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The officer ignored me and moved to block Kenneth from me.

“We were unable to locate you to serve you with the federal protection order Dr. Ellie Reed-Miller has against you after the last time you tried to illegally sell her and fraudulently speak for her.

This country was the first to enact the laws preventing that and she was already a citizen here at that time.

“Given your status at the time, we were unable to press charges, but the proof was enough to get the order. We are to bring you to the station and explain the order and have you sign you understand it along with the repercussions should you contact her again. This isn’t a request, and failure to comply will result in your arrest now. ”

I turned to the woman with my hand extended. “Are you going to give me the agreement you signed that’s fraud or are you going to risk he does and blames you for everything? Because I promise you that he will.”

“Don’t you dare,” Kenneth warned her.

Luckily, she was smart enough and nodded to her son.

He pulled a folder out of his briefcase but cleared his throat, focusing on the officer. “We were told she was completely aware of this agreement and everything had been processed on her end as a citizen of Europe.”

I snatched it before anything could happen to it. “Well, you’re extra stupid because there are statutes preventing foreign citizens holding positions like running hospitals. You know, like you wanted to once you were my mate and took over.”

“What?” Alan roared, and Ha-joon was so shocked to hear that his hold slipped and Alan started to get free.

“Oh yeah, apparently, that was the deal to buy me this time,” I drawled.

“That would make a respectable family look the other way that my birth father is a gambler and lost everything. Minor details if your child could just mate the person who runs ASH and take over.” I shook my head and swatted my forehead with the folder. “The world is so fucking ugly.”

“Let me go. I’m fine,” Alan muttered and then was hugging me.

“I know it’s been too much, but now your father’s handled.

He won’t come near you again. It’s better to just—you’ll be okay, Ellie.

” He cleared his throat when it was clear I was lost in my distress.

“We’ll review what this says and file additional charges.

Please tell the chief to hold Mr. Reed until then. ”

“Yes, Dr. Carpenter,” the officer said.

“Ellie, don’t you dare,” Kenneth growled. “Get your hands off of me. Ellie, don’t be stupid. I know things about you too! I can ruin your career and make the owner realize how stupid he was to hire you and—”

I burst out laughing. “Please, tell everyone . I’m sure they’ll believe you after you blew any last shred of credibility you had with this sad attempt.

I would enjoy seeing the show of that. Hell, I maybe could find my mother then.

Assuming she’s not dead which I fully believe and that’s why you never got far using that knowledge as a bargaining chip with me and—”

I was grateful when Alan moved his hand over my mouth and turned me away from being able to see Kenneth. He undoubtedly gave some sort of signal to the police because I heard less shouting over the ringing in my ears.

However, it put me to be directly in front of the people he’d come with and they were both looking at me like I was prey they were about to pounce on.

Fools.

“Are you all right?” Alan asked me quietly, kissing my hair when I snorted. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I went to thank him when he removed his hand—for not letting me ramble on and handling things—all of it, but the woman spoke first.

“While this situation was unfortunate—how we were brought here and your station given your mother is unknown, a match could still be made. We would be willing to overlook that given how you’ve raised your—”

“Your son has nothing to bring to the table,” Ha-joon drawled. “You had to buy him a mate to steal her job because he’s a moron.”

“You better watch yourself, dog,” the man bit out.

“Oh, no, I think you better,” Ha-joon chuckled darkly as he moved in front of Alan and me, plainly making the fight now with him. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew here. You’re showing how stupid you are right now.”

“Am I? I don’t think I am,” he argued.

“I’m Dr. Ha-joon Clark.”

“So?” he pushed.

The woman cleared her throat though. “Son, he’s—”

“Quiet, Mother,” he snapped. “You’ve gotten us into enough of a mess.”

I looked at the woman. “Funny how fast it’s all your fault, right? I bet when I press charges against him for signing a fraudulent contract you will be thrown under the bus too.” I could see enough that Ha-joon had to push the man back from trying to reach for me.

“Your mother doesn’t recognize my name specifically, but I bet she knows Clark and Korean first names to know I’m one of the children of the London Alpha,” Ha-joon told him, bringing the focus back to him.

