Claimed by My Bestie's Alpha Daddy novel Chapter 89

“Do we have any idea who could have taken it?” Richard asked.

Nathan shook his head. “Not yet. We’re reviewing surveillance from the apartment complex. But whoever it was knew exactly what they were after.””

Emma leaned forward, her voice clipped. “It’s more than a security breach. It’s emotional blackmail. Anyone who reads that knows exactly how to manipulate her. Or him.”

Richard’s jaw tightened. He stood and began pacing, the tension practically vibrating off of him.

“We go public,” he said suddenly.

Everyone stared.

“You want to confirm it?” someone asked, incredulous.

“I want to take control of the story,” Richard replied. “If we wait, David will spin it into something worse. But if we get ahead of it, we decide the terms.”

Nathan turned to me. “Amelia, are you sure?”

No, I wasn’t. But I nodded anyway. What other choice did we have?

“Then we prepare the message,” Richard said. “We do it today.”

The press conference was hastily arranged in the estate courtyard, just hours later. Reporters swarmed like sharks sensing blood. Flashbulbs sparked as I stood just behind Richard, staring into the sea of cameras.

I could feel my heart hammering in my chest, my palms damp even though the late morning breeze had a bite to it. Emma stood beside me, steady and unreadable.Richard didn’t use a script. He didn’t need one.

“Yes, I share a second chance bond with Amelia,” he said clearly, “It wasn’t political. It wasn’t strategic. It was something real. And I am not ashamed of it.”

Gasps rolled through the crowd. Some reporters frantically typed while others simply gaped.

“This campaign will not be derailed by fearmongering,” he-continued.”

We will proceed with honesty. I won’t allow anyone to use my bond as a weapon.”

The backlash was immediate. Outrage. Support. Confusion. Protesters showed up before the press conference even ended. David’s camp scrambled to respond. By the next morning, new headlines flooded every feed. Talk shows speculated. Pundits dissected every word. My face and Richard’s flashed across every major network.

Despite the chaos, I was reinstated. Promoted, even.

Lead Intern Coordinator.

The irony didn’t escape me. One moment I was being quietly removed, the next thrust into the spotlight again, but this time with a title.

I walked into the press room with a new badge clipped to my collar and my heart hammering in my chest. Emma smiled from the corner.

Nathan gave me a barely perceptible nod.

I stepped up to the podium. “Good afternoon,” I said. “Let’s begin.”

I briefed the press on updated scheduling and new transparency protocols. I dodged loaded questions, kept my voice level, and didn’t flinch. When I looked to the wings, I saw Jenny. She stood rigid, arms folded, eyes sharp. She didn’t say a word. But I felt the weight of her presence like a stone.After the briefing, Richard found me in one of the upper corridors. The floor-to-ceiling windows glinted with late afternoon sun. He reached for my hand without saying anything.

I let him. He leaned down and kissed me, soft and certain. The kind of kiss that didn’t ask permission. The kind that would be seen by anyone walking past those windows.

Later that night, Nathan and Emma sat hunched over surveillance footage in my living room. The lights were dim, our voices quiet. The room smelled like tea and worry.

“There,” Emma said, pointing.

Emma’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “She can’t use it. Not really.”

“She doesn’t have to use it,” I snapped before I could stop myself. My vojce cracked, shame coating the edges. “She just has to show it. The secret about Richard is already out, but the journal has other top-

– secret information. Things about our campaign strategy, the elders, sensitive timelines. Just one photo, one quote, one out-of-context line could unravel everything we’ve fought to protect.”

Emma didn’t flinch. “She won’t. Not if she actually reads it.”

I blinked at her, confused and frustrated. “What?”

“She can’t release it without damning herself too,” Emma explained gently. “You talk about her. About what she did. Her manipulation. Her lies. If she publishes it, she makes herself look cruel, small, and vicious.

Nathan nodded. “Emma’s right. Strategically, she’d only hurt herself.

The optics would be catastrophic.”

I shook my head, still reeling. “But it isn’t just about her. That journal has details about campaign strategy, private conversations, things we said about other council members, internal disagreements…”Richard turned toward me, suddenly still. I kept going.

“It has thoughts | had about Elders, notes on the bond theories, even doubts about how we planned to handle the media if Adam went rogue. If the public sees any of that, if any part of that gets taken out of context, it could undo everything. It could dismantle your whole campaïgn.”

Nathan looked grave now. “Then we need to treat it like a stolen classified document.”

Emma glanced between us. “But even then, she can’t show it without exposing that she stole it. And if people read what Amelia wrote about her, they won’t rally to her side. It would hurt her more than anyone.”