The following morning, Lilian looked like hell.
Her eyes were swollen and red-rimmed from the marathon reading and learning session that had stretched through the entire night.
She was exhausted down to her bones. Hungry to the point where her stomach had stopped protesting and just ached dully.
She still hadn't eaten and she hadn't gone home either.
Diana hadn't even considered it an option.
Instead, after the brutal all-night training session that had left Lilian's brain feeling like mush, Diana had dragged her to yet another location. Still one of Victor's properties but this one was different, It looked like a professional makeup studio.
Lilian had been given exactly ten minutes to shower when they arrived there and as she stood under the warm spray, she wished desperately that she could just stay there.
"Hmmm..." She enjoyed how the water seemed to wash away everything: the exhaustion, the hunger, the confusion about why her body had responded to Cassandra's touch yesterday morning.
But Diana had knocked sharply on the door at the nine-minute mark.
"Time's up, Rose. Get out."
Now, Lilian sat in a plush salon chair that was far too comfortable for someone who desperately needed to stay awake.
A makeup artist worked on her face while a hairstylist did her hair with practiced efficiency. Another person, Lilian had lost track of who was who, fussed over her nails, filing and buffing.
She felt like a doll being prepared for display but dolls wouldn't feel this exhausted.
"She needs to look perfect. I don't care if she's tired. Make her look like she owns the world." Diana's voice cut through from somewhere behind her.
And the makeup artist's hands moved faster.
Diana later appeared in Lilian's line of sight, holding up a dress. It was a gorgeous deep emerald green with a low neckline- the fit designed to showcase rather than conceal.
"This is what you're wearing." Diana announced, not asking.
Lilian's eyes narrowed at the dress but she was too exhausted to even protest now, knowing it was a waste of her remaining energy.
A few minutes later, she stood in front of a full-length mirror, barely recognizing herself.
The dress hugged every curve of Rose Bennett's body perfectly. The emerald green made her skin glow, its neckline drawing the eye exactly where it was designed to.
Her hair had been styled into soft, elegant waves that cascaded over one shoulder. Professional but effortlessly beautiful.
And the makeup was a work of art. Minimal yet striking.
She looked fierce and dangerously sexy, like she belonged in a boardroom making million-dollar decisions.
"Perfect!" Diana declared, circling Lilian like a vulture inspecting its prey.
Afterwards, one of Diana's assistants had escorted Lilian out of the studio and into a car waiting outside.
And then Lilian was alone.
Her heart was starting to pound now, adrenaline was beginning to creep in. Nervous energy that made her fingers tap restlessly against her thigh.
"This is really happening..." She muttered under her breath, knowing she was about to walk into Cassandra Drayke's territory, into the heart of the empire she wanted to destroy.
After driving through the city for like twenty minutes, the car finally parked outside a massive tower of glass and steel named: C.A. HOLDINGS.
This was Cassandra's baby, her personal empire. The conglomerate she had built herself, encompassing real estate, tech investments and renewable energy that made her one of the most powerful business figures in the country.
Real estate was just one branch.
Lilian's breath caught as she stepped out of the car, her hands slightly trembling as she smoothed down her dress.
"You can do this. You didn't survive death just to fail now." She whispered to herself then began to walk into...
Into the lion's den.
~~~~~~~~~~
High up in the executive tower, Cassandra Drayke sat in her spacious, tastefully furnished office, her eyes red, blazing fury.
Her mind was busy calculating, planning and obsessing...
She needed to find whoever was behind the attacks on her company. The arson. The car crash.
She needed to rip them apart. Slowly. Make them regret ever thinking they could challenge her.
And not finding them yet was driving her crazy.
"What the hell?" Her eyes narrowed on the tablet on her desk as she scrolled through news coverage with growing rage.
"C.A. Holdings Under Fire: Did Billionaire CEO Cassandra Drayke Cut Corners?"
"Expert Claims Drayke's Company Failed Basic Security Protocols"
"Public Demands Accountability as Historic Property Burns Under C.A. Holdings' Management"
The media was having a field day. Every headline was worse than the last. Reporters who had once praised her business acumen were now questioning her competence. Demanding investigations and calling for her head.
