The screen turned black and displayed a golden crest: The Aurora Group.
The Aurora Group was a venture capital firm so exclusive it didn’t even have a website. It controlled shipping lines, pharmaceutical patents, and tech startups. Five years ago, when Julian’s first company was drowning in debt, the Aurora Group had stepped in with an anonymous $50 million injection. Julian thought he’d impressed a circle of unknown Swiss investors.
He never knew Aurora was Elara’s middle name. He never knew the money he spent, the penthouse he lived in, and the genius reputation he wore like a crown had all been carefully orchestrated by the woman he had just deleted from the guest list for being “too simple.”
Elara tapped a contact labeled simply: The Wolf.
“Mrs. Thorn,” a deep voice answered instantly. It was Sebastian Vane, Aurora’s head of security and legal affairs. “We received the removal log. Is it a mistake?”
“No, Sebastian,” Elara said—and her voice changed.
The soft, submissive tone she used with Julian was gone. Now her voice was firm, commanding, and heavy with authority.
“It seems my husband believes I’m a liability to his image.”
“Should we cancel the merger funding?” Sebastian asked. “We can kill the Sterling deal in under an hour. Thorn Enterprises will be bankrupt by midnight.”
“No,” Elara said, walking into the house. She untied her apron and let it drop to the floor. “That’s too easy. He wants image. He wants power. I’m going to teach him a lesson about power.”
