Chapter Fourteen

 Elaris’ POV

I pulled Casey tightly into my arms as the restaurant manager and his security guards stepped between us and Cassian, while the entire dining room full of people stared at us in complete silence.

"If you or Liora ever approach my children again, Cassian, I will make sure the police and my legal team handle you publicly," I said, keeping my voice loud and clear so every single person in the room could hear every word, "you have no right to come near my family, and I am warning both of you right now to stay away from us forever."

"Elaris, please just listen to me for one second," Cassian called out, trying to take a step past the security guards, but Enzo stepped right in front of him, blocking his view completely.

"She gave you her final answer, Virelli," Enzo said, taking Cassandra's small hand while looking at Cassian with absolute coldness, "do not make another mistake today."

We turned around and walked straight out of the doors, where our driver was already waiting with the car doors wide open, and as soon as we all climbed into the back seats, the car pulled away from the valet curb and merged into the moving street traffic.

"Mommy, that woman was really mean to me," Casey whispered, resting his face against my chest while his small body trembled slightly from the leftover fear.

"I know, sweetie, but she is gone now and nobody is going to hurt you ever again," I reassured him, kissing the top of his head while rubbing his back gently to calm him down.

"She made Casey cry, Mommy, and the man with the dark eyes was yelling at everyone," Cassandra said, looking up at me from her seat beside Enzo with a worried expression on her face.

"Everything is okay now, Cassandra," Enzo said, turning to give her a warm smile while reaching out to smooth her hair, "your mother and I will make sure those people never come near either of you again, so you don't have to worry about anything."

"Are we going back home now, Uncle Enzo?" Casey asked, turning his head slightly to look out the window at the tall city buildings passing by.

"Yes, Casey, we are going straight back to the penthouse so you two can rest and play with your new toys," Enzo answered smoothly as the driver turned down the main avenue leading toward our residential tower.

We rode in silence for the rest of the ten-minute trip, and when the car finally stopped in the private basement garage, Enzo helped the twins out of the vehicle and walked us directly into the private elevator that took us straight up to the top floor.

As soon as the elevator doors opened into our penthouse living room, the twins ran off toward their bedroom to check on their toys, leaving Enzo and me standing near the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the river below.

"That entire scene at the restaurant was completely out of control, Elaris," Enzo said, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to face me, "Liora has clearly lost her mind, and Cassian is acting like a desperate man who cannot accept that you moved on with your life."

"Cassian has always been like that when he feels like he is losing control over a situation," I replied, taking a glass of water from the counter and taking a small sip, "he thinks because he has money and a big family name, everyone in this city has to bow down to his demands."

"Well, he is going to find out very quickly that the Everhart family carries far more weight in the corporate market than his entire business group," Enzo stated firmly, taking a step closer to me, "I have already instructed our head legal advisor to file an expedited motion with the family court to force him to acknowledge the old divorce registry by the end of this week."

"He told me in his office this morning that he would refuse to sign it," I reminded him, setting my glass down on the counter while looking out at the city view, "he thinks my children have something to do with him because Casey has dark eyes, and his sudden obsession is only going to get worse now that he saw you protecting us."

"Let him try to fight us in court, Elaris," Enzo said with a confident smile, "if he tries to bring any legal trouble to your doorstep or uses his company's influence to block our new business launch, I will personally pull our capital out of his partner banks and wreck his stock value before he even gets a trial date."

"I don't want this legal fight to draw too much public attention to the twins, Enzo," I told him, looking toward the hallway where the children were playing quietly, "Cassian is angry right now, and when Cassian gets angry, he uses every resource he has to pry into people's private lives, so we need to settle our commercial contracts in the city quickly so he realizes I am not some helpless woman he can push around anymore."

"I fully agree with you," Enzo answered, nodding his head in agreement as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, "I will have my secretary send over the final commercial lease agreements for our new headquarters downtown so you can review them tonight."

"Thank you, Enzo," I said, giving him a genuine smile, "I don't know what I would have done over these last six years without your help and support."

"You don't ever have to thank me, Elaris," Enzo replied warmly, stepping forward to pat my shoulder reassuringly, "you are the strongest woman I know, and I will stand by you and protect those kids no matter what Cassian Virelli tries to do next."

"I know he is not going to stop here," I said, looking out the window as the sun began to sink low over the city skyline, "seeing Casey today triggered something in him, and I know his pride will drive him to pursue me even harder tomorrow."