Estelle's POV
The air grew tense. I could feel Theron listening—not casually, but with the kind of focused stillness a hunter has when locking onto its prey.
"If they were just ordinary accomplices," I said slowly, "one of them would never have taken the fall for the other. When James found out Rowan had talked, he should've been terrified—not calm."
I looked up. "But he wasn't afraid at all."
The room fell silent. I could hear my own heartbeat now, and beneath it something deeper—the presence of the Alpha.
"Why was he so certain Rowan wouldn't betray him?" I tilted my head slightly. "Unless they'd agreed on it long ago. Sacrifice one to save the other."
Dante's expression shifted.
I continued, my voice cooling further. "Even earlier—before I went to the factory—they'd already plann
