The Severance Clause

The Heir Revealed

~Sloane~

"Read the third clause," I ordered, tapping the contract on my desk.

Dominic Draven stood on the opposite side of the table, holding the document. He wore a standard business suit instead of his usual Alpha attire. He was my employee now, and he had to follow standard corporate protocol.

"This clause transfers the remaining Varkov real estate assets directly to Mercer Holdings," Dominic stated, looking up from the paper.

"Exactly," I replied. "You will sign it, and then you will process the transfer by noon."

Dominic picked up the pen. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, his Alpha pride warring with his current reality. He signed his name at the bottom and handed the clipboard back to me.

"You have a meeting with the liquidation team in ten minutes," I told him. "Do not be late."

"I understand," Dominic said. He took the folder, but he did not walk away. He looked toward the corner of the office.

Marcus sat on the floor, playing with a toy car.

"Can I speak to him?" Dominic asked.

"You can try," I said.

Dominic walked over and crouched down. He kept a respectful distance from the Marcus.

"Hey, Marcus," Dominic said gently. "Do you like cars?"

Marcus stopped pushing the toy car. He looked up at Dominic, frowned, and stood up. He walked across the room, climbed onto the sofa, and turned his back to his father entirely.

Dominic's jaw tightened. He stood up slowly, looking completely defeated.

"He knows you made me leave," I stated, typing on my laptop. "You have to earn his trust. You cannot just demand it."

"I know," Dominic said.

My office phone rang. I picked up the receiver.

"Ms. Mercer," Victor said through the line. "Elena Varkov is in the executive lobby. She is yelling at the receptionists and demanding to see her husband."

"Send her up," I replied. I hung up the phone. "Elena is here," I told Dominic.

Dominic turned toward the door, his posture shifting into immediate defense.

Loud voices echoed in the hallway outside my office. Elena shouted at my administrative staff, threatening to have them fired. The office door opened abruptly. Elena walked inside, stopping quickly when she noticed Dominic holding a file folder. She looked at him, then looked at me sitting behind the CEO desk.

"What is going on here?" Elena demanded, her voice raising loudly. "I tracked your car to this building. Your secretary said you were consulting for a rival firm. You are working for her?"

"Elena, leave," Dominic ordered. "This is not pack business."

"You are my husband," Elena argued, stepping closer to him. "You are the Alpha of Apex Industries. You do not work for a discarded, low-ranking omega. I demand you leave this building right now."

"I am not leaving," Dominic stated clearly.

Elena laughed loudly. "You are choosing her over me again? My father practically owns your pack now. You are nothing without the Varkov alliance."

I stood up from my chair.

"Dominic no longer controls the Apex assets," I said. "I do. I bought your supply chains, I locked your offshore accounts, and I own the debt your father incurred. Dominic works for me because I own him."

Elena stared at me. Her face contorted with pure rage.

"You manipulative b***h," Elena yelled. "You set this up. You seduced him to steal my position."

"I do not want your position," I replied calmly. "I do not want your husband. I just wanted my money."

Elena stepped toward my desk, raising her hand to point a finger at me.

Victor stepped into the room immediately. He grabbed Elena's wrist, twisting her arm behind her back, and shoved her against the wall. He pinned her there, overpowering her easily.

"Let me go!" Elena screamed, struggling against Victor's grip.

"Don't move," Victor warned.

Dominic didn't intervene. He watched his current wife struggle against my enforcer and did absolutely nothing to help her.

Then, Marcus peeked over the back of the sofa.

Elena stopped struggling. She looked past me, staring directly at the three-year-old boy. She looked at his dark hair and his pale eyes. She recognized Dominic's features instantly.

The realization hit her.

"A child," Elena whispered, her voice shaking with absolute fury. "You had a child."

"Victor, remove her from the building," I ordered.

"You hid an heir," Elena continued, ignoring me completely. She glared at Marcus. "You hid a True Alpha from the Council. That is why Dominic is here. You are trying to steal the Draven legacy."

"Take her out," I repeated.

Victor shoved Elena toward the door. She stumbled, catching her balance in the hallway. She turned back to face me.

"A True Alpha born to a low-ranking mother belongs to the Council," Elena stated loudly. "Pack law requires the child to be removed and raised by a proper Luna. I am the Luna of the Draven pack."

"You will never touch my son," I said, stepping around the desk.

"I don't have to," Elena threatened. "I just have to make one phone call to the Council of Elders. They will take him from you by force, and they will execute you for hiding him."

She turned around and walked toward the elevator.

Dominic rushed forward, grabbing the doorframe. "Elena, stop!"

The elevator doors closed in his face.

Dominic turned back to me, his chest heaving rapidly. He walked back into the office, running his hands over his head.

"She's going to tell them," Dominic said, panic lacing his voice. "The Council will send an extraction team by tonight. They'll take Marcus."

I walked over to the sofa and picked Marcus up. He wrapped his arms around my neck, resting his head on my shoulder.

"They'll try," I said, looking at Victor.

Victor locked the office doors and pulled out his phone. "I'll call the security teams. We need to fortify the building immediately."

"Sloane, you don't understand the Council's military strength," Dominic argued, stepping closer. "They have hundreds of enforcers. You can't fight an entire pack hierarchy with a private security firm. We have to run."

"I stopped running four years ago," I stated firmly.

"They'll kill you to get to him," Dominic insisted.

*I knew exactly what the Council was capable of doing to women like me, but I wasn't the same woman anymore.*

"Then they'll die trying," I said.

My computer chimed loudly. I walked over to the desk, carrying Marcus. I looked at the screen. It was an emergency alert from my surveillance network.

"They aren't waiting for tonight," I said, staring at the live security feed.

Five heavily armored transport vehicles just pulled up to the front doors of my building. Over forty Council enforcers stepped out, holding assault rifles and carrying chains. They were already marching toward the lobby.

The war for my son just started.