The Woman Behind The Company
1770 Words
Isabella didn't speak for several seconds.
The phone was still in her hand.
Her mother's voice echoed inside her head.
Don't trust Adrian.
She looked at him.
Adrian hadn't moved.
His expression was unreadable, but his eyes had changed.
He looked almost as shaken as she was.
“Say something,” Isabella demanded.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“What do you want me to say?”
“My mother just called me.”
“I heard.”
“She told me not to trust you.”
Adrian looked away.
“That doesn't surprise me.”
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
“You knew she was alive.”
“I suspected.”
“That's not an answer.”
“I haven't seen your mother in years.”
“Then how did you know about her?”
Adrian remained silent.
Isabella stepped closer.
“You keep telling me you're protecting me, but every answer you give creates another question.”
Adrian looked directly at her.
“Because the truth isn't safe.”
“Neither am I.”
“That is exactly what I'm trying to prevent.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You're five years too late.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Isabella—”
“No.”
She held up her hand.
“You don't get to say my name like we're still the people we were five years ago.”
His eyes dropped.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
She stepped toward the door.
“You rejected me.”
Adrian's voice was quiet.
“I know.”
“You let me leave.”
“I know.”
“You never came after me.”
His silence was enough.
Isabella opened the door.
Then she stopped.
“Why?”
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
“Why didn't you come after me?”
For the first time, Adrian's composure cracked.
“Because I was afraid.”
Isabella stared at him.
“Of me?”
“No.”
His eyes met hers.
“Of what would happen if I found you.”
She didn't understand.
Before she could ask, Marcus appeared in the hallway.
“Alpha.”
Adrian turned.
“What?”
“The Council is requesting an emergency meeting.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Why?”
“They know about the attacks.”
His eyes moved toward Isabella.
“Then we have a problem.”
Isabella left Blackthorn territory before sunset.
She didn't tell Adrian where she was going.
She didn't owe him an explanation.
The moment she arrived at her company headquarters, Daniel was waiting.
“You look angry.”
“I am.”
“What happened?”
“Adrian.”
Daniel sighed.
“Of course.”
Isabella walked into her office.
“Pull up the Silverpine records.”
Daniel followed.
“I already downloaded everything we could find.”
“Everything?”
“Almost.”
He placed a laptop on the desk.
“There are encrypted files.”
Isabella sat down.
“How many?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Can you open them?”
“Not yet.”
She looked at him.
“Yet?”
Daniel smiled.
“You hired me for a reason.”
He began typing.
Isabella walked toward the window.
Below her, hundreds of employees moved through the building.
Her company looked like a normal technology and investment firm.
That was exactly how she wanted it.
Publicly, Hart International invested in technology, logistics, energy and medical research.
Privately, one department had a completely different purpose.
It investigated supernatural phenomena.
Isabella had created that department during her second year away from Blackthorn.
At first, she had only wanted answers about the strange voice she heard after the rejection.
Then she discovered other cases.
Werewolves losing their abilities.
Children born without wolf spirits.
Unexplained changes in supernatural DNA.
Ancient symbols appearing in places where they shouldn't exist.
The deeper she investigated, the more often one name appeared.
Blackthorn.
She had initially believed Adrian was behind everything.
Now she wasn't sure.
Daniel suddenly stopped typing.
“I've got something.”
Isabella turned.
“What?”
He rotated the laptop toward her.
A file had opened.
It contained a list of names.
Hundreds of them.
Beside each name was a date.
And a status.
ACTIVE.
DECEASED.
MISSING.
Isabella scanned the list.
Her heart stopped.
“Stop.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
She pointed at one name.
“That's my mother.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
Elena Hart — Status: MISSING.
But beneath it was another line.
Last known location: Blackthorn Territory.
Isabella's hands began trembling.
“When was this updated?”
Daniel checked.
“Yesterday.”
Her eyes widened.
“Yesterday?”
“Yes.”
Someone had updated her mother's file one day before Isabella returned.
That couldn't be a coincidence.
“Who has access?”
Daniel shook his head.
“That's the problem.”
He opened the access log.
Only one account had accessed the database.
ADMINISTRATOR — UNKNOWN.
Isabella stared at the screen.
“Can you trace it?”
“I'll try.”
Daniel began working.
A few seconds later, the screen flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED.
