​Chapter 11: Dark Clouds

​"Are you completely out of your fucking mind?!" Collin bellowed, his voice echoing off the high ceiling of his study.

​Elaine flinched, clutching her phone to her chest. "Collin, watch your tone! Our daughter is having a baby. We should be celebrating!"

​"Celebrating?!" Collin slammed both hands onto his desk, leaning forward until his eyes were practically bulging. "With what fucking money, Elaine? We are staring down fucking bankruptcy! The Kingsley transaction is frozen in a legal audit, and your solution is to cheer because Kendra got fucking knocked up by some half-rate internet influencer who doesn't have a dime of his own?"

​"Julian has millions of followers," Elaine argued defensively, though her voice lacked its usual bite. "He is building a brand. They are in Monaco right now!"

​"Followers do not pay the interest on our loans," Collin snarled, pacing the floor. "And what happens when this gets out? The socialite world is tiny, Elaine. People talk. If the rumor mill finds out that Kendra Vance is pregnant in Monaco with a French socialite while she is supposedly newly married to Damien Kingsley in New York, we are ruined. Damien is blind, not stupid. He mingles in those exact same circles. If he hears even a whisper of this, he will realize he was swindled, and he will destroy us."

​Elaine’s face went pale. The reality of the situation finally seemed to chip away at her stubborn optimism. "Then... then we just need to make sure Avery handles it. She has to get him to release the funds before anyone starts asking questions."

​"I am calling her tonight," Collin said, his voice cold and flat. "And she is going to do exactly what she is told."

​Back in the sedan, the drive back to the Kingsley estate was quiet. Avery sat staring out the window, her mind still racing from the text message her father had sent. She felt sick to her stomach, trapped between her family's endless greed and the quiet, observant man sitting right next to her.

​Damien sat in silence, but he wasn't asleep.

​His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, feeling the distinct haptic feedback patterns he had programmed for his private security team. He tapped the screen, raising the device to his ear.

​"Speak," Damien said.

​"Sir, we have an update from Doctor Vance’s clinic in Zurich," his head of security, Victor, reported quietly. "They have finalized the schedule for your follow-up evaluation. They want you in the Swiss facility by the end of next week to check the nerve regeneration."

​"Understood," Damien murmured. "Prepare the private jet."

​"Will you be traveling alone, sir?"

​Damien looked sideways, sensing the quiet, tense presence of the girl sitting next to him. "No. My wife will be accompanying me. It is time she got a taste of traveling as a Kingsley."

​"Very well, sir. I will arrange the travel corridor through Switzerland. We will also have a security detail stationed near the border in France, just in case."

​Damien hung up, his mind turning the pieces over. Switzerland was only a short distance from the French Riviera and Monaco, areas where the Vance family supposedly held deep social connections.

​If his suspicions were correct, the real Kendra Vance was somewhere in Europe, running away from the marriage she had been forced into. And the quiet, soft-spoken girl sitting next to him was the sacrifice they had left behind.

​He needed to dig deeper.

​"Victor," Damien texted quickly using his braille keyboard, his fingers moving with absolute precision. "Run a full, unrestricted background check on Collin Vance’s household. I want medical records, school enrollment files, and birth certificates. Look for anything that doesn't align with the official family registry."

​He slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned his head toward Avery.

​"We are going to Europe next week, Kendra," Damien said, his voice smooth and deceptively warm. "A belated honeymoon. I trust you don't mind a trip to the Swiss Alps?"

​Avery turned to look at him, her heart skipping a beat. "Switzerland?"

​"Yes," Damien smiled, though his eyes remained hidden behind the dark glass. "I think it will be highly educational for both of us."