Chapter 221

Grace

Back at Mooncrest, the weight of the settlement settled on my shoulders like a leaden cloak. The joy and hope of a semi-victory had evaporated, replaced by a gnawing bitterness and a surge of anger I couldn't contain.

"This is insane!" I exploded, slamming the financial documents down on the table in my home office as Esme sank into a seat across the table

"You told me you could handle this, that we'd weather the storm without breaking! Look at this – I'm practically bankrupt! AGAIN!"

Esme, unflinching despite the storm brewing in my eyes, calmly folded her hands. "Grace, take a breath. You--"

"Don't tell me what to do!" I snapped, pacing the room and growling. "I'm drowning in debt, Esme! You said that it would be done. A few thousand based on the books you made me read, not several hundred thousand! How am I supposed to manage, to rebuild, with this? I thought you were a great lawyer! What would you call this?"

"I am a fantastic lawyer," she said, her voice firm yet laced with understanding, "And given your fuck up, it could have been much worse. The initial charges could have landed you in prison, and the fines would have been tenfold what they are now. This, while challenging, is manageable."

"Manageable?" I hissed. "You can say that because you can just fuck off to wherever you came from, but me? My kids? How the fuck is this manageable? Never mind the total. What about the interest rate the State Bank is going to charge me?" I snarled. "I'll have to cut back on everything, lay off staff, tighten my belt until it snaps. I might not even finish my damn program!"

I could barely breathe around the rage. "All of this happened because of Devin. And again, I'm saddled with all of it alone, and he gets off scot-free!"

Esme scoffed. "Are you done with your pity party?"

"What?" I growled.

"Your misplaced pity party," Esme said, gesturing so the pages floated in the air. "I know you can read. All the charges related to Devin's misconduct as alpha have been dropped against you. All that's left are the charges due to your choices, and if you'd read more carefully, you'd have been prepared for every single one of these charges. I don't know how you thought it would be just a few thousand dollars."

"I thought I was incapable," I sneered. "And the books said--"

"You think that excuses you?" Esme asked. "Being emotionally overwrought lessens a sentence, not nullifies it." She stood. "You really thought that you'd be charged with a minor negligence charge when it pertained to an entire city? A company with the earning power of Wolfe Medical? That man wants to take Wolfe Medical and Mooncrest from you. You expected him to let you off with a slap on the wrist? I told you. I warned you."

I hissed. "You were supposed to make it go away."

"I did. Several millions of dollars. You're welcome." She shook her head. "I'm not telling you to not be frustrated. I'm not telling you not to feel how you feel. I am telling you to evaluate those emotions and parse out what is valid and what is attributable to your misconceptions."

"How am I misconceiving anything? I signed papers that were used in a way that wasn't my intention."

She shook her head. "Your intention stopped mattering the moment you signed and didn't check in on it."

I glared at him. "He made me trust him."

"The law of the States doesn't care if you were manipulated if you're married."

My eyes stung.

"This is just the beginning, Grace. Further sacrifices will be necessary," Esme said, her voice devoid of apology but not devoid of empathy. "And I did exactly what I was supposed to do: get you the best outcome possible."

My anger simmered, frustration battling with the cold logic of her words.

"This is a pretty shitty outcome."

She lifted a shoulder. "It's a pretty shitty set of circumstances."

She got up. "Since you aren't in the mood for debriefing, I'm leaving. Calm down, don't tear up the judgment, and I suppose we'll talk when you're less pissed off."

She left, sauntering out and shutting the door behind her.

I snarled and pushed everything off the desk, relishing the way it all clattered to the floor. The anger and frustration turned the room into a shadow haze, and before I knew it, the whole office was trashed, but I felt no better. The problem was that it wasn't just the judgment.

I could see Charles leaving with Elara, handing her into the car like a damn queen, barely sparing a glance in my direction. I still didn't know who she was to him. Just because she was in his mother's coven didn't mean that they were related. Was he going back to the Clan territory with her? Was he coming back at all? The disdain on her face sent a jolt of fury through me. I turned over my desk with a scream.

Who the hell did he think she was?

"... so things went about as expected."

I whirled around to see Eason standing in the doorway. His laptop and phone are in his hand. He looked comfortable. His hair had grown out again and was a mess on top of his head. He had a cup of something that smelled like a mocha in his other hand. He took a sip, and all I could think of was the Noir Coven. Elara. Charles. The Case.

"Care to fill me in?" he asked, gesturing. A chair tumbled right side up. He took a seat and let his cup float in midair as he opened his laptop.

"I'm in debt."

"More debt," he said. "How much?"

"A mountain of it!" I hissed. "And Esme's so certain that it could have been worse."

"Well, you're not in jail," he said. "How bad is it?"

I growled and started to pace. "Every time I move forward a little bit, Devin's shit keeps dragging me back. Am I ever going to stop paying for his actions? When does he get to pay for it?"

Eason said nothing. I saw pages flying toward him. He let out a low whistle as he looked through the documents.

"Damn."

"I know! And--"

"I knew Esme was good, but not that good... She got them to pay for his lodging, too?"

I spun around, shaking with anger as I watched him read the documents and type. "Wherever he decides to stay, charge him the max amount. You'll make back some of the money that way since he'll be here for six months." He typed. "They'll probably force him to rent a spot... We could rent him an apartment in the Wolfe family building."

He hummed and kept clicking. "Edgar Thorne... looks like a real piece of work. Tough, but I've got a few ideas. Want me to flirt with him until he decides he can't work here anymore?"

I sputtered. "What?"

He grinned. "He's oozing with sleaze, but I'm willing to take one for the team." He tilted his head. "Though if he actually wants a piece of me, that could get him fired... or killed. Not sure. Let's stick a pin in that strategy and get back to the money." He scrolled. "He's pretty high tier, so he's got a pretty high per diem. He's probably used to being treated like royalty... He'll probably want a penthouse." His eyes lit up. "We'll charge them a ridiculous deposit, eat through his per diem."

The very thought seemed ludicrous. Yet, as I mulled over it, a grudging respect for Eason's pragmatism grew within me.

"What are you talking about?"

"Thorne. Money. Etching down this debt, of course. Have you applied for a payment plan? Are you going to wait until Thorne gets here or Charles gets back?"

I blinked. "Did you listen to anything I said?"

He shrugged. I twitched. "You're ranting about the debt and Devin, and we're on a ticking clock. Sure, the outcome wasn't what you hoped for, but--"

"It's more than not what I hoped for! It's a disaster. I've worked so hard to get Wolfe Medical back on its feet, and now, I'm basically back to square one!"

"Don't be dramatic," Eason said, looking at him. "Set aside your pity party for a moment and think. This debt is nowhere near what you were dealing with before. The house isn't up for grabs, Wolfe Medical isn't in the toilet, and no one is shutting off your lights."

My jaw trembled. "I'm still cleaning up after Devin. It certainly feels like I'm back at square one."

A flicker of annoyance crossed Eason's face as he looked at me.

"Well, Grace, I hate to break it to you, but your feelings aren't reliable for shit. Isn't that how you got to the point where you're ranting at all?"

Red covered my vision. I exploded. "Is it too much to ask for a little fucking sympathy!"