Chapter 2

The sedatives wore off slowly, leaving a metallic taste in my mouth and a fog in my head. I blinked, and the white hospital room swam into focus. I wasn't alone.

A hulking figure was asleep in the visitor's chair, his head tilted back at an uncomfortable angle. Jax. His time as a Navy SEAL had taught him to sleep anywhere, but it had never taught him to look peaceful while doing it. On the other side of the bed, Maya was tapping furiously on a laptop, the glow illuminating her sharp, intelligent face. A half-eaten bag of takeout sat on the table, next to a stack of financial reports.

My phone buzzed. It was a group chat titled "Wolfpack."

Jax: She moving?

Maya: Not yet. Doctor said give it time. I've already rerouted all hospital billing to a private account. Liam won't see a thing.

Leo (Music Producer): Flights booked. Landing in three hours. Tell me who I need to ruin.

Finn (Financial Analyst): Already on it. Shorting Gallagher Tech is going to be fun. He's overleveraged. This kidnapping stunt is going to tank his stock.

A weak smile touched my lips. My wolfpack. We had found each other in the chaos of the foster care system, a band of misfits who became a family. Jax, the protector. Maya, the tech genius. Leo, the charismatic networker. And Finn, the numbers wizard. They were my real foundation, not the man who had left me to die.

I pushed myself up, wincing as pain shot through my side.

"Easy there," Jax's voice was a low growl, but his hands were gentle as he helped me sit up. "You with us?"

"I'm with you," I said, my voice hoarse. "I'm done with him."

Maya looked up from her screen, her eyes dark with fury. "We know, Ava. We've got you. Whatever you want to do, we'll make it happen."

"I want to leave," I said, the decision solidifying in my mind. "I want to disappear from this city, from his life. I need to get away."

"Done," Jax said without hesitation. "We have a place. Secluded. Safe."

"Good," I nodded, feeling the first flicker of control return. "Get me out of here. Quietly. No discharge papers in my name. I want to be a ghost."

"Already handled," Maya said, closing her laptop. "Let's go."

As Jax was helping me into a wheelchair, the door to my room swung open. Liam stood there, holding a bouquet of expensive, out-of-season peonies. He looked tired, but his hair was perfectly styled. He was performing grief.

His smile faltered when he saw Jax and Maya. "Oh. You're here." He directed his words to me. "Ava, honey, I was so worried."

The word 'honey' felt like acid on my skin.

"Don't call me that," I said, my voice flat.

He pushed forward, trying to hand me the flowers. "I know this has been hard. I've been working around the clock to handle the fallout."

I thought of the press release. The baby. The warehouse floor. "Fallout."

"Yes," he said, misunderstanding my cold tone for shock. "It's a mess. But I took care of it. I took care of you."

He placed a thick envelope on my bedside table. "This is for you. A generous severance package. More than generous, really. And I'm keeping you on the company health insurance for the next year. You won't have to worry about a thing. You can just rest and recover."

I stared at the envelope. He was firing me and framing it as a gift. He had already given my job to Chloe; I saw it in a later news update Maya had shown me. Chloe Evans, with her six months of interning experience, was now the interim VP of Marketing.

"You're replacing me," I stated, not a question.

"It's temporary," he said quickly, avoiding my eyes. "The board insisted. With your... health situation... we needed someone to step in. Chloe is smart. She'll handle things until you're better."

"Until I'm better," I repeated tonelessly. The lie was so blatant, so insulting.

He actually looked relieved that I wasn't screaming at him. "Exactly. And I'll find a new role for you when you're ready. Something less stressful."

He was demoting me. Taking away the department I built from the ground up and offering me a pity position.

"Where are the company shares?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet. The fifty percent stake I owned, the sweat equity from a decade of work.

He flinched. "Ava, let's not talk business now. It's all being handled by the lawyers. It's... complicated. This is better. Cleaner. You get a clean break, a lot of money, and no stress."

I was too tired to fight. Too broken. For now. I needed to get away, to heal, to plan. Fighting him here, in this room, was pointless.

"Fine," I said.

A wave of relief washed over his face. He actually smiled, a satisfied little smirk. He thought he had won. He thought I was the same woman who would do anything for him, who would accept his scraps and be grateful.

"Good," he said, patting my hand. "I knew you'd be reasonable."

He straightened his tie. "I actually have to run. There's a... a press conference I need to prepare for. With Chloe. The media is hounding her, poor thing. She's not used to this."

He paused at the door, as if another thought had just occurred to him. "Oh, and one more thing I needed to talk to you about. It's about our... future."