
28:33What do you want
28:34in return?
28:36No conditions for now.
28:38Consider this favor
28:39the beginning
28:39of our partnership.
28:41Then he gave me
28:42permission to enter
28:42the estate,
28:43take Victoria,
28:44and bring her back
28:45to the United States
28:46for investigations.
28:47Get her.
28:49Bring her home.
28:50Let the courts
28:51deal with her.
28:53At midnight,
28:54my team arrived
28:55outside the estate.
28:56The guards didn't find us,
28:58and Victoria still
28:59had no idea
29:00her hiding place
29:02had been exposed.
29:05Just after midnight,
29:07my tracking team
29:07broke through
29:08the estate's
29:09outer security
29:09and entered
29:10the main house.
29:11Victoria was in the bedroom,
29:12packing cash,
29:13jewelry,
29:14and fake documents.
29:15She was getting ready
29:16to kick the door open.
29:18She stumbled backward
29:19toward the window
29:20the moment she saw
29:21my golden eyes.
29:22She dropped to her knees
29:23and begged me
29:24to let her go.
29:25Then she started
29:25talking about
29:26my mother's death.
29:27I only wanted
29:28to make her sick.
29:29I never meant
29:30to kill her.
29:31I wanted to weaken
29:32your mother
29:33before a board meeting,
29:35destroy her reputation,
29:37and take control
29:37of the company.
29:41But I used
29:42the wrong dosage.
29:43The poison killed her.
29:45Her confession
29:45was recorded in full,
29:46and it matched
29:47the bank transfers,
29:48the poison transaction,
29:49and the toxicology report.
29:51I forced myself
29:52to stay calm.
29:53Mom,
29:54I'm finally
29:55going to get justice
29:56for you.
29:57A few hours later,
29:58Victoria was handcuffed
29:59and put on a private jet
30:00back to the United States.
30:02Just as the plane took off,
30:04I received a message
30:05from Dominic.
30:06My father had suffered
30:07a heart attack.
30:07He might not
30:08make it through the night.
30:10I immediately
30:10turned back
30:11toward the plane,
30:12but I didn't know
30:13if I could see him again.
30:16I rushed to the hospital
30:17and found my father
30:18in room 847.
30:20He was hooked up
30:21to a ventilator,
30:22barely hanging on.
30:23When I walked in,
30:24he lifted his hand.
30:29I sat beside him
30:31and held it.
30:34Tears filled my eyes.
30:36Why could you never
30:37accept me?
30:38Why was I never
30:39enough for you?
30:41My father admitted
30:42that he had always
30:43known how capable
30:44I was
30:45and who I could become.
30:46But every time
30:47he looked at me,
30:47he saw my mother
30:48and he remembered
30:49that he had failed
30:50to protect her.
30:51So all those years,
30:52he pushed me away
30:53and refused to acknowledge
30:54my worth.
30:55Then he told me
30:56something more important.
30:57After my mother died,
30:59he had suspected.
31:00Victoria.
31:00She had moved
31:01into the company quickly
31:02and started fighting
31:03for family accidents.
31:04But he was afraid
31:05of losing everything
31:06he's had.
31:07So he never investigated.
31:14I suspected her.
31:18But I didn't stop her.
31:20I held his hand
31:21for the first time.
31:22I understood
31:23that he hadn't been
31:24completely unaware.
31:25He had chosen silence.
31:28After my father confessed,
31:30I didn't let go
31:31of his hand.
31:32He knew there was
31:33something wrong
31:33with my mother's death.
31:35But because he was afraid,
31:36he let Victoria
31:37stay in our home.
31:38I couldn't forgive that.
31:40But looking at him
31:41in that hospital bed,
31:42I also understood
31:43that he had been living
31:44with the guilt for years.
31:45I won't forgive you,
31:47but I understand
31:48why you ran from the truth.
31:49Use what your mother
31:51never got the chance
31:52to finish.
