Chapter 28

• We were going through all of the files that we had pulled out, spreading them across the desk and sorting them into different piles, and I knew almost all of these people. Their names, their faces, and their affiliations—they were all familiar to me in one way or another. As we examined each document, I pointed out which individuals would be the ones to keep a lookout for. I could recognize the patterns in their behavior, the way their names appeared again and again in situations where my father had been involved directly. They were very loyal to my father, and because of that allegiance, they would probably give us the most grief moving forward. It wasn’t just loyalty—it was blind faith, and that made them unpredictable, even dangerous.
• We only made it through a few of the files before the sun started coming up, peeking through the edges of the heavy curtains. I don't think many people in the pack got much sleep at all that night. Tension had lingered in the air like smoke after a fire, and the shift in power had unsettled everyone. Nobody knew what was coming next, not even us. So, sleep was a luxury most couldn’t afford.
• I slowly got up from the desk, stretching my back after sitting for hours, and I went to the kitchen to make some coffee. I had told the omega to have the day off because we needed to sort the mansion out today. There was too much to do and too many decisions to make, and I didn’t want anyone getting in the way. The house needed to be reorganized, cleaned, and stripped of its old purpose. It wasn’t just a mansion anymore. It was going to become a true packhouse, one that actually served the people in it. So I filled the kettle, got the coffee grounds ready, and waited for the familiar bubbling sound that signaled the caffeine was coming. Once it was ready, I poured it into two mugs—one for myself and one for Ethan—and I took the coffee back to the office for us to continue working.