CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45 I WAS SO WRONG ABOUT CAROLINE

Draven’s POV

Today,I dragged myself into the office with a brutal hangover,my head pounding as if it might split open. The whiskey from last night still coursed through my veins.

I wasn’t in any condition to face my team’s disapproval. Clara watched me with quiet,disappointment,Alpha Arthur fixed me with stern judgment,while Ryan and Kyle barely contained their frustration and concern.They had spent the entire day defending Caroline,insisting she couldn’t have sent those emails or betrayed me.

"You should have let her explain," Clara said for the hundredth time.

"A true Alpha listens before he acts," Alpha Arthur reminded me.

But I couldn’t meet their accusations,not while we waited for the audit results to reveal the truth.

Clara had gone down to the finance department to retrieve the documents supposedly being verified.Minutes later,Howard contacted me through our mind-link.

"Alpha Draven,Clara wants to take the financial report.I refuse.Your people are overstepping their authority."

Before I could respond,Alaric was already growling in my mind."Is he challenging you?He’s forgotten who the Alpha is."

I replied coldly,"If you want to keep your position in both the company and the pack,hand over those documents to her immediately."

Howard attempted to argue,"But this is internal..."

I cut him off with my Alpha command,"Shut up and give her the files."

The connection went silent instantly. I severed the link,not wanting to waste any more time on his nonsense.

Clara collected the documents and promptly delivered them to the auditors.

"Alpha Arthur," I said as soon as he picked up the call.

"I told you it was pointless,"I continued. "Howard handed over the documents himself. That proves Linda didn’t leak anything."

There was a brief silence on the other end before Arthur’s cold voice came through. "I already had a copy. It won’t hurt to compare them."

I tightened my grip on the phone. "You said you’d have answers for me today."

Before hanging up the phone,I reminded myself that Alpha Arthur had promised to tell me today if everything matched,but so far he’d remained silent.

Linda spent the day orbiting around me like a persistent satellite,bringing coffee,snacks when I skipped lunch,always finding some excuse to enter my office.There was something in her eyes that seemed worried,but not about my wellbeing.

Marcus Paul,the hacker Arthur hired,was still attempting to recover any footage from the damaged camera in my advisory office,but he hadn’t reported back either.

I was going insane with all this! More than that,I was going crazy without her,without Caroline.Alaric whined pitifully whenever I thought of her,the she-wolf who somehow carried no scent yet had marked our souls so deeply.

In the middle of the afternoon,Clara entered my office,quietly closed the door,and came very close to me,"You’re coming with me for coffee now. Everyone’s waiting for us."

I shot her a surprised look. If my pack members wanted to meet outside the company walls,they must have discovered something significant,and it wasn’t against Caroline. I rose quickly,and we left. I told Linda I was stepping out with Clara but wouldn’t be long.

When we arrived at the coffee shop,the others were already waiting. I slid into a chair and ordered a black coffee.

"So,what’s going on?" I demanded.

Arthur exchanged glances with everyone before taking the lead,"Draven,you made a terrible mistake. Caroline didn’t leak any information."

"Here’s my report. The documents Clara got from Howard were forged; they don’t match the copies we made on Saturday. From these documents alone,we can see exactly how the embezzlement is happening. It’s going to take time to verify everything,but the amount is substantial. And I can guarantee that whoever forged these documents did it after Clara and Ryan set the trap,because after Clara told me about their plan,I asked our floor’s ’coffee lady’ to check,and she made copies before they were altered."

I took the folder he handed me and examined the report and various document comparisons. The realization hit me like a physical blow—my secretary,who had been with the company for fifteen years,had betrayed me in such a calculated way.

I barely had time to process this when Marcus Paul spoke up,"Alpha Draven,I managed to recover a detail from the camera footage in Miss Bennett’s office. It’s a single frame that passes so quickly it’s almost impossible to notice,but I put the video in slow motion and isolated it," he said,turning the laptop toward me. "The security team has already replaced the equipment. But I’d like you to verify if you recognize the shoe that appears in the image; it’s the only thing visible in last Monday’s footage. Remember that the week before,the cameras weren’t installed yet."

