Chapter 9. Storm on the Glass

The storm didn’t arrive with thunder. It came in the pale light of dawn, heralded by the harsh glow of headlines scrolling across her phone. Alyssa woke to the insistent buzz of the device on her nightstand and the cold, sickly radiance of morning creeping around her curtains. She felt leaden—every limb refusing to cooperate—her throat parched as if she’d whispered through the night. Carefully, she peeled back the covers, slid out of bed, and reached for the phone, bracing herself as the screen flared to life.

Twelve notifications. Five missed calls, each from an unknown number, each one a silent alarm. But it was the news alerts that made her pulse stutter. She tapped the first headline, then the next, scrolling through lines that blurred together in their fury:

WOLFE’S WILD WIFE: WHO IS THE GIRL BEHIND THE SLAP?

BILLIONAIRE’S BRIDE OR PR LIABILITY?

SCANDAL AT THE KINGSLEY: WITNESSES CLAIM WOLFE ‘LOST CONTROL’ OVER UNRULY WIFE

Her breath caught. She st