CHAPTER 235: CHAPTER 235 A VILLAIN’S TALE

Caroline’s POV

Howard shoved Draven onto the couch, towering over him menacingly.

"I’ll tell you what I want, and you’re going to give it to me right fucking now, you spoiled bastard!"

"This is between you and me, Howard. Let Caroline and my staff go," Draven said.

"I give the orders here, and nobody’s leaving!" Howard snarled viciously.

Howard paced back and forth in front of Draven.

"Let me tell you a story, Draven," Howard said. "Do you know how I met your father?"

"No idea," Draven replied coldly.

"I was working part-time at a restaurant your father frequented during my college years," Howard began. "Back then, I was just an ordinary wolf. I couldn’t even keep up with basic pack training. I had to study twice as hard as everyone else just to get into college for finance, working multiple jobs to pay tuition. Your father was the Alpha heir, wealthy and powerful with a bright future ahead of him. At that time, your grandfather had built Storm Valley Pack into something impressive, and Thorne Enterprises was thriving under his leadership."

Howard paused, his expression darkening. "One day, your father brought your mother to the restaurant. Some guy grabbed her purse when she got out of the car. I chased him down and got it back. Your mother was stunning—elegant, kind. She thanked me, and your father gave me his card, told me to come by the company. So your father got me a job. Financial assistant, they called it, but I was just running errands."

"And you repaid his kindness by killing him. What kind of monster does that?" Draven’s voice was tight with controlled rage.

"Your father was weak, believed in everyone. Not fit to run the pack or the company." Howard’s face twisted with contempt.

"But I worked hard, graduated. Later, at a pack gathering, I met Helena. She was an annoying bitch, but from a good family with useful connections. Good enough to accompany me to pack events. Started dating her around the same time your parents were dating. We went out together sometimes."

His eyes took on a distant look. "I fell completely in love with your mother. She was extraordinary. I tried everything to get her attention, but she only had eyes for your boring father. They got married, and I settled for Helena."

"My mother would never have looked at you," Draven growled, "My father was twice the man you’ll ever be, you pathetic piece of shit."

Howard sneered. "Your father was weak. But I stayed close, played the friend to advance in the company. It worked. Gained trust, became financial director. Your grandfather was getting old, ready to retire. I thought if I became your father’s best friend, I’d get the vice presidency. But then your grandfather died, and your father made his eighteen-year-old son vice president instead. You, a spoiled pup who knew nothing."

"The company was always meant to stay in the Alpha family!" Draven shot back. "When my father offered me the position, I tried to refuse, but he insisted I needed to prepare for my succession."

"He told me the same bullshit!" Howard laughed bitterly. "You and your father were always obstacles. That’s when I realized I’d never get what I deserved. So I started embezzling money and planned my own company. Everything was going perfectly until you started digging."

"And look where your greed led you," Draven said. "A criminal, a murderer, a thief. You ruined your life, killed your own mate, and put your daughter in jail."

"Ella is useless, just like her mother." Howard laughed. "She’s deadweight. Let her rot in prison. Look at her, couldn’t even give you an heir, while this bitch gave you five pups in record time. You wolves breed like rabbits!"

"Show some respect for Caroline," Draven snarled. "She has nothing to do with this."

"She has everything to do with this!" Howard’s face reddened. "If that bitch hadn’t entered your life, you’d be dead! And if she hadn’t joined the company, you would’ve married my Ella, and I would’ve left you in ruins, dependent on me!"

"I would never have mated with your daughter," Draven declared firmly.

"You absolutely would have," Howard insisted. "I gave you a second chance after your father died. You should have made me vice president or your beta, but you called that Ryan instead. From that moment, you sealed your fate. Everything was going perfectly until your secret audit—which I learned was this bitch’s idea. See how she’s involved? She’ll pay for ruining my plans."

"Just say what you want," Draven demanded impatiently.

Howard smiled coldly. "Money. Lots of it. Your little investigator friends froze my accounts and destroyed my operation. So I want cash and a plane out of the country."

"And how do you propose we do this?" Draven asked.

"First, we tie up these bitches." Howard dropped his backpack and ordered the nanny to take out ropes. He had her tie up Mabel and me, covering our mouths with duct tape, then made Draven do the same to the nanny.

"Now, call off your security guards," Howard commanded.

"Howard—" Draven started.

"NOW!" Howard shouted, pressing the gun against my temple.

Draven complied.

The head of security didn’t even question the order, simply agreeing to give everyone time off. My heart sank. This couldn’t be happening.

"Good! Now call your pilot. Tell him to prepare your private jet. Say you’re leaving the country with your family and will give details at the airport. Everything ready in two hours."

The pilot sounded confused when Draven called, questioning him about the flight plan. Draven snapped that they’d probably go to Europe and to just do as ordered.

"Perfect!" Howard mocked. "Now, you’ll transfer two billion dollars to accounts I’ll provide."

"That’s too much money to transfer in two hours," Draven objected.

"Want to protect your family? Start transferring. For each extra hour, I’ll kill one of your children. You have five, so seven hours should be plenty of time to end up childless!" Howard threatened, his eyes wild.

"My laptop’s in the office," Draven said through gritted teeth.

With my hands and feet tied, blood pooled beneath both legs, the silver burning through my veins. Rory whimpered, too weak to help me heal.

I watched helplessly as Howard forced Draven toward the office, the man I loved looking back at me with agony in his eyes.

"You know," Howard mused as they walked away, "I should have been the one to take over Storm Valley Pack. I could have had it all—the pack, the company, your mother. Vivian should have been mine. But she chose your father instead."

Draven’s voice, filled with cold fury, "And she made the right choice, you twisted son of a bitch."

As their voices faded down the hallway, a terrifying thought crept into my mind.

What if Howard had no intention of letting any of us live? With all this hatred burning inside him, Howard would surely kill Draven once he got what he wanted.