Cassandra's grip on the tablet tightened until the screen cracked slightly under the pressure.
"Fuck you all!" She growled under her breath. Then with a snarl of pure rage, she threw the tablet across the room.
It flew through the air like a missile aimed at the wall...
But it never made contact.
The office door opened at that exact moment, and Lawrence stepped through. His hand shot out with supernatural speed, catching the tablet mid-flight before it could shatter into a thousand pieces.
He straightened, holding the device carefully, and glanced at the cracked screen.
His expression darkened as he read the headlines still visible.
"They are tearing you apart." He observed quietly.
"I'm aware." Cassandra growled. The sound rumbled from deep in her chest, animalistic and terrifying. Her eyes flashed red for just a split second before she forced them back to normal.
Lawrence set the tablet down on a side table, far away from Cassandra's reach and turned to face his boss.
She looked like she was barely holding it together. Her hands were clenched into fists. Her breathing was slightly too fast. There was a wildness in her eyes that he recognized.
Her wolf was close to the surface. Dangerously close.
"Cassandra, you need to breathe. Don't let them get to you like this." Lawrence said carefully, using the calm, measured tone he had perfected over years of working for her.
"I need to find whoever is doing this and end them. That's what I need!" Cassandra countered, her voice sounding cold and deadly.
"And you will. But right now, we have a more immediate problem to solve. The media is destroying our reputation. Stock prices dropped another three percent this morning. Clients are getting nervous. We need to control the narrative before this gets worse." Lawrence pointed out.
"I know that, Lawrence!" Cassandra snapped. Lawrence didn't seem affected by that, he continued smoothly;
"Which is why interviews are already underway for a new Public Relations and Crisis Management Specialist. Someone who can handle the media, reshape our image, and prevent further damage."
Cassandra's jaw tightened. She didn't want to think about replacing Billy. The man had been with her for years. And now he was dead because someone had decided to target her.
"That doesn't change anything. We are still under attack, and I still don't know who's behind it." She snapped again.
Lawrence opened his mouth to respond but a loud crack cut him short.
Cassandra's fist had come down on her desk with explosive force.
The entire structure split cleanly in two. The sound was deafening. Wood groaned as the two halves collapsed to the floor.
Papers scattered everywhere. A laptop that had been sitting on the corner crashed to the ground.
Lawrence didn't even flinch, this act of violence was nothing to him, he had seen worse from his boss. But what concerned him was the way Cassandra was trembling now. The way her breathing had gone shallow and rapid. The way her fingers were still curled into claws.
Her wolf was trying to break free.
"You need to calm down before you shift. We can't afford that right now." Lawrence said, taking a careful step forward.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Cassandra's voice was a snarl.
But even as she said it, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then another. Forcing the wolf back down through sheer willpower.
When she opened her eyes again, they were back to normal.
Lawrence waited a beat before speaking again;
"Why don't you watch the ongoing interview sessions? It might help you relax. Give you something else to focus on."
Cassandra let out a harsh laugh.
"Watching people stumble through interviews for a position they're probably not qualified for? That won't help."
"Then at least look at the list of interviewees. You should have some idea of who we're considering for the position. Final decision is yours anyway." Lawrence pressed on, pulling a file folder from under his arm.
Cassandra's eyes peered at the file like it might bite her.
But after a moment, she snatched it from his hand with a huff of annoyance.
She flipped it open roughly, her eyes scanning the pages without really seeing the contents: names, credentials and all details of the interviewees, none of it mattered to her right now.
Until she saw it..
Rose Bennett's file!
Everything else disappeared, even her rage.
The name seemed to glow on the page. Her wolf surged forward inside her with such force that Cassandra actually gasped.
"Our mate..." Her wolf screamed in joy.
"What's wrong?" Lawrence asked immediately, noticing the sudden change in her demeanor but Cassandra couldn't respond.
Her mind was screaming one thought over and over:
"My Rose is here?"
Her legs were already moving toward the door with a single-minded purpose.