The Silver Rejection: Blood and Ice

CHAPTER 001 I stand right by the big glass window on the top floor of the house. Outside, Anchorage looks like a giant ice box. The wind is hitting the glass so hard it sounds like someone is throwing small rocks at it. My hands are wrapped around a hot mug of coffee, but my fingers are still shaking. I look down at my reflection in the dark glass. My face looks pale and tired. I look like a ghost hiding in a very expensive cage. Across the room, Liam is sitting at the long marble table. He looks perfect, like he always does. His dark hair is combed back neat, and his gray suit does not have a single wrinkle. He is staring down at his tablet screen, his thumb sliding fast over the glass. Tap, tap, tap. That is the only sound in the whole room. He does not look up at me. He has not looked at me all morning. It feels like I am just another piece of furniture in his big, fancy house. I take a slow breath and walk over to the table. My slippers make a soft scraping sound on the cold floor. I set my mug down next to his laptop. Liam, I say. My voice sounds small, even to me. I clear my throat and try again. Liam, the winter gala is in two weeks. Have you looked at the seating chart I made? Liam does not move an inch. He keeps his eyes on his tablet. The screen reflects a cold blue light onto his sharp jawline. I am busy, Aurora, he says. His voice is flat and freezing, like the ice on the street outside. Talk to my mother about the seating. She handles the important guests anyway. My stomach twists into a tight knot. His mother, Victoria, hates me. She makes sure I know it every single day. She thinks I am a waste of space because my inner spirit has not woken up yet. In our world, everyone from the big corporate families gets their special energy when they are teenagers. It makes them fast and smart and powerful. It connects them to the family business. But mine never came. I am twenty-two years old, and I am still empty. To them, I am just a broken toy. I pull my hands into the sleeves of my oversized sweater. I worked on that chart for three days, Liam. I just wanted to make sure everything was ready for the company anniversary. Liam finally drops his tablet onto the table with a loud clack. He looks up at me, and his gray eyes are completely blank. There is no warmth there. No love. Nothing. Your job is to stay out of the way, Aurora, he says, leaning back in his leather chair. Vance Enterprises is dealing with huge shipping delays at the northern docks right now. We are losing millions because the logistics network is jammed. I do not have time to discuss table decorations with a girl who cannot even understand basic corporate operations. His words sting like a slap across my face. I bite the inside of my cheek so I do not cry. He thinks I am stupid. He thinks because I do not have a flashy inner wolf spirit, my brain does not work. I do understand, I say, my voice shaking a little. I know the ships are stuck. I know the port authority is complaining about the container tracking system. If you just let me look at the reports, I could help. Liam lets out a short, mean laugh. He stands up, towering over me. He looks down at me like I am a stray dog that snuck into his office. You help? he asks, shaking his head. You do not even have a baseline spirit, Aurora. You cannot read the energy codes on the secure servers. Stop playing businessman and go find something else to do. Before I can answer, his phone starts buzzing on the table. The screen says Marcus. That is his giant head of security. Liam snatches the phone up and presses it to his ear, turning his back on me instantly. What do you have, Marcus? Liam snaps into the phone. He walks out of the dining room, his heavy dress shoes clicking loudly against the hardwood floor. The heavy oak door slams shut behind him, leaving me completely alone in the quiet room. I stand there for a minute, staring at the closed door. The anger inside me starts to burn hot, melting the cold fear in my chest. I am tired of being pushed around. I am tired of being the invisible wife. I look at the table. Liam left his laptop open and running. He forgot to lock it because he was rushing out to talk to Marcus. My heart starts beating super fast against my ribs. My palm is sweating as I reach out and touch the mouse pad. The screen flashes, showing the main Vance Enterprise supply log database. Rows and rows of numbers and shipping codes fill the screen. I pull a small black flash drive out of my pocket. My brother Gideon gave it to me for emergencies. I plug it into the side of the laptop. My fingers fly across the keys. I have been studying these shipping routes in secret for months, reading old paper manuals in my dark bedroom while Liam slept. I know how the system works better than his high-paid executives do. I scroll down to the northern port files, watching the data bars load. Come on, copy faster, I whisper to the empty room. I glance at the doorway, listening for any sound of Liam coming back. If he catches me doing this, he will lock me in the basement or throw me out into the snow without a cent. But I keep typing. I trace the tracking numbers of the delayed ships. Suddenly, a weird pattern catches my eye. The money isn't just disappearing because of bad weather or broken cranes. Someone is manually changing the digital routing codes from inside the office. Someone is siphoning the cargo shipments to a completely different company name. My breath catches in my throat. I stare at the name on the hidden file. Sterling Group. That is the family business owned by Chloe Sterling’s father. Someone is robbing my husband blind, and they are doing it from inside his own network. Suddenly, I hear a heavy footstep in the hallway outside. The floorboards make a tiny creaking sound near the door. My heart jumps into my throat. I yank the black flash drive out of the laptop port and shove it deep into my sweater pocket just as the brass doorknob begins to turn. The door swings open wide. It is not Liam. It is Marcus, the head of security. He is a massive guy with a shaved head and a mean face. He stands in the doorway, his sharp eyes scanning the room until they lock onto me standing right next to Liam’s computer. What are you doing in here, ma'am? Marcus asks, his voice deep and suspicious. His eyes slide down to the laptop screen, then back up to my face. I quickly pull my hand away from the desk and try to smile, but my lips feel frozen. I was just cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Marcus, I say, my voice sounding way too high. Liam left his coffee cup. Marcus does not move. He steps into the room, his heavy tactical boots making a scary thudding sound. He stops right in front of the desk and looks at the computer screen. The supply log files are still open and blinking in the dim light. Mr. Vance does not like people touching his workspace, Marcus says, his eyes narrowing into a mean squint. You know the rules about security clearances in this house, Aurora. I take a step backward, my back hitting the cold glass window. I am just his wife, Marcus. I am allowed to stand in the dining room. Marcus reaches out and slowly snaps Liam’s laptop lid shut with a loud pop. He steps closer to me, leaning down so his face is just inches from mine. I can smell the stale tobacco and cold snow on his jacket. You are a guest here because of a marriage contract, he whispers, his voice full of warning. Do not forget that you have no real power in this city. If I see you near the company servers again, we will have a real problem. He turns around and walks out, leaving the door wide open. I sink down against the glass, my knees shaking so bad I can barely stand. I reach into my pocket and grip the small black flash drive. The metal edge digs into my skin, reminding me that I have the proof. They think I am nothing. They think I am weak. But they have no idea that the quiet girl they keep in the dark just found the key to their entire empire, and I am not going to stop until I show Liam exactly what his placeholder wife can do!