Page 59 of Down Knot Out (Pack Alphas of Misty Pines #3)

Chapter Forty

Blake

W hen Sadie, Quinn, and Chloe come downstairs for lunch, I know right away that all is not well. I see it in Chloe’s pale face and in the way Sadie grips a notebook, knuckles white and the cardboard cover bent from the force of her hold.

Nathaniel, Dominic, and Holden pause in the process of setting the table, sensing the change in the air.

Quinn runs to me. “Uncle Blake!”

I bend to scoop her up, but my attention remains on the women. “Did something happen during the tour?”

Chloe turns to Sadie, giving her an encouraging nudge .

My sister comes forward, thrusting the notebook forward. “We need to talk about this.”

Dominic frowns as he takes it. “This is the notebook from my desk.”

“Yes.” She glances back at Chloe again.

She gives my sister an encouraging nod. “It’s okay. You won’t be in trouble.”

Sadie takes a deep breath. “It’s about Redwater Holdings.” She turns haunted eyes to me. “Dad owns the company.”

The foundation rocks beneath my feet, my hold on Quinn slipping. Nathaniel quickly takes her from my arms, lowering her to the floor before I drop my niece. “What did you say?”

“Dad opened the shell company the first time I went to rehab.” Sadie hangs her head. “He didn’t want the media getting wind of it. Redwater Holdings is the company he uses to pay for everything he wants to keep off the books. Rehab, blackmail, bribes, insurance fraud…”

Each word drills into my skull, driving out every other thought. My father has been the one trying to destroy the future we’ve been building here for our pack. He’s the reason the resort is in constant jeopardy, and why Nathaniel and I might be forced to leave our pack. And for what ?

“Why?” Before she can answer, I shake my head. “Never mind, I can guess.”

He lost face with his peers when I walked away from the family company. He lost the one person who always cleaned up Sadie’s messes. He lost the polished image he paraded around of the perfect family, perfectly intact. This was how he intended to take it all back.

I told him we were a true bonded pack, but he never believed it because it didn’t fit into the narrative he built for our future. Just like how he has controlled Sadie, when?—

My hands curl into fists at my sides. “I’ll kill him.”

Dominic sets the notebook on the table. “We can verify this. Corporate registrations, payment trails.” He grabs a pen and jots down bullet points on a fresh page. “If your father is funneling money through Redwater, there’s a record.”

I drag in a sour breath. “It makes sense. Dad’s always wanted to control the narrative. Sabotaging the resort, keeping us under his thumb. It’s all about leverage.”

Sadie gives a bitter snort. “He never wanted you to succeed here. He’s furious that you started your own pack. He’s told anyone who’ll listen how you’re breaking tradition, and now he has a way to ruin it all and save face.”

Chloe comes over to me, her hand at my elbow letting me know she’s there if I need her. “Why now?” she asks Sadie. “If he’s had the company forever, why try to ruin everything now?”

Sadie lifts one bony shoulder. “Because Misty Pines didn’t fail.” She gestures to the Homestead. “You guys are making it, just like you said you would, and he hates it.”

My hands tremble, and I can’t tell if I want to punch something or run until I drop. Instead, I look over at Nathaniel.

He stands rigid, his face pale, staring at a spot on the floor. “It wasn’t my father. All this time, I thought?—”

Chloe finishes for him. “You thought you’d been the cause.”

Nathaniel’s throat bobs as he swallows. “I accused him of so many things. We haven’t spoken since the incident with the timber. I told him if he ever tried to sabotage us again, he was dead to me.”

Dominic rubs the back of his neck. “He’ll be relieved to hear that you know he’s innocent, right?”

“He’ll be upset I doubted him. But how could I not with that stupid clause in our loan?” His shoulders sink as the tension leaks away, leaving a different kind of weariness in its place.

“I believe our dad had a hand in the clause, too,” Sadie whispers. “I remember Dad having Mr. Burton over for drinks when you guys first decided to take on this project. They were talking about the contract and guarantees.”

My stomach drops. How could I have been so blind to all of our father’s manipulations over the years? He was always tough and set in his ways, but I never thought him capable of this level of deceit.

Quinn’s head lifts, her small face scrunched up. “Is Grandpa bad now?”

Silence falls over the dining room, as if no one wants to be the one to explain the concept of evil to a six-year-old.

Chloe sighs and kneels in front of her. “Sometimes people do bad things, princess. It doesn’t always mean they’re bad people. Sometimes they just lose sight of what’s important.”

Quinn’s focus shifts to her mom. “Okay, I understand.”

Sadie’s face crumples, but she holds it together, and my heart breaks. I know Chloe wasn’t speaking about her, but it hurts that what our Omega says applies to my sister, too.

Chloe sits beside Quinn, pulling her into a side hug. “We’re all here for you, princess. Always.”

“I should have seen this coming.” I stare at Dom’s notebook without seeing it. “He always said the only family worth anything is the one you keep in line.”

Sadie clasps her hands in front of her. “You wanted to believe he’d let you be happy.”

“I did.” I unclench my jaw, tasting blood where I’ve bitten my cheek.

Nathaniel grips my shoulder. “What do we do now?”

I run a hand through my hair, sending the bun askew. “We prove it. If Redwater Holdings is tied to him, we get every payment, every communication, every link in the chain. We collect evidence and go to the authorities. Or the press, if the courts won’t touch him.”

Dominic adds, “We could do both. Use the media to put pressure on the investigation.”

I snort, the sound harsh in the quiet room. “He’s got friends in every regulatory office from here to Vancouver. It’ll take more than pressure.”

