He Chose Her, I Took Back Everything Chapter 04

He Chose Her, I Took Back Everything Chapter 04

Helena’s POV

Caleb gave Vanessa a look sharp enough to shut her up, then stepped behind me and massaged my shoulders.

“Don’t be mad, babe. Vanessa doesn’t know when to shut up. Just ignore her.”

Then he turned to the table. “Come on, everyone. Eat before it gets cold.”

We’d barely sat down before Chloe piped up, voice small and wounded.

“Mr. Reed. I still feel so awful about the car. I can’t believe I wrecked it. I’m such a terrible driver. I’m so stupid.”

Caleb’s voice went so soft it was almost tender. “Hey, it’s fine. You just need more practice. Everyone starts somewhere.”

Chloe ducked her head, fingers knotting together. “But your car is for work. And there’s nothing else for me to practice on. I really love Mrs. Reed’s Phantom, but…” She trailed off. “She probably won’t lend it to me again.”

I lifted my gaze. “If you already know the answer, why bring it up?”

I turned to Caleb. “Oh, and Caleb, you still haven’t reimbursed me for the Cullinan. If I don’t see that money, I’ll take your little secretary to civil court.”

The smile on Caleb’s face stiffened. Then his voice dropped into that coaxing register again.

“Babe. When have I ever stiffed you? Reed Group’s dividends come through this month. I’ll transfer it as soon as they clear.”

Vanessa preened. “Caleb’s company has been crushing it the last couple of years. They’re about to close a funding round before going public. So don’t act so high and mighty, Helena. The Reed family does just fine without you.”

She turned to Caleb. “Go open a new account and get us all cards. We don’t need Helena’s charity. Even if she comes crawling back and begs us to take them, we won’t touch them.”

The truth was, without the Voss family propping it up behind the scenes, Reed Group would’ve folded years ago.

But the Reeds would never see that. Without me, they were stray rogues in designer suits, playing at being royalty.

I set down my fork. “I’m going to the spa with Ava today. Don’t wait up for dinner.”

The second I was out the door, I called a private investigator. I wanted everything there was to know about Chloe.

And while he was at it, I wanted to know if she’d been looking into Voss inheritance rules. Specifically, anything about spousal succession and mate authorization in the Pack Registry.

This girl’s game was painfully transparent. She was trying to claw her way to the Luna position.

Caleb knew exactly what she was after. He wasn’t fooled. He just didn’t care. He liked it, having a young she-wolf fawn over him, worship him, need him.

The two of them deserved each other.

My best friend Ava Sterling and I were halfway through our facials at the spa when my phone buzzed. A charge notification from the Voss Pack Bank.

[Card ending 0907: authorized charge at Rolls-Royce Silverridge.]

[Amount: close to seven figures.]

That was the exact price of a Phantom.

I dug through my bag. One of my bank cards was gone.

Not just any card. The primary card linked to my private trust account. Caleb had mate authorization on it, but only up to the limit I’d set.

I froze the Reed family’s supplementary access yesterday. But this charge went through on the primary card itself. Someone had slipped it out of my bag at the house and used the mate authorization before the system finished syncing the freeze.

This wasn’t a purchase. It was theft.

Minutes later, Chloe posted on social media. In the photo, she was leaning against a brand-new Phantom, beaming. The caption read:

[Lucked out with the world’s best boss. My driving is hopeless, so he bought me a brand-new car to practice in.]

As if the post wasn’t enough, Chloe sent the photo straight to me.

“Mrs. Reed, you won’t have to worry about lending me your cars anymore. Mr. Reed didn’t want me damaging yours again, so he went ahead and bought me my own.”

“He told me to drive it however I like. And if I wreck this one, he’ll just buy me another.”

Ava caught the look on my face. “What happened?”

I flipped my phone around to show her. “Nothing major. Someone swiped my Voss Pack Bank card and used it to buy a Phantom.”

Ava’s face hardened. “Who’s stupid enough to steal from the Voss Pack?”

I grabbed my coat. “Let’s go. We’ve got a thief to catch.”

Ava and I headed straight to Reed Group. When we got there, they’d just pulled in.

The moment Chloe saw me, her whole face lit up. Like she’d been waiting all day for me to come see what she’d won.

“Mrs. Reed. Here to see my new car? It’s nothing, really. Same as yours.”

A deliberate pause. Her smile widened.

“Oh wait, that’s not right. Mine’s a higher trim than yours.”

Caleb was standing right beside her. Not a shred of guilt on his face. If anything, he looked proud of himself.

“Babe. You wouldn’t lend her yours. What was I supposed to do? I had to buy her one.”

What really stung wasn’t the car. It was that I’d frozen the cards and humiliated him in front of Chloe. The Phantom was a performance. Proof he could still spoil her, with or without me.

Chloe cocked an eyebrow and stepped into my space, close enough for her cloying she-wolf scent to hit me head-on.

“You know, Mrs. Reed, if you’d just lent me the car in the first place, none of this would’ve happened. Could’ve saved Mr. Reed all that money. Don’t you think?”

She was practically gloating in my face.

Then my Voss enforcers swarmed the garage. Two of them seized Chloe by the arms, drove her back against the wall, and pinned her there.