"He took his wife into the freezing forest at 2 AM to abandon her. But when the beast attacked, he realized the monster wasn't in the woods... IT WAS HER."

She froze, gasping, her eyes wide with shock. Alex hadn't shot her. Instead, he whistled—a sharp, high-pitched tone he had seen Victoria use earlier.

Fenris instantly let go of Elena, backing away into the shadows and sitting obediently in the snow, his glowing amber eyes fixed on Alex.

"Get up," Alex ordered Elena, his voice cold and hard as iron.

Elena scrambled up out of the snow, clutching her bleeding shoulder, staring at Alex as if he were a complete stranger. The sniveling, desperate husband she had manipulated for months was gone. Standing in front of her was a man with nothing left to lose.

Victoria leaned against a tree, watching the scene with a dark, approving smile. "Look at you, Alex. Maybe there was a man hidden under that pathetic skin after all."

"Shut up, Victoria," Alex snapped, turning the barrel toward her. "Both of you... walk. Forward. To the estate."

"Alex, you can't be serious," Victoria warned, her smile fading. "Julian is still out there. He has the heavy weaponry. We need to lock down the compound before—"

A high-caliber sniper round tore through the tree right above Victoria's head, showering them in splintered wood and bark.

"Run!" Alex yelled.

They sprinted through the final stretch of woods, bursting into a wide, open clearing. Sitting in the middle of the snow-covered expanse was the Vance Estate—a fortress of dark stone, iron gates, and reinforced glass towering three stories high.

They scrambled through the side security gate. Victoria punched an eight-digit pin into an electronic keypad, and the heavy steel door hissed open. They slipped inside, locking and deadbolting the reinforced door behind them.

Inside, the mansion was dead silent, illuminated only by blue emergency lights.

Victoria collapsed onto a leather sofa in the main foyer, clutching her bleeding shoulder and panting heavily. Elena sank onto the floor against the far wall, pale and shivering from shock and blood loss.

Alex locked the primary security system, activating the mansion's automated steel shutters. Heavy metal plates slid over every window and entrance, sealing them inside a dark, impenetrable fortress.

"We're safe," Victoria gasped, laying her head back. "The outer shutters are four-inch solid steel. Nothing short of military artillery is getting through."

Alex stood in the middle of the grand room, holding the gun down at his side. He looked at Victoria, then at Elena.

"It's over," Alex said quietly. "Tomorrow morning, when the sun comes up, I'm calling the federal police. I'm telling them everything. The murders, the illegal pack, the offshore money... all of it."

Victoria laughed softly, shaking her head. "Oh, Alex... you poor, naive fool. You really think you can just hand us over to the authorities?"

"I have the gun, Victoria."

"And I have the house," she replied smoothly.

Suddenly, the blue emergency lights in the room turned a harsh, pulsing red. A mechanical voice echoed over the mansion's intercom system: