LOGINShare
CHAPTER 10: What Uncle Found
publish date:
2026-04-18 02:32:59Selene woke to the smell of coffee.
She padded into the kitchen, draped in her silk robe, still wrapped in the tender haze of sleep. Then she halted—frozen. Avalon stood by the espresso machine, clad in sweatpants and a plain white tee, the casualness of his attire belying an undeniable elegance. Their eyes met, and for a suspended heartbeat, the world held its breath; neither stirred, caught in an intimate silence that spoke volumes.
“Morning,” he said finally.
“Morning.” She tugged her robe tighter. “You made coffee?”
“Mrs Liu has Sundays off.” He handed her a cup. “Two sugars, no cream.”
He remembered. The fact that he still remembered after everything made something twist in her chest.
“Thank you.”
They stood in the kitchen, silence stretching. This was new. Yesterday, he held her while she cried. Today they were supposed to act like… what? Partners? Something neither knew how to be.
“We should talk,” Avalon said. “About the board meeting.”
“Okay.”
“Margaret is on our side, but there are seven other board members, and Marcus has been working on them.” He leaned against the counter. “We need to be prepared. About our relationship and the timeline.”
“What kind of questions?”
“How we reconnected, why did we get married so quickly? Whether this is legitimate.” His gaze held hers. “They’ll be looking for inconsistencies.”
Selene nodded, trying to ignore how domestic this felt—standing in the kitchen with coffee, discussing problems together.
“We should practice,” she said. “Until we can do it without thinking.”
“Good idea.” He checked his watch. “I have to make a few calls this afternoon. We can run through scenarios tonight.”
“Dinner?”
“I thought we could eat here. Together.” His voice faltered, laced with uncertainty. “Unless—”
“No. Here is fine.” She cut him off softly.
A fragile silence settled between them.
“Selene.” His voice softened, dropping into a quiet earnestness. “When you told me about Maya yesterday, I want you to truly understand—I meant every word. Whatever happens between us, I won’t let your sister suffer.”
“I know.”. Despite everything, Avalon wasn’t cruel. “Thank you.”
He nodded, started to leave, then paused. “Also, I have a friend, Dr Sarah Chen, she is Margaret’s sister-in-law. She’s one of the top oncologists at UCSF. I’m having her review Maya’s case.”
Selene’s throat tightened. “You don’t have to—”
“I know. I’m doing it anyway.” His expression was unreadable. “Maya deserves every advantage.”
He left before she could respond.
Selene stood alone in the kitchen, holding her coffee, feeling the walls between them shift in ways she couldn’t quite name.
-----
The email arrived at 3:47 PM on what had seemed like an ordinary Sunday afternoon.
Avalon was reviewing quarterly projections when his phone chimed unexpectedly. Unknown sender. Subject: “Information regarding your wife.”
His finger hovered over delete. Probably spam, curiosity made him open it cautiously.
*Mr. Pierce,*
*I work for your uncle and have been instructed to investigate your marriage. While I cannot share my findings directly, I felt compelled to provide you with a date: March 15, 2014.*
*Hospital records are sealed, but admission logs are public information.*
*Why am I telling you this? Because I know when someone is being used. Your uncle has no interest in the truth. Only leverage.*
*This is the only communication you’ll receive from me.*
Avalon stared at the screen, his heart pounding.
March 15, 2014.
The date meant nothing to him. Three days later, Selene had stopped answering his calls. What had happened?
He pulled up his old calendar. March 2014. He’d been in finals, working on Nexus, trying to understand why Selene had vanished.
March 15th—he’d been at a pitch meeting. He remembered because he’d bombed it, too distracted.
He opened a new browser, searched for San Francisco General’s public records portal. Found the form. Hesitated.
Did he really want to know?
His phone rang. Marcus.
He let it go to voicemail, but the message made his blood run cold:
“Avalon, wanted to give you a heads up. I’ve come across interesting information about your wife. Medical information from ten years ago. I think the board would find it illuminating, see you Thursday nephew.”
Avalon’s hands tightened. Marcus had something. Something from March 2014. Something he doesn’t have, what could it be?
He pulled up the portal again. Submitted the request for admission logs from March 15, 2014. It would take twenty-four hours.
Just a day, to wonder what secrets Selene had been carrying.
He found her in the living room, reading. She looked up when he entered, and something in his expression made her set down her book.
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to ask you something, I also need you to be honest.” He sat across from her. “What happened on March 15, 2014?”
The colour drained from her face. “What?”
“March 15, 2014. Three days after you stopped talking to me.” He leaned forward. “Marcus has information from that date. He’s planning to use it at the board meeting.”
Selene’s hands shook. She pressed them together.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.” Her voice broke. “Please, Avalon. Don’t ask me this.”
“I have to. Whatever Marcus has, I need to be prepared.”
“You’ll hate me.”
“Tell me.”
“I can’t.” Tears streamed down her face. "At least not yet. Just trust me.”
“Trust you? You’re asking me to walk into that board meeting blind while Marcus has ammunition.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But if I tell you now, like this, it’ll destroy everything.” She stood, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. “I need more time please.”
“We don’t have time! The meeting is in four days!”
“I know!” She was crying openly now. “Don’t you think I know that? But I can’t—I need to find the right way, and this isn’t it.”
Avalon stared at her, frustration and deep concern warring in his chest. She looked absolutely terrified. Not of him, but of whatever dark truth she was hiding deep inside.
“Fine,” he said finally, his voice heavy. “You have until Wednesday night. After that, I’m going into that meeting whether you’ve told me or not.”
She nodded, unable to speak through her tears.
He left her there, crying alone in the darkness, and returned to his study to wait impatiently for records that would change everything between them.
Latest chapter
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 129: Auntie Grace
POV: Maya CastellanoKofi’s family arrived on Thursday.Kofi had decided that the airport was not the right place for Maya to meet his family. He thought it would be too overwhelming, with all the noise and crowds, and the hassle of dealing with luggage and jet lag. He wanted their first meeting to be more low-key, so he had made it clear that the airport was off limits. Maya, it seemed, had respected his wishes and was not there to greet them.She had agreed, mainly because fear was holding her back and she needed someone to tell her it was okay to wait a little longer.Instead she cleaned her apartment for three hours and then sat on the couch and stared at the wall.Kofi called at noon."He told me they're all at the hotel now, just taking it easy. We're having dinner together tonight at 7, just a family thing."“Just family,” Maya repeated.“You’re family,” he said.“I meant just your family, without me.”A pause.“Maya.”“I’m fine,” she said. “ I’m completely fine.”“You cleaned
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 128: Six Weeks
POV: Maya CastellanoThe dress fitting took place in a tiny studio nestled in Hayes Valley, a space that was steeped in the scent of fabric and the sweet hint of flowers. It was clear that this was a place where attention to detail was paramount, where every stitch and every fold was taken seriously.Selene settled into the corner chair, the one where people usually sat to share their thoughts and opinions.Kofi wasn't there, and Maya had made it pretty clear that she didn't want him to be. Apparently, it was bad luck for him to see the dress before the big day, a tradition that Kofi didn't really believe in, but Maya did, and that was all that mattered. He had tried to argue that it wasn't something he personally observed, but Maya had shut him down, saying that she did observe it, and that was enough for him to respect her wishes.Maya loved him for that.She stepped onto the small platform and looked at herself in the three-way mirror while the seamstress worked at the hem.“Well,”
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 127: Three Weeks Later
POV: Selene CastellanoThe advisory board meeting had gone exactly as Selene hoped.Everything was out in the open and clearly recorded. But the two members who had been compromised decided to step down before things got ugly, opting for a quiet exit instead of a public showdown. James took it upon himself to apologize to the entire board for the mistake in their vetting process. Meanwhile, Amara had already put a new screening process in place, which was making waves in the nonprofit sector - it was even featured in two newsletters as a model for how to be transparent and accountable.A week after that, Henderson Capital made a quiet move to shut down its philanthropic division. The SEC investigation was gaining speed, and Richard Henderson decided to step down from his own company instead of waiting to see what the results would be.Diana's name was finally in the clear, it turned out she had never actually been implicated - the calls made using her phone number had been tracked and
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 126: What We Lost
POV: Avalon PierceThey sat at the kitchen table with a blank document open between them, the cursor blinking, neither of them writing anything yet.“I don’t know where to start,” Selene said.“Start with what’s true,” Avalon said. “Not what sounds right.”She nodded slowly, then began typing.My name is Selene Castellano Pierce. Thirty years ago, a man decided that protecting his own interests mattered more than a young father’s life. I never met Jonathan Pierce. But I married his son, and I have spent the last year learning what his absence cost this family.She looked at Avalon.“Your turn,” she said.He took the laptop.My father died when I was eight years old. I grew up believing it was an accident. I built walls around that loss because grief without explanation has nowhere to go. This year, I learned the truth— he died because he refused to look away from something wrong, and that my grandmother spent thirty years protecting me from a danger she couldn’t eliminate but only del
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 125 : Our Own Board
POV: Selene CastellanoAmara was already sitting at her desk when Selene and Avalon walked in the next morning at 7 am. She had three pieces of paper laid out on the table in front of her, covered in colorful notes and symbols that only made sense to her. It was clear she had been up late, coming up with some kind of system that only she could understand.“Sit down,” Amara said, not looking up. “ This is bad.”“How bad,” Avalon said."Amara pointed out that two names on Ross's list which were familiar, they belonged to members of their community advisory panel, not the executive board, but rather a group of people they had specifically chosen for their connections to the city government."Selene sat down slowly.“Who,” she said.Amara turned one of the printouts around.Two names, highlighted.Selene read them."They've been a part of our lives from the very start," she said in a soft voice, "even before we held the symposium, they were already here with us."“I know,” Amara said.Jam
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 124: Why Me
POV: Selene Castellano“No,” Avalon said immediately. “ Absolutely not.”“Avalon—”"She’s not going to be having a one-on-one conversation with him, not after what happened last night."Nunez raised her hand, signaling for attention. "This is a federal facility we're talking about," she said. "There are cameras everywhere, and agents are always present in the room. I would be there myself, overseeing everything."“Why me,” Selene said, looking at Nunez. “ Did he say why?”"Nunez spoke up, saying 'He told us you'd get it once you heard the story,' but that's all he was willing to share."“What’s his name?” Selene asked."Daniel Ross," Nunez explained, "A former private investigator who spent nearly fifteen years working with Whitmore's network, and he was actually Reeves' go-to guy for fieldwork."The name meant nothing to her.Avalon didn't agree at first, but then Nunez made a deal with him - he could watch everything that was happening from another room, see and hear every single wo
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 69: What Nene Knew
POV: Avalon PierceHe heard Selene’s voice change from the kitchen.He’d learned that register over the past year the way you learned the sounds of a house you lived in. Which floorboard, which pipe, which silence meant something.He was in the study doorway before she hung up.She was sitting very
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 68: The Idea
POV: Selene CastellanoShe woke up at 5 AM with the idea fully formed.She lay in the dark for a moment.Avalon’s breathing beside her was slow and even.She got up.The study at 5 AM had that quality it got before the city remembered itself. The lamp, the quiet, the quality of dark outside the win
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 67: Amara
POV: Selene CastellanoAmara Osei arrived twenty minutes before everyone else.Selene noticed because she and Avalon arrived fifteen minutes early themselves which was Avalon’s standard operating procedure for anything board related and she’d stopped fighting it. She’d learned to bring a book.She
The Inheritance Clause CHAPTER 66: The Argument
POV: Selene CastellanoIt started with the calendar.Avalon’s phone on the kitchen counter showing a notification for a board dinner she hadn’t known about and hadn’t been asked about and was apparently expected to attend in four days.She saw it while making coffee and didn't say anything immediat
You may also like
The CEO's Addiction To Love
Moonlight City955.2K viewsCold Showers
Symplyayisha836.9K viewsForced marriage: Dear wife, you can't escape me
Natie 585.3K viewsMy Wife is a Hacker
Summer1.9M viewsBreeding His Stepdaughter
Sandiwrites204 viewsThe Wrong Bride Returns
Julie Mosco17 viewsbaby
zhaomy102 viewsMy Fiance Cheated So I Claimed His Lycan Bosses
Constance Luna.16 views