“Their youngest is a respected doctor,” the woman said. “I know who you are, Dr. Clark.”

He nodded he heard her, his attention on the man.

“So again, don’t bite off more than you can chew because it’s a fight you can’t win.

You bring nothing to the table. She’s the head of ASH and you…

What? Got your mommy to find a monster who was willing to help buy you a mate?

You’re that pathetic? If I was that sad, I would never be able to show my face—”

I gasped when the man tried to throw a punch.

Tried because Ha-joon easily caught it. He crushed the man’s hand in a way that brought the man to his knees, screaming in pain as Ha-joon whispered something in his ear that I couldn’t hear.

Mostly because the ringing was still going on in my own ears, so there was that.

I felt like I blinked and I was being carried out of there.

“Are you back?” a deep voice asked. “Don’t freak. I’m helping. Trust me.”

“I know you,” I whispered, my voice sounding distant.

“Yeah, you know me, and I’m not taking advantage of the situation.”

It hit me who he was when we reached the elevator. “No, you wouldn’t, Gerald.”

“I was coming to help and things exploded. I realized getting you out of there with the evidence was the best plan. Alan agreed. So just hang on and breathe.”

Sounded like a good plan.

“I don’t know why I threw gas on that fire,” I admitted.

“Ellie, even I know you’ve been under crazy amounts of stress,” he said gently after we were alone in the elevator going up to my office.

“I didn’t help and I’m sorry for that. I really am.

I—now it’s the time for this. Just know it was unintentional.

But you had to bring Beth and me in so yeah, shit was already hitting the fan all around you.

“You’re so busy being the angel who swoops in to save everyone else—you seriously have several superhero capes and I’m sure I don’t know the half of it.

I think it’s a miracle you haven’t snapped before this.

Not as a reflection upon you, but—you’re only one person, woman.

I can handle a lot but—fuck, do I feel the need to drink for you some days. ”

“Thanks.”

I was surprised to see Renee when the doors opened, blinking at her.

“Are you still in shock that he’s carrying you or are you—of course I would come, Ellie,” she said gently. “I think you need to tell us some hard truths for us to help you as we will need to. You need to end this.”

“Not as a judgment but for yourself,” Gerald clarified. “Enough and free yourself already.”

“Yes, that’s what I meant. Sorry. I just—I’m a bit shocked at the pieces I heard,” she muttered as we hurried towards my office. “Did someone truly try to take out Clark?”

“He’s fine,” Gerald promised before I could even get worried. “Let’s get in her office.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not myself,” Renee mumbled. “I was already sideswiped with something else today and then—sorry.” She let out a few long breaths and seemed to have herself back to normal by the time we reached my office. “Okay, let’s take a few minutes and have you settle.”

“And you,” I hedged, thanking Gerald as he sat me on the sofa and grabbed me a bottle of water.

“Yes, sorry.” She thanked him for one too.

“I got a call my daughter was seriously hurt and was coming here only to find out it was the wrong child. So relief but then extreme guilt because it’s my daughter’s best friend and she might not survive and my daughter will have to handle that.

The second I found out the mistake, people came racing to fill me in—”

“What a fucking fucked day,” I chuckled darkly, scrubbing my hand over my face. I didn’t mean to be rude, but honestly I could not deal with the problems of a family I didn’t know right then. I glanced at Gerald. “You grabbed the proof?”

“Yeah, I’ll read it now with your permission?” he hedged.

I nodded. “From what I caught it’s bad. Like mating me would get the guy my job.

I’d just hand it over and become my worst nightmare of old-school broodmare vampire bullshit.

Oh, and my father trying for all my wealth that he doesn’t even know the half of.

Fucker.” I was suddenly wiping tears. “Seriously, that fucker.”

Renee moved next to me and half hugged me as we both gave ourselves a few moments.

But honestly, I didn’t know if I could ever have enough moments to pull myself together again. This was the absolute last thing I’d needed and the fact I’d not just poured some fuel on the fire but gleefully dumped barrels of it all over it so publicly… I was pretty sure I’d cracked.

Big time.