Chapter 11: Father's Ultimatum
1375words
Cassian appeared in the doorway, his reflection joining mine in the mirror. "You don't have to do this," he said quietly. "We could leave Milan. Go anywhere."
"And spend our lives running?" I shook my head. "No. I've spent too long hiding."
His hands settled on my shoulders, warm and steady. "Whatever happens today, remember that I love you."
I turned to face him, searching his eyes for any hint of deception. Despite Victoria's insinuations, despite the secrets I sensed he still kept, I believed in that love.
"I love you too," I said. "Enough to face my father."
We'd arranged to meet Frederick Whitestone at Cassian's office—neutral ground, yet territory where Cassian held the advantage. As we rode the elevator to the top floor of the Vexley Enterprises building, I felt strangely calm. The frightened girl who had fled London no longer existed.
Cassian's assistant met us with worried eyes. "Mr. Whitestone arrived early. He's not alone."
"Victoria?" I asked.
"Yes, and Mr. Orion Vexley with Miss Isolde."
Cassian's jaw tightened. "A full family council, then."
He took my hand openly as we walked toward the conference room, a public declaration of where he stood. Through the glass walls, I could see them waiting—my father standing by the window, Victoria seated primly, Orion pacing while Isolde watched with an unreadable expression.
When we entered, all eyes turned to us. My father's reaction was immediate and visceral—his face paled, his eyes widening as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Elise," he whispered, using my mother's name.
The slip confirmed what I'd begun to suspect—with my transformation, I now strongly resembled my mother. I'd seen it in old photographs but hadn't realized how striking the similarity had become.
"Hello, Father," I said coolly.
He recovered quickly, his expression hardening. "This charade ends now, Seraphina. You're returning to London today."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Financial investigators are closing in on certain... irregularities in our family businesses," he said, his voice low and threatening. "Your continued defiance puts everything at risk."
"Your criminal activities, you mean?" I moved further into the room, Cassian beside me. "I'm not responsible for your choices, Father."
Victoria stood, her smile razor-sharp. "But you are responsible for your own, dear. And associating with Cassian Vexley is a particularly poor one."
"I disagree." Cassian's voice was calm but carried an edge of steel. "My relationship with Seraphina is the best choice I've ever made."
Orion laughed, the sound brittle with anger. "Relationship? Is that what we're calling it, Uncle? Seducing your nephew's ex? How very tawdry."
"I was never yours," I said sharply. "I was a bet. A joke."
"And now you're my uncle's midlife crisis." Orion's smile was cruel. "How does it feel to be traded up from nephew to uncle? An improvement in wealth, certainly, though perhaps not in other areas."
Cassian moved toward him, but I caught his arm. "He's not worth it."
My father slammed his hand on the conference table. "Enough! Seraphina, you will end this inappropriate liaison and return home immediately. The family is under scrutiny. We need to present a united front."
"What scrutiny, exactly?" Cassian asked. "The kind that comes with money laundering investigations?"
Frederick's eyes narrowed. "You're hardly in a position to take the moral high ground, Vexley. Not with your family's history."
"What history?" I looked between them, sensing another secret about to emerge.
"Ask him about the Whitestone-Vexley merger fifteen years ago," my father said with grim satisfaction. "Ask him what really happened to those pension funds."
Cassian's face remained impassive, but I felt him tense beside me. "Ancient history, Frederick. And irrelevant to the present situation."
"Is it?" Victoria interjected smoothly. "Seraphina, dear, did you never wonder why Cassian was so eager to help you escape? Why he took such an... interest in you?"
Doubt flickered through me again. "Cassian?"
Before he could answer, Isolde spoke for the first time. "Stop it, Mother."
All eyes turned to her in surprise.
"You've manipulated everyone in this room for years," she continued, rising from her chair. "Me, Father, Orion. Even Seraphina. I'm tired of it."
Victoria's face flushed with anger. "Isolde, you will be silent."
"No." Isolde moved to stand beside me, a gesture so unexpected I nearly stepped back. "I've been silent too long. About everything."
My father's expression darkened. "What are you talking about?"
"About what really happened to Elise Whitestone," Isolde said quietly. "About the argument I overheard the night before her 'accident.'"
The color drained from my father's face. "You know nothing."
"I know enough." Isolde's voice strengthened. "I know Mother threatened her. I know she was planning to take Seraphina away. And I know her car was tampered with."
The room fell silent, the accusation hanging in the air like poison.
"That's absurd," Victoria finally said, but her voice lacked conviction.
I felt dizzy, the pieces of my past rearranging themselves into a horrifying new pattern. "You killed her," I whispered, staring at Victoria. "You killed my mother."
"I did no such thing!" Victoria's composure cracked. "Your mother was going to ruin everything—expose Frederick's financial dealings, take you away. I merely... suggested she reconsider."
"By sabotaging her car?" Cassian's voice was deadly quiet.
"That was never proven," my father interjected quickly. "The investigation ruled it an accident."
"An investigation you controlled," Cassian countered. "With money you'd laundered."
Orion looked between his uncle and my father, confusion giving way to understanding. "Is this true? Did you know about this, Uncle?"
"I suspected," Cassian admitted. "I had no proof."
"But you used it," my father said bitterly. "Used your suspicions to manipulate my daughter, to turn her against her family."
"No." I found my voice again, stronger now. "He gave me freedom. A chance to become who I was meant to be."
"And what is that, exactly?" My father's eyes were cold. "His mistress? His pet project?"
"His equal," I said firmly. "His partner."
Cassian took my hand, facing my father directly. "I love your daughter, Frederick. Not because of the past, not because of who her mother was, but because of who she is."
"How touching." My father's smile was without warmth. "Unfortunately, love won't save either of you from what's coming."
"What does that mean?" I demanded.
"It means I'm prepared to burn it all down," he replied. "My businesses, the Vexley empire, all of it—unless you end this relationship and return to London immediately."
"You're bluffing," Cassian said.
"Am I?" My father removed a flash drive from his pocket. "This contains evidence of financial improprieties involving both our families. If Seraphina doesn't come home with me today, it goes to the authorities."
"You'd incriminate yourself?" I asked incredulously.
"I've made arrangements. Immunity in exchange for testimony." His eyes hardened. "I have nothing left to lose."
The ultimatum hung in the air between us. I looked at Cassian, seeing the conflict in his eyes—his love for me warring with the responsibility he felt toward his family's legacy, the thousands of employees who depended on Vexley Enterprises.
"Don't do this, Father," I pleaded. "Not for pride. Not for control."
"My decision is final." He checked his watch. "My plane leaves in three hours. You will be on it, or the consequences will be... severe."
As he turned to leave, Isolde stepped forward. "If Seraphina stays, I stay too."
Victoria gasped. "Isolde!"
"I mean it, Mother." Isolde's voice trembled but held firm. "I'm done being your pawn."
Orion stared at his fiancée in disbelief. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I choose my sister." She moved to stand beside me. "For once in my life, I'm choosing what's right."
As my father and Victoria departed, fury radiating from them both, Orion remained, his expression a mixture of betrayal and calculation.
"You'll regret this, Uncle," he said quietly. "Both of you will."
When the door closed behind him, leaving just Cassian, Isolde, and me, I finally allowed myself to tremble.
"What now?" I whispered.
Cassian's arms encircled me, his embrace fierce and protective. "Now we fight back."
