He shot back a reply, ’I’m with my daughter. Just handle it yourself.’

The response was quick. ’Not an option. Look in the trunk. You’ve got 24 hours.’

Alexander cursed quietly and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Dad!"

He turned to see Emma waving excitedly from inside the store, holding up a dress for him to check out.

Later, he told himself. I’ll deal with it later.

He forced a smile and gave her a thumbs-up.

*****

Emma was scrolling through her phone, her earlier excitement fading a bit. "Dad, can we eat at La Virelli?"

Alexander almost tripped. "What?"

"La Virelli," Emma said again, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. "It’s this super nice restaurant run by one of the Virelli brothers. Everyone at school’s been talking about it. Please? It would make today perfect."

La Virelli.

Of course, she would pick the one restaurant in the city that was practically off-limits

The Virelli family had a ton of money and connections, plus they were really protective of their empire.

After the whole Alpha situation two years ago, they blacklisted anyone connected to him, which unfortunately included several of Alexander’s business ventures.

"Emma, that place requires reservations for months in advance—"

"Please?" Emma gave him those puppy-dog eyes. "Just this once? For my first day of school?"

Alexander sighed. He couldn’t say no to that look.

"Let me make a call."

He stepped away, scrolling through his contacts until he found the number he needed.

"Kane. What’s up?" Alpha answered on the second ring.

"I need a favor."

"Oh, do you now?" Alpha sounded amused. "And what makes you think I’m in a favor-giving mood?"

"My daughter wants to eat at La Virelli tonight. Can you make it happen?"

There was a long pause, then Alpha laughed, sharp and teasing. "Your daughter? You know the Virellis blacklisted me after that mess two years ago, right? They won’t answer my calls."

"There’s got to be someone—"

"Wait." Alpha’s tone changed, getting a bit more serious. "Let me call someone. Maybe he can sort something out. Hold on."

The line went quiet.

Alexander waited, watching Emma browse another shop window, completely clueless about the complicated favors and debts being pulled on her behalf.

I’d burn the whole world down for her if I had to.

And the scary part? He really meant it.

*****

"This one is awesome!" Emma stepped out of the fitting room in the emerald dress, spinning around to show it off. "What do you think?"

"It’s gorgeous," Alexander said honestly.

"But don’t you already have three dresses in those bags?" he asked, somewhat distracted. He was still waiting for Alpha’s call, but it never came.

"Four," Emma replied with a grin. "But this one is special. It’s for when we visit Ayla at the hospital. I want to look nice, you know? I want to make a good impression since our first meeting was... hard."

Alexander felt a little tightness in his chest. Even at twenty-three, Emma still wanted to make everyone feel comfortable, even strangers who had fainted in front of her.

She was way too nice. Way too trusting.

"Then go for it," he said. "If it makes you happy."

Emma’s face lit up. "Really?"

"Really."

She dashed back into the fitting room, and Alexander pulled out his wallet, trying not to think about how much this shopping trip was messing with his budget.

Five minutes later, Emma came out in her regular clothes, the emerald dress over her arm. "Ready to check out?"

"Lead the way."

They walked over to the register, and Alexander was bracing for the total when Emma suddenly gasped. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Oh! Dad, I almost forgot. There’s one more store I wanted to check out. The one next door. They have these amazing scarves, and I thought—"

"Emma," Alexander said patiently. "We’ve been shopping for three hours."

"Please?" She gave him that look, the one that had worked on him for twenty-three years and never seemed to lose its power. "Just one more? I promise it’ll be quick."

Alexander sighed, giving in. "Fine. But this is the last one."

"You’re the best!" Emma kissed his cheek, handed him her bags, and kept the emerald dress with her. "Here, hold these. I’ll be superfast. Five minutes max!"

Before he could say anything, she was off, darting next door with way too much energy.

Standing there surrounded by shopping bags and fancy stores, Alexander felt totally out of place in his plain button-down shirt and slacks.

His phone buzzed again.

"Kane. We’re running out of time. Check the package."

He was about to shoot back a snarky reply when he heard chaos coming from the shop next door.

"Oh my God, I’m really sorry!"

"Are you for real?! Look at this mess!"

Alexander felt his protective instincts kick in. He dropped the shopping bags and rushed toward Emma’s voice.

In the boutique, a fancy place with all those flashy logos, Emma stood in the middle, her beautiful new emerald dress soaked in coffee.

Brown liquid dripped down the intricate lace, ruining the fabric completely.

In front of her was a tall man in an expensive suit, holding an empty coffee cup and still talking on his phone, looking equally stunned.

"I’m really sorry," the man said, quickly hanging up. "I wasn’t watching where I was going."

"Seriously?" Emma shot back, frustration bubbling up as tears pooled in her eyes. "This was my favorite dress! I just bought it!"

"I’ll pay you back," the man said without missing a beat. "Whatever it costs."

"I don’t want your cash!" Emma’s voice got louder, fueled by exhaustion from classes, the stress from her encounter with Ayla yesterday, and now this mess that was pushing her to her limit. "I want my dress in one piece! I was supposed to wear it to see my friend in the hospital, and now—"

Her voice cracked, and she turned away quickly, clearly fighting tears in front of a bunch of strangers.

The man tried to catch up to her. "Wait, let me at least—"

But Emma was already heading for the exit, walking past her dad without saying a word.

Alexander locked eyes with the man and froze.