I’d let Ethan buy into Crescent Tech. Let him think his infiltration of my board was working. I’d even played into it, made deliberately poor business decisions, planted false information that made me look distracted and weak. Because I’d wanted them to be overconfident. I wanted them to reveal the full scope of their plan before I struck and destroyed them both.
I was patient. Strategic. Waiting for the right moment.
“Keep the surveillance active,” I said, closing the folder. “Plant listening devices in Selene’s car, her office, anywhere she goes regularly. I want to know their endgame.”
“And when they make their next move?” Edmund asked.
“Let them. I want to see how far they’re willing to go. Then I’ll end it.”
Edmund nodded slowly. “And Selene? She’s going to notice if you’re…distracted.”
“Let her notice.” I stood, grabbing my jacket from the back of my chair. “We haven’t been intimate since the wedding. She knows I only tolerate her presence for appearances.”
And it was true. Five years of marriage and I’d never touched her beyond what was absolutely necessary for public functions. Every attempt she’d made at seduction had been met with cold rejection. Her touch made my skin crawl. She knew—had to know—that our marriage was nothing but a political arrangement. That I felt nothing for her beyond mild irritation. We lived separate lives. Separatebedrooms.
“She’s not going to stop me from getting Isabella back,” I said, my voice hard with certainty. “No one is.”
I headed for the door, my wolf surging forward with purpose for the first time in years.
“Where are you going?” Edmund asked.
“To see Isabella.” I didn’t look back. “And get some damn answers.”
Chapter Eleven
Dimitri’s POV
Within two hours, I pulled up in front of the three-story glass building with a gold placard at the top that read: Crane Internationale—Virginia Tech Division.
Just seeing the name Crane made the hackles of my wolf rise. My grip tightened around the steering wheel. Fuck, it should have been me. Not some smug, over-polished bastard of a CEO—someone who should have been focusing on business instead of ogling Isabella during the three weeks I sent her to Zurich.
Regret slammed into me with full force.
When Edmund had come to me with the idea of letting Isabella follow the team for the merger, I’d thought it was perfect timing. I thought while she was away, I’d handle everything like I promised. She wouldn’t have to face the backlash in that moment when they found out she is my Fated Mate. And when she returned, she wouldn’t just be coming back as my executive assistant, but as my Mate, the woman I intended to marry.
If I’d known I was sending her straight to a man who would try to take what was mine, I never would’ve let her go.
But now wasn’t the time for regrets. I’d done nothing but regret for the last five years.
Now was the time to get my woman back, to show Crane that he might have had her in those five years, a thought that genuinely made me want to retch—but Isabella was always going to be mine. Whether she carried his child or not. Damn it.
I killed the ignition and was just about to step out of my car when my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen. Mother.
I considered letting it go to voicemail. But knowing Maia, she’d just keep calling until I answered.
So, I hit the answer button. “What?”
“Dimitri, darling.” Her voice was syrupy sweet as always, but there was a hint of tentativeness—something that had crept in about a year after Isabella left. “I was thinking we should have dinner tonight. As a family. It’s been so long since we’ve all sat down together.”
I’d moved out of the Ravencrest mansion a year after the Alpha Ceremony because I couldn’t stand the sight of my own mother anymore. I couldn’t look at her without seeing the woman who’d threatened to murder Isabella, who’d forced my hand and smiled triumphantly as I destroyed the best thing in my life.
“I’m busy,” I said flatly.
There was a pause on the line. Just when I thought she’d let it go, her voice came again, softer this time. “How was the gala the other night?”
Since when did Maia Ravencrest care about galas I attended?
Then it clicked.