Daniel frowned.
“Someone is blocking us.”
“Keep trying.”
“I am.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
Isabella turned toward the window.
“Did you see that?”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“The lights.”
“They've been doing that all day.”
Isabella's instincts immediately sharpened.
“Shut down the building.”
Daniel looked confused.
“What?”
“Now.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is inside.”
Daniel stood.
He reached for his phone.
The lights went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the office.
A low growl came from somewhere in the hallway.
Daniel froze.
“That wasn't human.”
Isabella's eyes began glowing faintly silver.
“I know.”
A shadow moved beneath the office door.
Then came three knocks.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Daniel whispered.
“Who is that?”
Isabella didn't answer.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
He was wearing a dark suit.
His hands were raised.
“Don't shoot.”
Isabella recognized him.
“Marcus?”
Adrian's Beta stood in the doorway.
He looked exhausted.
“We need to talk.”
Isabella lowered her weapon slightly.
“About what?”
Marcus glanced at Daniel.
“Privately.”
“No.”
Marcus frowned.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
Isabella crossed her arms.
“You work for Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“And Adrian has been lying to me.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at Isabella.
She looked back at Marcus.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Marcus stepped inside.
“Adrian didn't reject you because you were an Omega.”
“I know.”
“He rejected you because your bloodline was discovered.”
Isabella's heart began beating faster.
“Who discovered it?”
“His father.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Because your mother wasn't supposed to have a child.”
Silence.
Isabella's face went pale.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Your mother was part of a group of Moonborn survivors.”
Isabella stared at him.
“She told me my father was dead.”
“He wasn't.”
“Then where is he?”
Marcus didn't answer.
“Marcus.”
“He disappeared before you were born.”
“Why?”
“Because the Council found him.”
Isabella's breathing became shallow.
“What did they do?”
Marcus looked away.
“They killed everyone they could find.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Then how did Isabella survive?”
Marcus looked directly at her.
“Because your mother made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“Adrian's father.”
Isabella felt sick.
“What kind of deal?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Your mother agreed to hide you from the Council.”
“In exchange for what?”
Marcus's eyes hardened.
“She agreed to make sure you never awakened.”
Isabella stared at him.
“Awakened?”
“The Moonborn power.”
She looked down at her hands.
The silver glow from earlier flashed across her fingers.
Marcus saw it.
His face changed.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
“You've already awakened.”
The room became silent.
Isabella looked at him.
“How?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then a strange sound came from the laptop.
Daniel turned.
The encrypted file had opened by itself.
A video appeared.
Isabella's mother's face filled the screen.
But this time, she wasn't frightened.
She was crying.
“Isabella,” she whispered.
“If you're seeing this, then your power has awakened.”
Isabella stepped closer.
Her mother's eyes looked directly into the camera.
“You need to listen carefully.”
The video flickered.
“Your father wasn't the only one who survived.”
Isabella's heart stopped.
Her mother continued.
“There is another Moonborn.”
Marcus stepped backward.
“No…”
The video continued.
“And he has been searching for you since the day you were born.”
Isabella stared at the screen.
“Who?”
Her mother looked behind her.
Someone was approaching.
She whispered:
“His name is—”
The video suddenly cut to black.
Isabella stared at the screen.
“Who?”
Nothing.
Daniel tried restarting the file.
Nothing happened.
Marcus looked terrified.
“Alpha needs to know.”
Isabella turned toward him.
“No.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
“He doesn't.”
She closed the laptop.
“If Adrian wants to know what happens next…”
She picked up her coat.
“He can find out the same way I do.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Where are you going?”
Isabella looked toward the city.
“To find the other Moonborn.”
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
YOU'RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE.
A second message arrived.
YOUR FATHER IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
Isabella's blood ran cold.
A third message appeared.
HE'S BEEN WATCHING YOU SINCE YOU RETURNED.
She looked up.
Across the street, a black car was parked beneath a streetlight.
Someone was sitting inside.
Watching her.
The car suddenly started.
Isabella ran toward the window.
But it disappeared into traffic.
She looked down at her phone again.
One final message appeared.
ASK ADRIAN WHO REALLY REJECTED YOU.
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
For the first time, she wondered whether Adrian's rejection had ever truly been his decision.
And if it hadn't been...
then someone else had been controlling her life from the very beginning.
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