The Fake Luna: Marked By The Alpha King

Chapter 263: Chapter 263 What the hell are you doing here?

Author’s POV

He pulled out his phone and called his boss. By now, the man should’ve already entered the main hall. If the Smith heiress had arrived, someone would’ve pointed her out.

The call connected quickly.

Sophia held her breath and leaned over, tapping the speaker button.

"Mr. Reese," Derek began.

"Where the hell are you?" his boss snapped before he could say anything else. "Didn’t I tell you this summit was critical? Don’t be late!"

"I’m sorry, sir. There was... an incident on the way. I’m not going to make it."

Derek chose his words carefully. If Aria really was the Smith heiress, and his boss found out he’d been involved in a confrontation with her, he’d be fired on the spot.

"Unbelievable," Mr. Reese muttered. "This was your chance to network with real power players, and you blow it. Typical."

He sounded ready to hang up.

"Wait—Mr. Reese, I’m curious," Derek said quickly. "Has the Smith heiress arrived yet?"

"You’re not even here and you’re asking me that?" Mr. Reese huffed impatiently.

But just then, there was a sudden commotion in the background. Derek could hear voices rising in excitement.

---

A figure had entered the central area of the hall—a woman, her silhouette graceful and commanding.

Bodyguards flanked her on all sides as she moved toward the VIP section at the front.

Someone nearby murmured, "That’s her. The Smith heiress. Current CEO of V&A Group."

"She’s so young," Mr. Reese muttered, craning his neck to get a better look. He could only catch a glimpse of her profile before security blocked his view.

He tried to push forward, but the staff stopped him. "Please return to your seat, sir."

Derek caught fragments of the conversation. "You saw her? The Smith heiress?"

"Yeah. Sort of. I saw her," Mr. Reese said distractedly.

"What was she wearing? What did she look like?" Sophia couldn’t help herself, leaning closer to the phone.

Derek shot her a warning glare.

"Was she wearing a brown coat? With—" Derek started.

"No. She was in a white Chanel suit," Mr. Reese cut him off. "Look, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later."

The line went dead.

Sophia let out a sharp laugh, though the movement tugged at the cut on her lip and made her wince.

She touched it gingerly, her expression smug. "See? I told you. There’s no way Aria is the Smith heiress. She’s got some serious nerve, lying like that."

Her wolf whimpered faintly in disagreement, but Sophia ignored it completely.

"Yeah," Derek muttered, relief flooding through him. "I can’t believe she actually tried to impersonate the Smith heiress. Though that scent thing is still weird..."

"She’s been sleeping around with powerful Alphas," Sophia said dismissively, dabbing at her bleeding lip. "That’s all it is. Probably thinks it makes her untouchable."

Derek nodded slowly, though something about the whole situation still didn’t sit right with him.

Meanwhile, back inside the venue, Aria slipped off the brown coat she’d been wearing over her outfit.

The hall was temperature-controlled and warmer than outside. She handed the coat to a staff member. "Could you hang this up for me, please?"

Underneath, her white Chanel suit gleamed under the lights.

---

The summit was about to begin. Lucas and Julian had timed their arrival perfectly—or so they thought—only to find themselves stuck in traffic the entire way over.

They were cutting it dangerously close.

"Clara!"

Clara was just about to head inside when a familiar voice called out sharply behind her.

She turned, her pupils dilating slightly in shock.

It was Margaret and Grandmother Rose—Ethan’s mother and grandmother.

"What’s wrong?" Julian noticed Clara freeze mid-step and glanced back at her, confused.

"Old acquaintances from Silver Creek," Clara said evenly, though her jaw tightened. "I’ll handle this quickly. Go ahead inside, Alpha Julian. I’ll catch up."

Julian could tell from the tension in Clara’s expression that this wasn’t a pleasant reunion. He nodded without prying further and strode into the venue with his Beta.

The moment Julian disappeared through the doors, Clara’s expression hardened.

Margaret had spotted Clara from across the entrance plaza and had been hurrying over ever since, dragging Rose along with her.

Sophia—that useless girl—had been waiting for them at the gate, but security had refused to let them through.

Apparently, both Sophia and Derek had been blacklisted and stripped of their entry privileges.

The reason? They’d caused a scene with Aria just outside the venue.

Margaret had heard the name and nearly choked. Aria would be here? At a summit like this?

She supposed it made sense. After all, Aria had clawed her way into running that little company of hers after stealing Silver Creek’s core projects. Of course she’d try to worm her way into events like these.

But why should a conflict with Aria result in them being barred entry?

These security people were clearly biased—bowing and scraping to whoever had more power. It was insulting.

Margaret had been ready to raise hell when Sophia, sharp-eyed as ever, caught sight of Clara near the registration desk.

Seeing that Clara had already been allowed inside, the group had immediately called out to her.

"What are you all doing here?" Clara approached them quickly, her eyes instinctively scanning the group for any sign of Ethan.

He wasn’t there.

Sophia’s lip was split and swollen, the injury still fresh. For once, she didn’t have that usual sharp edge in her tone when she saw Clara.

"Derek brought us here for the summit," Sophia muttered. "Clara, shouldn’t you be home taking care of my brother? What the hell are you doing here?"

At Sophia’s words, Rose’s brow furrowed sharply. "What happened to Ethan?"

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