I closed the lid of the box, pushing it away from me.
I wasn’t dumb. This was a clear threat. A warning. For not just me, but for Adele as well. Apparently, whoever sent this message knew about me and Adele. Only forty-eight hours since Dimitri found out about Adele, and I was already getting death threats.
White-hot fury slammed into me as I searched for my phone on my desk. Anyone could threaten me, call me names, whatever the fuck they wanted. But no one dared to threaten my daughter.
I dialed Sarah and she answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Where’s Adele?” My voice came out more frantic than I intended, sharp with urgency.
“Um, she’s here watching Finding Nemo.” I could hear the confusion in her voice, probably wondering why I sounded like I was about to have a heart attack. “We’re about halfway through—”
“Good.” I cut her off, relief flooding through me so intensely my eyes actually burned. At least Adele was safe. At least she was home, away from whoever had sent that sick message. “Make sure all the doors are locked and don’t open them for anyone until I return. No one. I don’t care who they say they are.”
“Ms. Crawford, is everything okay?” Now she sounded worried.
“Yes, Sarah. Just do as I say. Please.”
I hung up immediately, searched for Dimitri’s number, and dialed it. Straight to voicemail.
Shit.
I didn’t know why, but I felt this strong conviction that I knew exactly who this message was from. It couldn’t be from Dimitri. He would never threaten my daughter, much less in this theatrical way. But I highly suspected it had something to do with his fucking wife, and someone needed to remind him to keep his wife in line because if she dared to come after Adele, she’d incur my wrath.
I’d barely dropped my phone when a message popped up. I saw the ID and froze. Edmund.
Edmund: Urgent. Need you at Ravencrest Global immediately. Lawyers are here. Important matters regarding Adele. Please come.
My heart stopped, then started racing so fast I felt dizzy.
Lawyers?
Forty-eight hours after Dimitri found out about Adele’s parentage, and he was talking to lawyers?
The fury that had been simmering within me exploded into white-hot rage. My vision actually blurred at the edges.
Was he seriously trying to take my daughter from me? After everything—after abandoning me, rejecting me, letting his pack tear me apart—he thought he could just waltz back into my life and take the one thing that mattered most to me?
My hands were shaking again, but this time it wasn’t from fear. It was from pure,unfiltered rage.
I yanked open my desk drawer and grabbed my car keys with such force that several papers flew off my desk. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything except getting to Ravencrest Global and putting an end to this.
I’d been too passive in the last two days, letting Dimitri and Selene think they could come at me without expecting a fight. I’d even let myself be lulled into a false sense of security, thinking maybe—just maybe—we could find a way to co-parent without it turning into a war.
But I should have known better.
They were about to see just how much I’d changed and how far I was willing to go to protect my child.
I grabbed my purse and stormed out of my office, barely registering Penelope’s still-horrified look.
“Estelle, are you—”
“I’m leaving for the day,” I said without stopping. “Cancel everything. And I want a full security review of this building by tomorrow morning. Find out how someone got past our reception with that—” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. “Just do it.”
The drive to Ravencrest Global was a blur. I barely registered the traffic lights, the other cars, the pedestrians. All I could see was that photograph of Adele, defaced with those hateful words. All I could think about was someone watching my daughter, stalking us, planning God knows what.
And Dimitri. Dimitri with his lawyers, probably sitting in some conference room right now, surrounded by his pack and his Beta, discussing how to take my daughter from me.
The parking garage at Ravencrest Global was familiar in the worst way. I parked haphazardly, not caring that I was taking up two spots, and practically ran to the elevator, not bothering with the receptionists who called after me.