195 The Quiet Rebellion
Mara
It was the day before the handover.
People had been calling me Luna for weeks now, but tomorrow it would become real-official. The title would carry weight. Expectations. Authority. Responsibility. And though I held my head high, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
How did Natasha handle this? How did Martha?
The thought of her pulled me from my reflection. She hadn’t left her room in days. Not a word. Not even to Lacy. No one seemed to be paying attention-not Vander, not Darian. Everyone was too busy preparing for tomorrow. But I saw the signs. I recognized the silence. Those were symptoms of something darker-real depression.
And though it wasn’t my place to interfere, I couldn’t ignore it.
I just… wished someone in her family would see her before it was too late.
I shook the thought away and linked Lucian.
“Where are you?”
“With my father. Finalizing the handover documents,” he replied.
Good. That gave me time.
Because I had a plan-one I couldn’t afford to share. Not yet.
Since the audit with Alice McBride, I hadn’t been able to rest. She was right-we were being outplayed. The saboteurs
knew us. Watched us. Moved ahead of us. Meanwhile, we were scrambling in the dark.
That kind of disadvantage gets you wiped out. Fast.
If Chase’s goal was to gut Steel Corp-and I believed it was-then his next move wouldn’t just be defamation or disruption.
He’d come for our money. Quietly. Strategically. Ruthlessly.
And when that time came, we’d need something no one could touch.
A piggy bank.
I pulled out my phone and called the only person I could trust to help me execute this: Rowan.
If anyone could set up a hidden reserve-completely off the books and untouchable-it was him. We needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And if that meant moving funds in secret, away from the official records, then so be it. Some
might call it theft. But I called it insurance.
And I wasn’t telling Lucian. Not yet. This wasn’t about distrust-this was about protection. If he knew, and someone got to him… the secret would be gone.
Daniel had already tried to deflect guilt by dragging Martha’s name into it. That man would throw anyone under the bus. But his story didn’t add up. Not with what we already knew. Martha had confessed her part early on. She’d owned her failure. His version felt like a bluff-an attempt to twist the narrative, make her the scapegoat.
Still… I wished she’d just come clean about the rest. About whatever she was still hiding. There was no healing, no peace, no moving forward until all the truth was out.
But I couldn’t fix that. I had other battles to fight.
Tomorrow, I’d become Luna. And if I was going to wear that title, I was going to do it prepared.
< 195 The Quiet Rebellion
Even if I had to keep secrets of my own.
Rowan picked up on the third ring.
“Luna,” he teased, drawing the word out, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Rowan, I need to meet you. Privately. At the park,” I said, shifting into the tone that meant I wasn’t joking.
He went quiet.
“Would Alpha Lucian… approve?” he asked cautiously. His voice dropped, suddenly careful.
I laughed again, light but deliberate.
+8 Pointa
“Lucian’s not my keeper. He’s busy. And it’s not like we’re sneaking off to have an affair,” I said, then lowered my voice. “I have a plan. Something important. It’s about the future. Our future.”
He was silent again, and I could feel the hesitation. I couldn’t blame him. Lucian had a temper, especially where I was
concerned. Anyone seen getting too close could end up scorched by his fury.
“Just as friends, Rowan,” I added softly. “A Luna asking a friend for help.”
That did it. He caved-reluctantly, but respectfully.
We agreed to meet in an hour.
I moved quickly. Got dressed, simple but elegant. Nothing that would draw attention. Before heading out, I linked Lucian.
“I’m going out for a bit,” I told him.
“You should be resting, darling,” he replied instantly, concern laced through his voice.
I sighed.
“Please, Lucian. I need air. I won’t be long. You can meet me at the park when you’re done. Rowan will be there.”
There was a pause.
“Should Darian go with you?”
I froze, surprised. That he suggested Darian-not Denis-told me a lot. He trusted his brother again. That meant more to
me than he knew.
“No need,” I said gently. “He’s your beta now. You’ll need him and Denis where you are. If I’m not back by the time you’re done, just meet me there. But I doubt I’ll be long.”
He agreed, and I broke the link.
At the entrance, I’d already arranged for Austin to have one of the mini coupes prepped. I didn’t want to use any of Lucian’s cars-they were too flashy. I needed something subtle. Forgettable.
Because today wasn’t about appearances.
It was about preparation.
And I was done waiting for disaster to strike. It was time to quietly build the insurance we might soon need.
