Page 51 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

"I think you both need to come outside." The tone of her voice made a pit form in my stomach. Ivy hurried toward the front of the boutique, and I stayed beside her, ready to throw my body in front of her depending on what was out there.

She stepped onto the sidewalk, then froze. I looked up at what Nora was pointing at. Fresh black spray paint dripped down the pale brick wall beside the entrance. Only one word had been written.

THIEF.

The color drained from Ivy's face. Without thinking, I reached for her hand. She didn't let go.

Chapter 24

Hunter

I was this close to losing it.

“She’s handling it surprisingly well,” Elias said. He’d called me the moment he saw what happened to Ivy’s store. Well, I wasn’t handling it well at all.

Someone vandalized her boutique, and heads were going to roll. “Ronan thinks it was an omega - he says there were no alphas or even betas in the street during that time. Private security can’t enter the neighborhood and follow an omega around.” Elias explained, and I could only imagine how furious Ronan was. He’d made sure one of his employees was keeping guard in the neighborhood, especially to watch out for Ivy’s family. There had been a couple of instances where Ivy’s family car had driven close, but the moment they spotted the SUVs, they had turned around. Ronan’s security team were forbidden to bother omegas, and especially women. But we never suspected an omega would do something like this. Granted, it was the wall outside, but still.

“It makes sense. Arabella’s fans are mostly omegas, and they would slip by unnoticed in that area.” I said, gripping my pen so hard I might crack it. “I’ll handle the Carringtons. You make sure Ivy feels safe.” I said before hanging up. I’d been using my attorneys to communicate with Ivy’s family for the most part, but it was time to confront them over their escalation.

I waited until the office door closed before making the call. There were some conversations better handled without an audience. I called them and leaned back in my chair.

“Hello?” I could tell it was George’s voice on the line.

“This is Hunter Vale,” I said, and my tone was not friendly.

There was a pause, then his voice cooled. “What do you want?” he hissed. I looked through the glass wall of my office, forcing myself not to scream at him.

“Ivy’s store was vandalized due to the allegations your daughter posted online. I want the harassment against Ivy to stop.”

He chuckled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Cut this bullshit. Arabella’s videos, her insinuations. Have you seen the comments under her posts? Her idiot fans are showing up at Ivy’s business acting like vigilantes. It escalated to vandalism!” I said, slamming my hand down on my desk.

“We didn’t vandalize anything.” George protested.

“You’re creating a story that paints Ivy as a thief and a homewrecker,” I continued. “You know what kind of audience Arabella has,” I said, keeping myself from getting louder than I already was.

He sighed. “Arabella has the right to speak about her own experiences. We can't control what some wackjob does.”

“She’s welcome to talk about her experiences, but she’s not doing that. What she’s doing is lying. And I want it to end, now.” I growled.

“Oh, stop, Hunter. She is telling the truth.” George said dismissively. My hand tightened around the phone.

“No. She is implying that Pack Vale betrayed her with Ivy, when in reality Arabella falsified match records, lied to us, and passed Ivy’s work off as her own.” I said, and George responded with silence. I continued before he could redirect.

“So far, I’ve chosen not to make any of that public. I’ve allowed the legal process to proceed because Ivy deserves something more dignified than having the worst years of her life turned into entertainment. But if your family keeps encouraging public attacks against her, I will correct the record.” I said.

“You’re threatening us,” he said, and I took a deep breath.

“I want the harassment and the lies to stop.” I reiterated.

“We are not harassing her,” he said. “We are trying to get her to stop selling Nestwell products as her own.”

My jaw was tight as I realized how insane these people were. Even after everything, after Ivy had fled their home, rebuilt her life, opened her own business - they still saw her work as something that belonged to the family.

“You really believe that,” I said quietly.

“Of course I do.” The certainty in his voice was almost more disturbing than a lie.