31:53Protect the company.
31:55Lead it better
31:56than I ever did.
31:57Then the heart monitor
31:58started screaming.
31:59His breathing became shallow.
32:01His fingers slowly
32:02went limp and mine.
32:03I called out to him.
32:04He looked at me
32:05and silently formed
32:06one word,
32:07sorry.
32:07Then his heart stopped.
32:10Doctors and nurses
32:11rushed into the room.
32:12I let go of my father's hand
32:13and walked out alone.
32:16Dominic was waiting
32:17in the hallway.
32:18He didn't ask questions.
32:19He just opened his arms.
32:23Come here.
32:24I hesitated.
32:25Then I stepped
32:25into his arms.
32:26My father was gone
32:27and all the things
32:28we never fixed between us
32:29would remain unanswered
32:30forever.
32:33I arrived at the
32:34Manhattan Criminal Courthouse
32:35to find reporters
32:36packed outside.
32:38Inside courtroom six,
32:40every seat was full.
32:41Victoria sat at the defense table
32:43in prison clothes.
32:44The moment she saw me,
32:46she couldn't look away.
32:47The prosecution presented
32:49the financial records,
32:51the poison transaction,
32:52and the footage
32:53from her arrest.
32:55Then Mrs. Patterson,
32:56the former housekeeper,
32:58testified by video.
32:59She said she saw Victoria
33:00put an unknown substance
33:02into my mother's tea
33:03the night she died.
33:04The security footage
33:05showed the same thing.
33:07Victoria Crane
33:07poisoned her over time
33:09to take control
33:10of Blackwood Group.
33:11When it was my turn
33:12to testify,
33:13I explained how Victoria
33:14had entered our family
33:15after my mother died,
33:17pushed me aside,
33:18and seized control
33:19of company resources.
33:20Her defense attorney
33:21tried to discredit me.
33:23He claimed I was only
33:24accusing Victoria
33:25because I wanted
33:26the family fortune.
33:27But I laid out the connection
33:28between the toxicology report,
33:30the transfer records,
33:31and the witness testimony.
33:33The trial lasted three weeks.
33:35Finally, the jury
33:36returned with a verdict.
33:37We find the defendant
33:38guilty of murder
33:40in the first degree.
33:43The second the verdict
33:45was announced,
33:46Victoria exploded.
33:47Court officers
33:48immediately.
33:49You pulled the strings
33:50on all the witnesses!
33:52Victoria Crane
33:53is hereby sentenced
33:54to life imprisonment
33:55without the possibility
33:56of parole.
33:58Outside the courthouse,
34:00reporters asked about
34:01the details of the case.
34:02I ignored all the interviews.
34:05That evening,
34:06I went alone
34:06to my mother's grave.
34:07I placed a single
34:09white rose on the stone.
34:10Five years after
34:11the truth was buried,
34:12the law had finally recognized
34:14what happened to her.
34:15Mom, I did it.
34:16she'll pay for
34:17what she did to you.
34:20As I left the cemetery,
34:22I saw Dominic waiting
34:23by the entrance.
34:24He hadn't interrupted me.
34:25He simply walked
34:26beside me toward my car.
34:27We already rejected
34:28each other.
34:29This relationship
34:29should have ended.
34:31Dominic lifted his hand
34:33and gently touched
34:34my cheek.
34:35The bond flared
34:35between us again.
34:36My wolf answered
34:37us immediately.
34:38Maybe it never ended.
34:40Maybe it was waiting
34:41for us to choose
34:42each other again.
34:43I didn't answer
34:44because I still didn't know
34:45if I could trust him again.
34:49On the night
34:50of the full moon,
34:51I stood alone
34:51in the backyard
34:52of the Blackwood estate.
34:53The mate bond
34:54that had been quiet
34:55for five years
34:55suddenly became
34:56impossible to ignore.
34:57My wolf kept telling
34:58me the same thing.
