Chapter 100
Aragon.
The moment the door slammed shut behind me, the sound echoed through my office like a thunderclap. I stalked toward my desk, my pulse hammering in my ears, and snatched up the phone. My fingers moved on autopilot, dialing the number I hadn’t used in years but still remembered all too well.
The line barely rang once before she picked up. “Aragon,” Benita said, her tone light, almost playful. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“You know damn well why I’m calling,” I snarled, gripping the phone tightly enough that it creaked under the pressure. “Why the hell would you call Sapphire? Are you still trying to stir up shit?”
There was a beat of silence, then a low, mocking chuckle. “Ah, so she ran straight to you,” she drawled, amusement lacing her words. “How predictable. I thought she was strong like she sounded now, she still needs you to fight her battles for her?”
My free hand curled into a fist, nails biting into my palm. “What do you want, Benita?” I demanded. “Why can’t you just accept that you lost? Leave
us the hell alone!”
“Lost?” she repeated, the playful facade slipping. “And why is it that I’m the one who has to lose? Why can’t it be you, Aragon? Why can’t it be her?”
I exhaled through clenched teeth, willing myself to stay calm. She wanted a reaction. She thrived on chaos, and I refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was getting under my skin.
“You’ve already taken more than your fair share,” I said. “I missed out on years with my son and my mate because of you. Because of your greed, your cruelty. And now you think you can just waltz back into our lives with your threats and schemes? Not this time. You want to destroy my family just like you did last time. I don’t get your obsession with Sapphire,”
Benita sighed, the sound long–suffering, as if she were bored with the conversation. “If you called to brag about your little happy family reunion, spare me the details. I don’t care.”
“You should care,” I shot back, my tone sharp enough to cut. “Because I’m telling you now, stay away from us. Sapphire owes you nothing, and I’m done letting you mess with our lives. This is the last time I’ll say it.”
“Oh, Aragon,” she said. “You’ve always been so… predictable. So righteous. But you don’t scare me, little boy. Do you think you’re the first man to threaten me? I’ve dealt with more powerful people than you, and I didn’t flinch then. I certainly won’t now.”
I let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow and humorless. “You think I care about those you have dealt with? I don’t. The difference between them and me, Benita, is that I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty. I’m not afraid of blood. And I’m especially not afraid of hurting a woman who’s hell–bent on destroying everything that makes me smile. You think you can rattle my family? you got me twisted,”
There was silence on her end, and for a brief moment, I thought I’d finally struck a nerve. Then she spoke, her tone calm, almost clinical. “Good. Then maybe you’ll be a worthy adversary after all.”
“Adversary?” I echoed, a cold laugh escaping me. “This isn’t a game, Benita. This is your last warning. Stay out of our lives. If I so much as hear your name again, our next conversation won’t be over the phone, and it won’t be pleasant.”
She didn’t respond immediately, but I could practically feel her smirk through the phone. Finally, she said, “We’ll see, Aragon. We’ll see.”
The line went dead, but the tension in my body didn’t fade. I placed the phone back on the desk with deliberate care, my movements slow and measured, as though any sudden action might shatter the fragile control I’d managed to maintain during the call.
The silence in the room felt oppressive, heavy with unspoken threats and unresolved anger. I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling a shaky breath as I tried to steady myself.
1
Benita was a thorn in our side, one that had been festering for far too long. Every time I thought we’d managed to tarve her out, she found a way to claw back in, dragging her poison into our lives.
But this time was different. This time, I wasn’t the same man I’d been six years ago. And neither was Sapphire. She trusted me enough to come to me this time rather than take matters into her own hands.
I left my office and made my way upstairs, needing to see her, to reassure myself that she was okay. When I opened the door to her bedroom, I found her lying on the bed just like I left her, her face turned toward the window. The light streaming in painted her features in soft gold, but the tension in her posture was impossible to miss.
“Aragon,” she said softly, turning to face me as I stepped inside, “Did you call her?”
I nodded, uuring on the edge of the bed. “I did.”
“And”
“And she’s exactly the same as she’s always been,” I said. “Conniving. Manipulative. But she won’t win this time. I won’t let her.”
Sapphire reached for my hand, her fingers curling around mine. “You don’t have to fight her for me. She won’t get through to me again. I know I was rattled before but it’s because I was a little scared because it hit close to home,” she said.
I squeezed her hand, my grip firm but reassuring “I know. But it’s my job to protect you and Charlie. That’s all I care about.”