I studied the image. Those low,thick heels weren’t Caroline’s style at all. Paul pulled up the parallel footage,showing Linda slipping into Caroline’s office,looking guilty and nervous. The shoes matched perfectly. Then I remembered,Caroline had been with me at that exact time,sharing a kiss in my office.

Goddess,I was a complete idiot.I had humiliated my potential mate and been manipulated by my secretary. My head was spinning. My throat went dry as the terrible realization sank in,Caroline would never forgive me! The bond we might have had was damaged,possibly beyond repair.

I looked at my pack members seated around the table,all waiting for me to speak. I cleared my throat and admitted,"I was definitely a complete jerk!"

"Yeah,my friend,you were," Ryan said bluntly.

"Well,we haven’t been able to identify who’s receiving the messages yet. But you already know where they’re coming from. If you want my opinion,keep your enemies close," Arthur advised,his voice low. "It’s not time to unmask your secretary. The new coffee lady on the floor has been instructed to get close to her,try to become friendly. Maybe that way we’ll get the information we need."

"You’re right,Arthur. Firing Linda now would alert her accomplice," Clara reinforced.

"So you’re suggesting I go in there and pretend nothing happened? And how can I bring Caroline back without clearing things up?" I asked,feeling completely lost.

"Draven,Carrie is working with Joseph Taylor now. She started today." Ryan’s words hit me like a physical blow. "And I doubt she’ll come back easily,especially since she’s more hurt than we thought." He handed me a folder,his expression grim.

"What’s this?" I opened it and felt my heart sink. "She signed the resignation papers and refused the check?"

"According to the courier,she explicitly stated she wouldn’t take a cent from this company," Ryan said quietly.

Alaric growled low in my mind. “We hurt the one who was loyal to us.”

"Damn it! Doesn’t she think about her son? Doesn’t she realize she might need that money?" I slammed my fist on the desk,frustration and guilt warring inside me. "If she’s refusing payment for her work,earning her forgiveness will be impossible."

"Caroline is a woman of strength and pride,"Alpha Arthur’s commanding voice cut through my outburst."You’ll have to work harder than you’ve ever worked if you want her forgiveness. She won’t make this easy for you."

"So what do I do?" I hated how desperate I sounded,even in front of another Alpha,but the fear of losing her forever was overwhelming.

"Keep things as they are for now," Clara said firmly. "Go after Caroline,beg for her forgiveness if you have to. When the time is right,we’ll fire Linda and bring Carrie back."

I agreed,they were right,but I wouldn’t waste another minute. I would go after Caroline today and have a very serious conversation with Joseph to make sure he wouldn’t even dream of getting too close to her. "Meanwhile,Draven,we’ll test the loyalty of all presidential staff," Alpha Arthur said,his authority clear in every word.

"But it’s just the coffee lady and the cleaning lady," I countered,not seeing the threat.

"Remember," Arthur’s voice carried the weight of decades of leadership,"in both packs and companies,the seemingly insignificant members often know the most secrets. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious."

"Right," I replied,running my hands over my face. I was exhausted,hadn’t slept properly in days,and now I felt like the world’s biggest fool for what I’d done to Caroline. "What about the infiltration plan?" I asked,realizing I hadn’t kept up with the audit since Monday.

"We’ve already placed new janitors and coffee servers on each floor," Kyle reported. "The janitor’s been particularly useful,delivering office trash directly to the audit team. We’ve found some interesting things. By Friday,we’ll have our people in every department. Thompson’s been cooperative,placing them all discreetly,no questions asked."

"Good. Anything else I need to know right now?" I asked,and everyone shook their heads. "Then let’s head back,Clara. I don’t want my ’efficient’ secretary to suspect anything," I concluded with a cold smile that didn’t reach my eyes.