34:59Tonight was our chance
35:00to repair the bond.
35:01If we missed it,
35:02we might lose
35:03that chance forever.
35:04Dominic came to me
35:05beneath the trees.
35:06He talked about
35:06the choice he had made
35:07five years ago.
35:08He admitted that
35:09he had cared more
35:09about power and alliances
35:10than he cared about me.
35:11He knew he couldn't
35:12undo the damage.
35:14You made me feel
35:14like I was nothing.
35:16Why should I ever
35:16trust you again?
35:17Dominic didn't
35:18defend himself.
35:19Instead, he got down
35:20on one knee
35:21in front of me.
35:21He said I now
35:22had my family,
35:23my company.
35:24I didn't need
35:25to depend on anyone.
35:26He wasn't asking
35:27me to come back to him.
35:28He was asking
35:29for the chance
35:29to stand beside me.
35:31This time,
35:32the choice is yours.
35:33I only want the chance
35:34to earn my place
35:35by your side.
35:36I looked at him.
35:37I could feel his regret
35:38through the bond,
35:38but I didn't reach
35:39for him yet.
35:40Whether I accepted him
35:41again would be
35:41my decision
35:42and mine alone.
35:48If we started over,
35:49there could be
35:50no more power games
35:51and no more
35:52hidden magendas.
36:01under the full moon.
36:03We took each other's
36:03hands and spoke
36:04the ancient words
36:05to restore our
36:05mate bond.
36:06The moment the ritual
36:07was complete,
36:08I felt everything.
36:10His regret,
36:11his loneliness.
36:12The years he spent
36:12searching for me,
36:14and he felt
36:14what I had suffered too.
36:19You almost lost me forever.
36:21Dominic didn't make excuses.
36:23He only pulled me
36:24into his arms.
36:25For the first time
36:26in five years,
36:27I let myself accept
36:27his company,
36:28but that didn't mean
36:29the past was erased.
36:30Trust would still
36:31take time and action.
36:32Then my phone buzzed.
36:33It was an urgent message
36:35from Diana.
36:36Ivy had escaped.
36:37She had reunited
36:37with the real father
36:38of her baby,
36:39and they were planning
36:40revenge against me together.
36:41Dominic felt my fear
36:43through the bond
36:43and step aside me.
36:46Whatever comes next,
36:47we handle it together.
36:49But we still didn't know
36:50who Ivy's baby's father was
36:51or how dangerous
36:52he might be.
36:53We haven't had answers yet.
36:57Ten years later,
36:58I stood in my renovated office
37:00as James gave me
37:01the latest company report.
37:03Blackwood Group stock
37:04had hit another record high.
37:05Our clean energy investments
37:07and sustainable development
37:08projects had exceeded
37:09every forecast.
37:10The company had finally
37:12escaped the shadow
37:13with its old scandals.
37:15Ivy now lived
37:15in a small coastal town.
37:17Her trust fund
37:18was under strict
37:18court supervision.
37:20Dominic had become
37:21both my mate
37:21and my strategic advisor.
37:23We led the alliance
37:24together as equals.
37:26That afternoon,
37:27I visited my mother's grave
37:29and placed a white rose
37:30on the stone.
37:32Mom, I kept my promise
37:34and I became the leader
37:36you always believed
37:37I could be.
37:41That night,
37:43Dominic came to my office
37:44with our four-year-old daughter.
37:45She ran straight into my arm
37:47and reminded me
37:48today's theirs birthday.
37:52Mommy, you promised
37:54you'd come home early today.
37:56I put down my files
37:57and took both children's hands.
37:59The old identities,
38:00the pain,
38:01the misunderstandings.
38:03They were all behind me now.
38:05I took back my own career
38:06and found a family
38:07that truly chose me.
38:11This week's time,
38:13when people came to my house
38:13and were all behind me and
38:13their friends knew
38:14I went to California
38:15and saw her
38:15and some people
38:15Because now,
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