Her gaze softened, and for a moment, the tension in the room seemed to ease. But I knew better than to let my guard down. Benita wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted or until I made sure she couldn’t.
Sapphire
17
Setting
19.08
Chapter 100
I sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the closed door after Aragon left for pack duties. His protectiveness was endearing, but it wasn’t what I needed right now. I’d been through too much, endured too many storms, to let anyone, not even him fight my battles for me. If the last six years had taught me anything, it was to be prepared. Prepared to fight, prepared to defend, and most importantly, prepared to win.
Benita had made herself my biggest adversary, and she thrived on power and control. She loved herself too much to accept failure, but what she loved even more was Buble, the company she had built, nurtured, and guarded like a lioness over her cubs. That was her Achilles‘ heel. And if she was going to keep coming for me, then I was going to show her exactly what I was capable of.
I stood and walked over to my desk, running my fingers over the laptop sitting there. The surface was cool under my touch, but the fire building inside me was anything but. I opened the lid, the familiar hum of the machine starting up filling the silence. But then I stopped. No, this wasn’t the right tool for the job.
Pulling out the key from around my neck, I unlocked the drawer at the bottom of my desk and retrieved my smaller, specialized laptop. It was sleek, discreet, and far more capable of handling what I was about to do. This wasn’t just any laptop, it was my weapon of choice, crafted and customized over years of fine–tuning my cybersecurity skills.
I set it on the desk, powered it up, and waited for the screen to light up. As soon as it did, my fingers flew across the keyboard, muscle memory kicking in. Code began scrolling on the screen, lines of text that felt as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.
This wasn’t the first time I’d done something like this. I’d spent years honing my skills, diving deep into the underbelly of technology and learning how to manipulate it to my advantage. It had started as a necessity, protection against threats, a way to secure my own life when no one else could. But over time, it had become something more. A weapon. A shield. A voice.
I opened a few windows, pulling up information on Buble’s servers. They were protected, of course, Benita wouldn’t leave her precious empire exposed. But I wasn’t just anyone. I’d dealt with tougher systems than this.
“Let’s see what you’ve got, Benita,” I muttered under my breath, a grim smile tugging at my lips.
The first layer of encryption fell quickly, crumbling like a poorly built wall. The second was trickier, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I worked methodically, bypassing firewalls, disabling security measures, and weaving through layers of protection like a ghost.
Minutes turned into hours as I immersed myself in the task. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me, my focus razor–sharp.
Finally, I reached the heart of the system, the core of Buble’s operations. This was where the real damage could be done. But I wasn’t here to destroy. Not yet. No, this was about sending a message.
I inserted the virus I’d written, carefully designed to disrupt their servers without causing permanent damage. It would scramble their data, freeze their systems, and wreak havoc on their operations. But most importantly, it would leave my calling card, a clear sign that this wasn’t just a random
attack.
The virus was subtle but effective, a masterpiece of chaos wrapped in precision. As it deployed, I leaned back in my chair and watched the results unfold on my screen. Servers began to falter, their statuses blinking red one by one. Files became inaccessible, their contents jumbled into meaningless characters. And through it all, I knew Benita would understand the message: You can’t win.
When the virus finished its work, I closed the laptop and exhaled deeply, the tension leaving my body in a rush. I sat there for a moment, letting the
satisfaction wash over me.
I had fought back. I had struck first. And for the first time in a long time, I felein control.
Just as i was savoring the victory, the door creaked open, and Aragon stepped inside. His sharp eyes immediately landed on the closed laptop on the
desk.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his tone cautious but curious.
“Taking care of myself,” I replied, meeting his gaze with a calm confidence that I hadn’t felt in years.
He raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “And by that, you mean…?”
I smiled faintly, leaning back in my chair. “Benita loves her company more than anything. I just reminded her that nothing is invincible. Not even
her.”
His eyes widened slightly, but instead of the reprimand I’d expected, he let out a low chuckle. “I knew you were capable of handling yourself, but damn, Sapphire. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“You already knew that,” I teased, though my tone held a serious edge.
He chuckled.
“How did you learn this?”
My brain scrambled for a quick reply, it wasn’t like I didn’t trust him but I just didn’t want this to be public knowledge.
I didn’t, I paid my IT guy to do it.”
He gave me a look but didn’t push it, the smile came back to his face as he kissed my forehead.
“You are simply marvelous and I am so happy you are mine.”
My smile faded, we hadn’t talked about where we stood with our bond and all.. He noticed and shifted back,
“What? Did I say something wrong”
I shook my head, “No, we probably need talk about us,” I gestured between us.
Setting
1905
