Reborn as the Discarded Fiancée of the Ruthless CEO

Chapter4

A Shield Made of Silence

Elowen's POV

I woke to the sound of voices. Low, urgent, speaking in clipped tones. The bedroom was dark, but light filtered under the door from the main living area. I checked the clock on the nightstand. Three in the morning. I'd only been asleep for two hours.

Carefully, I slipped out of bed. I'd changed into borrowed clothes, soft cotton that smelled like expensive detergent. My wet dress hung in the bathroom, probably ruined. I didn't care. I never wanted to see it again.

I peeped at the door and opened it. Cassian stood by the window, the phone pressed to his ear. His suit jacket was gone, sleeves rolled up. Three laptops sat open on the dining table, screens glowing with data I couldn't read from this distance.

"I want every trace removed," he said sharply. "Credit cards, phone records, surveillance footage from the estate. All of it. Yes, I know it's extensive. That's why I'm paying you double." A pause. "Good. I want it done in four hours."

He ended the call and immediately made another.

"Marcus, it's me. The Ashbournes hired Dawson Investigations. I need you to intercept their findings before they report back. No, don't erase everything. That'll make them suspicious. Feed them false leads. Make them think she left the city." Another pause. "I don't care what it costs. Do it."

I stepped fully into the room. "You knew they'd come after me."

Cassian turned, unsurprised to see me. "You should be sleeping."

"You knew," I repeated. "This isn't a reaction. This is preparation. You had all of this ready."

He studied me for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yes."

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Three months." He set his phone down. "I knew eventually you'd either break or fight back. I prepared for both scenarios."

Something cold settled in my chest. "Why?"

"Because the Ashbournes are predictable," he said simply. "And because I don't leave things to chance."

I walked closer to the table, looking at the screens. Financial reports. News articles. What looked like surveillance photos of the Ashbourne estate.

"You've been watching them for months," I said quietly. "Not just me. Them."

"I've been watching them for three years," Cassian moved to stand beside me. "Since I realized what they were doing to you. I started documenting everything. Every forged signature. Every illegal transaction. Every lie."

"Why?"

"Because when you finally decided to fight back, I wanted you to have ammunition." He pulled up a file on one of the laptops. "This is everything they've done using your name. Organized. Verified. Court-ready."

I stared at the screen. Pages and pages of evidence. My name on documents I'd never seen. Transactions I'd never approved. A paper trail of crimes I didn't commit.

"This could destroy them," I whispered.

"Yes," Cassian agreed. "When you're ready."

Before I could respond, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it and his expression hardened.

"What is it?"

"Your adoptive brother is downstairs. He's demanding to see you."

My stomach dropped. "Rowan? How did he find this place?"

"He didn't. He followed me from the estate." Cassian's voice was cold. "Apparently, he's been sitting in his car for three hours waiting for morning. Impatient."

"What do we do?"

"We?" Cassian looked at me. "This is your choice, Elowen. Do you want to see him?"

Did I? Part of me wanted to hide. The old part, the part that had spent years avoiding conflict. But another part, the part that had walked out of that estate in the rain, wanted to face him.

"No," I said finally. "But I want to hear what he says."

Cassian's lips curved slightly. "There's a camera in the lobby. Come."

He pulled up a video feed on one of the laptops. There was Rowan, pacing in the building's lobby. He looked terrible. Hair disheveled. Tie loose. The same suit from the engagement party, now wrinkled.

Cassian pressed a button, and audio filled the room.

"I know she's here," Rowan said to the security guard. "I saw you bring her in. I just want to talk to her. Please."

The guard's expression remained neutral. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm not leaving without my fiancée."

"She's not your fiancée," Cassian said coldly into the intercom. His voice echoed through the lobby. "She refused you. Publicly. Or did you miss that part?"

Rowan's head snapped up, searching for the camera. "Valecrest. I should have known. What do you want with her?"

"That's none of your concern."

"She's my family.."

"She was never your family." Cassian's voice was ice. "She was your scapegoat. Your convenient signature. And now she's done."

"You don't understand what you're getting into," Rowan said desperately. "Elowen is confused. She doesn't know what she's saying. She needs to come home."

"Home?" Cassian laughed, and it was sharp and cruel. "You mean the place where you used her? Where did you let your parents abuse her? That home?"

Rowan flinched. "It wasn't like that."

"It was exactly like that. And you knew it. You've always known it."

"Just let me see her. Let me explain…"

"No." Cassian's voice was final. "You have already lost her, Rowan. Accept it."

"I'll make you regret this," Rowan threatened. "My father will make you regret this. We have lawyers, connections…"

"So do I. Better ones." Cassian leaned forward. "Go home. Tell your father that Elowen is under my protection now. If any of you come near her, I will bury you."

He cut the feed. I stood frozen, watching Rowan's image freeze on the screen. He looked broken. Lost.

Good.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

Cassian glanced at me. "For what?"

"For saying what I couldn't."

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Cassian showed me the evidence he'd collected. We started planning. Small moves at first. Leaking controlled information to certain journalists. Applying pressure to Ashbourne business partners. Testing weak points in their empire.

It felt good. It felt powerful. Two days later, I was reviewing documents when I heard raised voices from Cassian's office. The door was closed, but the walls were thin enough to carry sound.

"She's a liability," a man's voice said sharply. "The Ashbournes will retaliate. You're risking everything we've built."

"I'm aware of the risks." Cassian's voice was calm.

"Then send her away. Give her money, set her up somewhere far from here, but don't keep her close to the company. She's dangerous to our reputation, our investors.."

"Enough." Cassian's voice cut through the argument like a blade. "Elowen stays."

"But sir, the board.."

"Then the empire adjusts." His words were simple, final. "I'm not negotiating this. She stays. Under my protection. End of discussion."

Silence fell. I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my heart race. He'd chosen me over his board. Over his business concerns. Over everything.

I had become something precious to him. The thought was terrifying and wonderful at the same time.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay in the darkness, thinking about everything that had changed. Everything I'd lost. Everything I'd gained.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up, expecting another update from Cassian's security team.

Instead, there was a message from an unknown number. No name. No caller ID. Just seven

words that made my blood run cold:

"You were never meant to survive."