Chapter 11

Julian’s pov

I threw the crystal whiskey glass against the stone wall of my office.

The glass shattered into a hundred jagged pieces. The costly amber liquid stained the white carpet. I breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling as pure anger boiled in my veins.

Greg, the head software engineer for Vanguard Corporation, flinched violently. Greg was a tall, nervous Beta who sweated too much. Right now, a dark wet patch stained his shirt. He stood near the door, holding his digital tablet like a shield.

"I do not want to hear excuses, Greg!" I roared at him.. "You have a team of twenty engineers! You are telling me none of you can unlock a single development server?"

"Alpha, please," Greg stammered, shrinking back against the door. He pushed his glasses up his nose with shaking fingers. "The code is bizarre. It is a dynamic lock. Every time we try to bypass it, the root code shifts and changes its own password. We have never seen anything like this."

I gripped the edge of my mahogany desk. My knuckles turned white.

"Sienna built it," I muttered to myself. The words tasted like poison in my mouth.

I hated saying her name. I spent years telling myself that I was the visionary of this company. I convinced myself that Sienna was just the quiet typist in the background. But now, staring at a locked server that my entire elite team could not crack, the ugly truth bit into my pride. She was a genius, and she built a trap door in my empire.

"If we cannot access the server by Friday, we cannot upload the final security patch," Greg warned in a quiet, fearful voice. "The system will be vulnerable on launch day. The investors will notice."

"Do not tell me about vulnerabilities!" I snapped. I pointed a finger directly at his face. "Get back to your desk. Do not sleep. Do not eat. Break that code, or I will fire your entire department and ensure you never find a job in this city again."

Greg nodded quickly and practically ran out of the office, pulling the glass door shut behind him.

I collapsed into my leather chair and rubbed my temples. A sharp headache pounded right behind my eyes.

Everything was supposed to be flawless. I got rid of my useless, barren wife. I secured my beautiful fated mate. The charity gala was supposed to be a victory lap. Instead, Dominic Vance walked in and ruined the entire evening.

Just thinking about Dominic’s arrogant face made my blood boil.

And Sienna. I tried to push her image out of my mind, but it refused to fade. She did not look like the sad, broken omega I threw into the rain. In that emerald dress, standing tall beside my worst enemy, she looked dangerous.

The office door opened softly.

Scarlett walked in. She wore a tight red dress today. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the desk, her high heels clicking softly. She placed her hands on my shoulders and began to rub my tense muscles.

"You are working too hard, Julian," Scarlett cooed softly.

I let out a long breath and reached up to touch her hand. "The tech team is failing me. Vance is playing games. He hired Sienna just to spite me."

"I told you," Scarlett said smoothly. She walked around the desk and sat on my lap, careful to rest her swollen stomach against my chest.

As she sat down, I noticed a very faint, strange smell. It was sharp, like bitter herbs. I frowned slightly, sniffing the air. Maybe it was a new perfume. And as she shifted her weight on my lap, her stomach felt slightly rigid against my chest.

I brushed the thought away. Pregnant women went through many physical changes. I did not have time to worry about her perfume.

"Dominic is just using her," Scarlett continued, running a hand through my dark hair. "She is a wolfless nobody. He will throw her away as soon as he is bored."

"She is causing problems," I murmured.

"Then fix them," Scarlett said. She kissed my cheek. "Stop worrying about your ex-wife. We need to focus on our future. We need to speed up the wedding. I want to be your official Luna before the software launch."

I looked at her. For the first time in over a year, I felt a spark of true irritation toward my fated mate. She was demanding a fancy wedding while my corporate empire was under attack.

"The launch is in less than two weeks, Scarlett," I said firmly, using a fraction of my Alpha tone. "I cannot plan a grand pack wedding while the server is locked."

Scarlett’s eyes widened in shock. She stood up from my lap quickly, her face flushing with sudden anger.

"Fine," Scarlett snapped. "But fix your server problem, Julian. I will not let Dominic ruin our lives."

She turned and marched out of the office, letting the door slam shut.

I sat alone in the quiet room. The headache returned, worse than before. Greg and his team were useless. I could not wait for them to break Sienna's code.

I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and pulled out a secure, untraceable cell phone. I dialed a private number. The phone rang three times before a gruff voice answered.

"Yeah?" the voice said.

"It is Vanguard," I said in a low voice. I walked over to the large window, looking down at the city. "I need you to do a job for me. I need you to watch someone."

"Who is the target?" the man asked.

"My ex-wife. Sienna," I ordered coldly. "She is working at the Obsidian headquarters now. Track her movements. I want to know where she goes."

"And if I get an opportunity to catch her alone?" the man asked darkly.

I looked at the busy streets far below. "Grab her. Bring her to the old warehouse by the docks. I will get the unlock codes out of her myself."