“We have to try,” Chloe says, fierce now. “We don’t let him win. ”

Sadie twists her braid, tugging on the brittle strands. “I can give you everything. Every contact, every burner phone, every receipt I ever saw. I was too scared to use it, but if you need a witness?—”

I pull her into a hug before she can finish. “I’m sorry I left you with him for so long.”

She shakes her head, tears wetting my shirt. “You were the only one who ever tried to help. And you are my little brother. I should have protected you, too.”

I squeeze her tight. “We protect each other now.”

Lunch sits cooling on the table, untouched, and the air is thick with everything that’s been revealed.

Holden shifts in his seat, still wearing his apron, a plate of warm cookies in front of him. “How about some cookies? A little sugar always helps.”

Quinn perks up. “Can I have one?”

“Of course.” Holden nudges the plate toward her. “Take two. Or three. Chloe gets as many as she wants, by law.”

Chloe lets out a small laugh and takes one, the tension in the room relaxing a little.

Holden meets my eyes over the top of Quinn’s head. “We’re going to need help.”

Nathaniel crosses to the window, looking out over the trees. “He won’t stop. Not if he thinks there’s any chance of regaining control.”

“He’s not going to win,” I say, my tone hard.

Nathaniel turns back from the window, face set. “If you want to start collecting evidence, I can reach out to my family’s lawyers. And I can talk to my dad. If he’s not the one trying to sabotage this project, he’ll be pissed that someone he’s in business with is trying to tank his investment.”

“We’ll need every angle,” Dominic agrees.

Quinn finishes her cookies, oblivious to the heavier currents. “Can we go to the lake after lunch?”

Chloe runs a hand through her hair. “Absolutely, princess. You pick the floaties, and we’ll meet you on the porch.”

Quinn skips out of the dining room, leaving the adults to their dark plans.

Holden waits until she vanishes before he turns back to me. “What’s the plan?”

I let out a long breath. “First, we eat. Then we fight like hell.”

After we get back from a dip in the lake, we see my sister off at the docks. Sadie stands beside the water taxi with her arms wrapped around her stomach, chin tucked into the collar of her jacket.

Quinn fidgets, dragging the toe of her shoe in the gravel. Every few seconds, she peeks up at her mother and away, as if each glance costs her a little more courage.

Chloe waits at the golf cart, hair blowing in the wind like a pink banner. The rest of the pack has retreated to the Homestead, giving us space.

Sadie lifts a hand in a farewell wave, but when it trembles, she stuffs it into her coat pocket. Mrs. Reynolds is already seated in the covered passenger area, staring straight ahead, but I catch the faint softening in her expression when Quinn approaches.

“I packed you a snack for the ferry.” Quinn holds out the bag. “We made extra banana bread for you.”

Sadie crouches and opens her arms. For a heartbeat, Quinn hesitates. Then she rushes forward, head buried in Sadie’s shoulder, arms stiff at first before they wind tight around her mother’s neck.

Sadie inhales, her eyes squeezed shut. “I love you, kiddo.”

Quinn doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t let go for a long time. When she does, her cheeks are damp, and her fingers linger at the lapel of Sadie’s coat.

“I’ll come visit again,” Sadie says. “In the meantime, behave for your uncles and your new aunt, you hear?”

Quinn wipes her nose on her sleeve and nods.

Sadie’s mouth trembles. “And don’t forget to send me a copy of your story when you finish.”

Quinn gives another quick dip of her chin.

Sadie rises and turns to me. “I’m not asking you to trust me, Blake. Not after everything. But maybe, if it’s not too much, don’t shut the door all the way. Leave it open a crack.”

I want to say yes. To promise that everything will get better. I want to hug her, but I’m not sure either of us could handle it. Instead, I reach out and tug on her braid the way I did when we were little.

She ducks away, swatting my hand, and a glow fills her face I haven’t seen in years.

Mrs. Reynolds clears her throat. “If we don’t get going, we won’t be home before dark.”

Sadie squeezes Quinn once more and climbs onto the water taxi. She tucks the snack bag onto her lap before leaning over the side to look back at us.

“Bye, Mom!” Quinn calls, her voice ringing out .

Sadie waves, fingers splayed. “Bye, kiddo. Remember to write.”

Chloe wraps her arms around Quinn as the boat backs away from the dock and moves out onto the water.

When they’re out of view, Quinn turns her face into my pant leg, breathing slow and deep.

I reach down to scoop her up and kiss the top of her head. “You okay?”

Quinn nods. “I hope she comes back to visit.”

Unable to promise anything, I rub her back as I turn and walk to the waiting golf cart.

This wasn’t the visit I expected to have with Sadie. It was both more heartbreaking and more hopeful than I ever could have imagined.

We have a lot to think about and a lot to do if we want to secure Quinn’s and our future.

Back at the Homestead, Holden meets us at the door, arms spread, and sweeps Quinn up into a bear hug.

She lets herself be carried, limp and boneless, and when he puts her down, she says, “Uncle Holden, can we bake more banana bread today? I want to learn the recipe.”

“Anything for you,” he says, choked with pride. “I’ll show you how we brown bananas before they’re ripe. ”

Inside, the cabin feels warmer than it did before, the kitchen bright with the scent of cinnamon and vanilla.

Chloe lifts Quinn onto the counter and pours flour into a bowl. The girl starts to talk, slowly at first, then in a rush of words about the lake, her stories, and her plans for summer. I lean in the doorway and let it wash over me, every sound and scent and movement, alive and real and mine.

The hurt doesn’t go away, but it settles somewhere in the background, and for the first time, I believe it’s possible that the door can stay open, even if only a crack.

Maybe that’s all the hope anyone gets.