Filed to story: Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia & Ethan)
My expression hardened. “Where was she last?”
“She left for the factory around one in the afternoon. Was scheduled to return by three.” He checked his phone. “It’s past eight now. Her number’s not reachable.”
The air in the room dropped ten degrees. I walked to my desk and shut the laptop lid. “Cancel the conference. I’m going there.””
“I’ve already contacted the factory,” Gai added quickly. “They’re checking the security feeds and questioning the staff.””
Good. At least his instincts weren’t completely dulled.
Just as we were stepping into the elevator, Jess appeared at the end of the corridor, clutching her coat. “I heard what happened.
I’m coming with you.”
I didn’t argue. Not now. Every second mattered.
We exited the hotel into the cool Washington night. Just as I reached for the car door, a voice cut through the quiet.
“Alpha Alexander!”
I paused.
Across the street, a small group of men hurried toward us. In front was Alpha Ethan Hawthorne.
He stopped a few feet from me, chest heaving, eyes blazing.
“Where is my wife?”
I regarded him with the same calm I always reserved for uninvited noise. “She’s missing.”
His fists clenched. “What the hell do you mean-
Before he could launch into his usual tantrum, Gai stepped forward. “She was sent to inspect the factory. She hasn’t been back since.”
“Olivia is my personal secretary,” I added flatly. “She was acting on my behalf.”
The words hit Ethan visibly. His jaw tightened. My wolf Heath snarled at the sight of him-this man who had the audacity to call herhis.
“My team is searching now. We’ll find her,” I finished.
Ethan stared, unwilling to accept it. But I was already moving.
My car pulled up and I got in without looking back.
His headlights followed us.
On the way to the factory, Gai explained Olivia’s suspicions from the night before-about ghost employees, payroll mismatches, potential corruption.
“She believed it was internal fraud,” he added. “She brought a recorder today. Said she’d go investigate quietly.”
I turned to him, cold fury simmering beneath my voice. “Why wasn’t I told sooner?”
“We thought it was just a petty matter, and didn’t require your attention.” Gai hesitated. “Also, she thought she could handle it.”
“She’s not an auditor,” I snapped. “She’s my PS. If anything happens to her, you will answer to me first.”
Gai said nothing. He understood.
I looked out the window. The night blurred past, streetlights flickering like silent warnings.
“If we don’t find her within the hour,” I said, my voice deadly even, “fire every executive in that branch. Every name from the factory to the boardroom.”
Gai blinked. “On what grounds?”
I turned to him, expression unchanged. “No grounds. I don’t need any
I looked ahead again, the tension wrapping around me like steel.
“If they dare to touch what’s mine, they no longer deserve to exist under my roof.”
Olivia’s POV
My wrists were tied behind the chair so tightly that the circulation in my fingers had gone numb. A strip of rough duct tape sealed my mouth. I could barely breathe through my nose
-the air was thick with the stench of damp wood, rot, and mildew.
Somewhere beyond the walls, I could hear waves crashing. The sharp tang of salt in the air suggested we were close to the coast, maybe even in one of the old abandoned seaside houses I’d passed on the way to the restaurant. My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark, but I could make out the faint outlines of furniture-a dusty couch, a crooked dining table, a moldy rug.
The door creaked open, letting in a sliver of moonlight-and in stepped Jimson Howard.
I blinked. I had suspected someone from the company might be involved, buthim? Assistant Branch Manager? He always seemed harmless, awkward even. Too polite. Too ordinary.
But now, lit by the moon and backlit by the ocean mist, his expression twisted into something grotesque. His eyes glimmered, his face split into a grin that made my stomach curl.
“Well, well,” Jimson said, slowly stepping closer. “You’re prettier up close.”
I froze as he crouched beside me, lifting a hand to stroke my cheek. His fingers were cold and greasy. I turned my head away, gagging under the tape. He laughed and sniffed the tips of his fingers, like a man savoring a meal.
“I don’t think you are hoping that someone’s gonna save you, are you?” he whispered. “Nobody knows where you are.””
I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears. Yve stirred inside me, frantic. I told her silently-break the chair, do something, anything.
But she was weak. My body was already aching from being bound for hours, maybe more. I didn’t know how long I’d been here.
Then the chair creaked under me. I shifted just enough to make one leg wobble. Jimson turned his back briefly, laughing at his own joke. I leaned my weight hard against the weak leg.
Crack.
The old wooden leg snapped, and I fell hard onto the ground, coughing from the dust that rose around me. My arm burned from the angle, but I didn’t care.
Jimson turned, excited. He dropped to his knees beside me and grabbed my ankle. “Trying to run? No, no, sweet girl,’ he said, voice low and shaking. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re mine now. I’ll keep you right here, nice and quiet. My timepass.”
He reached down and stroked my thigh with a slow, disgusting pass of his hand. My skin crawled. I tried to move, but the rope around my ankles held firm.
My mind screamed. But my face stayed blank. If I screamed, he’d enjoy it. If I struggled, he’d tighten the ropes.
So I did something else. I nodded. Slowly. Willingly.
His eyes lit up. “Oh? You want to behave now?”
I nodded again, pretending to be afraid-no, pretending to give in. I gestured toward the stairs behind him, then looked down at the dusty floor and made a face like I was disgusted. He looked down too.
“You don’t want it here?” he said, mocking. “Too dirty for you?”
