CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR (ELARA'S POV)

The next day, Elara tried to convince herself that she wasn’t affected by Killian’s rejection—again. She drowned herself in work, forced herself to focus on anything but the lingering memory of his lips on hers, the way his hands had gripped her waist. But the worst part wasn’t the kiss itself. It was how easily he had shoved it aside, how easily he had pushed her away.

For the second time.

She had let herself slip. Let herself believe in something that wasn't real. Something that could never be real.

Big mistake.

With a tired sigh, she walked over to her couch in her penthouse and sat on it with a glass of wine in one hand and her phone in the other. She had a mansion but today she decided to stay in her penthouse in case Killian came looking for her. She wasn't ready to face him.

She looked out unto the city, admiring the different colors of the sky and the faint glow from the street below as she tried to drown out the voices in her head.

You know that this is all fake. You knew what kind of man he is.

Her phone buzzed in her palm, pulling her out of her head, she glanced at the screen, expecting a message from Killian, despite knowing better. But instead, it was an unknown number that was calling.

She hesitated before answering. “Hello?”

“Elara Beckett?” a deep, familiar yet strange voice asked.

She frowned. “Who’s asking?”

“It’s me, Preston.”

She immediately sat up at the name. Preston Gray was the private investigator she had hired months ago to dig into Ivy’s business life. He had been silent for weeks ever since she returned to the city, up until now.

“Elara, I’ve found something.” he continued. His voice was grim and almost sounded hesitant.

Her grip on her wine glass tightened. “What is it?”

A pause. Then, “I don’t think the people around you have your best interests at heart.”

A chill ran down her spine. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You need to be careful.”

Elara scowled. “Preston, I don’t have time for vague warnings. If you have found something then tell me what it is.”

“I’ll send you a file,” he said, avoiding her request. “Go through it carefully. And Elara, don’t trust anyone until you do.”

She opened her mouth to argue but before she could talk, the line went dead. A feeling of unease washed over, she stared at her phone for a moment, her fingers tightening around it in frustration.

Don’t trust anyone until you do.

His words echoed in her mind. He was usually a man of few words and never put emtions in his words so she was very curious as to what got him so riled up.

But who the hell was she supposed to be wary of?

She was alone in this war.

Or, at least, she thought she was.

Pushing aside the anxiety bubbling within her, she grabbed her laptop from the coffee table and turned it on.

Her heartbeat raced fast against her ribs. She set her wine down and unlocked her laptop, tapping her fingers impatiently as she waited for the email to come in. Seconds later, a notification popped up.

She hesitated for a second before clicking it.

From: Preston Gray.

Subject: You need to see this.

She swallowed hard and clicked the attachment in the email. A file began to load on her screen, it was filled with documents, transaction records, and images. She began to read, eyes widening at the horrors she was reading which seemed to be getting more damning with each page.

Ivy wasn’t just a cunning businesswoman—she was a criminal. Even the things Killian had leaked didn't make up for half the things Ivy had done. It had more depth to it than he had even realized.

The records were traced back to shell companies and offshore accounts, all linking to an underground money laundering business. Luxury businesses, art dealerships and high-end fashion lines were being used to channel dirty money into her illegal business.

A lot of transactions, hidden bank accounts, and financial records were listed in the email, each one leading back to a single source—Ivy.

Elara took a shaky breath as she continued to go through document after document, uncovering more things on her way.

And her father…

Her father’s name was there.

The company.

The luxury businesses they had ties to.

And beneath it all was a long trail of dirty money.

Money laundering.

Ivy wasn’t just running a small illegal business, she was operating a full-fledged criminal enterprise and she had dragged their father into it.

The worse part of it all was the fact that Ivy had manipulated their father into giving her everything. Not just out of greed but out of desperation as she had threatened him with an illegal transaction that she had tricked him into doing.

If the truth has came out, their father’s entire legacy would be destroyed. His reputation, his empire—gone in an instant.

She sat frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe.

Her father had been forced to sign over the company to protect his name, his reputation, and everything he had spent his life building. 

Elara clenched her jaw.

This wasn’t just a corporate power play. This was calculated. Ruthless and outrightly evil.

Elara slammed her laptop shut, pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes as she tried to process it all.

She wanted to scream.

Wanted to storm into Ivy’s office and rip her apart. She wanted to burn everything Ivy had built to the ground.

Elara reached for her phone to call Preston but before she could do that, she heard the sound of another email popped up on her screen.

From: Preston Gray.

Subject: One more thing.

She had a bad feeling about this one as dread filled her.

Another file.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

And then she saw his name.

Killian Hayes.

The air got knocked out of her lungs 

What the hell…?

She scrolled, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. There were records with his name attached it. As well as some business dealings that weren't coincidences.

Killian… involved in all this?

Her stomach dropped at what she was reading.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected to find, but it wasn’t this.

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head, gripping the laptop like she could physically shake the truth out of it.

But the documents didn’t lie.

Killian Hayes wasn’t just some cold-hearted businessman with a vendetta against Ivy. He was involved in something bigger and she had no idea what.

Suddenly, the next lines caught her eyes. Her heart seemed to stop beating as her eyes widened.

“Oh my god…” she whispered.