CHAPTER 22: Marcus’s Next Move

POV: Avalon Pierce

The email arrived at 11:43 PM on a Friday.

Avalon was still in his office—jacket off, sleeves rolled, tie long abandoned somewhere on the back of a chair. The penthouse had gone quiet an hour ago when Selene said goodnight, her voice softer than usual, like she’d been carrying something all day and hadn’t found the words for it yet.

He’d almost followed her.

Almost.

Instead, he’d come here. Work was easier. Cleaner. Numbers behaved. Deals made sense.

People didn’t.

His laptop screen glowed with acquisition projections he hadn’t really read in the last ten minutes when his phone lit up beside it.

Priority Notification.

That alone made his stomach tighten.

Then he saw the sender.

Marcus Pierce.

Subject: Courtesy Notice

Avalon didn’t open it immediately.

He just stared at the screen, thumb hovering, a slow, familiar dread crawling up his spine. Marcus didn’t send courtesy notices. Marcus sent calculated detonations.

Finally, Avalon tapped the screen.

Avalon,

As a courtesy, I’m informing you that I’ve filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of your marriage to Selene Castellano under California Family Code Section 2210. The complaint alleges fraud, specifically that the marriage was contracted without intent to establish a genuine marital relationship.

I’ve also filed a petition with probate court requesting judicial review of Nene’s will, arguing that the marriage clause constitutes undue influence.

Both filings become public record Monday at 9 AM.

I take no pleasure in this, but Pierce Holdings’ integrity demands clarity.

Regards,

Marcus.

Avalon read it once.

Then again.

Then a third time, slower.

Not because he didn’t understand it.

Because he did.

Completely.

“This is insane,” he muttered under his breath.

But even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t.

Marcus didn’t do insane.

He did precise.

Avalon was already dialing before the anger had time to fully form.

Margaret picked up on the first ring.

“I saw it,” she said without preamble. “Robert just forwarded the filings.”

“He’s actually suing us for marriage fraud.”

“Yes.”

The simplicity of her answer somehow made it worse.

“Can he do that?” Avalon asked, already pacing.

“He can file anything,” Margaret replied calmly. “Whether it succeeds is another question. But Avalon—this gets ugly. Fast.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” Her tone sharpened slightly. “Because this isn’t just corporate litigation. This is personal exposure at the highest level. Discovery. Depositions. Subpoenas. Every detail of your relationship becomes evidence.”

Avalon stopped walking.

He hadn’t thought past the word fraud yet.

“Define ‘every detail,’” he said.

“Everything,” Margaret said. “When you met again. When you decided to marry. Financial arrangements. Living situation. Therapy. Communication. Intent. They’ll want to establish whether this is a real marriage or a strategic arrangement.”

Avalon closed his eyes briefly.

“They can’t access therapy notes.”

“They can try,” Margaret said. “And even if we block some things, the process alone will be invasive. They’ll ask you questions under oath about your feelings. Your timeline. Your intimacy.”

His jaw tightened.

“Jesus.”

“Yes,” Margaret said dryly. “Exactly that level of unpleasant.”

He exhaled slowly, pressing a hand against the back of his neck.

“What are our options?”

“Two,” she said immediately. “We fight. Or we settle.”

He already hated the second one.

“Define settle.”

“We pay Marcus to walk away. He drops the lawsuits. Resigns quietly. We contain the damage before it spreads.”

“That’s not containment. That’s surrender.”

“That’s survival,” she corrected. “You need to separate pride from strategy here.”

Avalon turned toward the window. The city stretched below him—bright, alive, completely indifferent.

“I’m not paying him,” he said.

Margaret didn’t respond right away.

When she did, her voice was quieter.

“Then you need to understand what you’re choosing. This goes to trial, Avalon. And Marcus doesn’t need to prove you’re lying. He just needs to prove your marriage isn’t fully genuine.”

“It is genuine.”

“Is it?” she asked, not unkindly. “Or is it complicated?”

He didn’t answer.

Because that was the problem, wasn’t it?

Six weeks ago, this would have been easy.

Now—

Now they were something else.

Something not clean. Not simple. Not easily defined in legal terms.

“Our intentions are real,” he said finally.

“Then you’re going to have to prove that under scrutiny,” Margaret said. “While his lawyers dissect every inconsistency. Separate bedrooms. Contractual elements. Public statements. All of it.”

The silence stretched.

“I need to tell Selene,” Avalon said.

“Morning,” Margaret replied immediately. “Let her sleep.”

“She deserves to know.”

“She deserves one night of peace without this hanging over her head,” Margaret said firmly. “Morning, Avalon.”

The line went dead.

Avalon stood there for a long moment, phone still in his hand.

Then he turned back to his laptop.

Pulled up the statute Marcus had cited.

California Family Code Section 2210.

He skimmed it, then slowed.

Fraud.

Intent.

Misrepresentation.

Case law examples scrolled past…..annulments granted when one party entered marriage without genuine intent. Sham marriages. Strategic unions. Financial motivations.

It came down to one thing:

Did they intend to be real?

Avalon leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen.

What did intent even mean now? They had started as a transaction.

That was undeniable.

But somewhere along the way, it–

It had shifted.

His phone buzzed again.

Selene.

Can’t sleep. You still up?

He stared at the message.

Margaret’s voice echoed in his head: Morning.

He typed anyway.

Yeah. In my study.

A pause.

Then:

Can I come?

He hesitated. Just for a second.

Of course.

She appeared a few minutes later.

Barefoot. Pajama pants. His old Stanford hoodie hanging slightly off one shoulder like it had always belonged to her.

Her hair was loose, falling around her face. No makeup. No armor.

Just Selene. And somehow that made this harder.

“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately.

No pretense. No delay.

She always saw it.

Avalon gestured toward the laptop.

“Marcus filed two lawsuits,” he said. “Marriage fraud and a Will challenge. Public Monday.”

The words landed.

Hard.

Selene didn’t move for a second.

Then she sank into the chair across from him slowly.

“Marriage fraud?” she repeated.

“He’s arguing we got married for the inheritance. That we never intended a real relationship.”

Her face went pale. “Can he prove that?”

“He doesn’t have to prove it completely, he needs to just create enough doubt.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s—” She stopped. “That’s insane.”

“No,” Avalon said quietly. “It’s strategic.”

She looked up at him sharply.

“So what do we do?”

“We fight,” he said. “Or we settle.”

Her expression changed immediately.

“No.”

“That was fast.”

“We’re not paying him to go away,” she said firmly. “That’s exactly what he wants.”

“It’s also the fastest way to end this.”

“At what cost?”

Avalon didn’t answer right away.

Because the cost wasn’t just money.

It was precedent. Power. Control.

And something else,  Something more personal.

“You need to understand what fighting looks like,” he said finally. “Depositions. Lawyers asking about our relationship. Our private life. Under oath.”

Selene swallowed.

“They’ll question everything?”

“Yes.”

“When we fell in love?”

“Yes.”

“Whether we actually love each other now?”

“Yes.”

The silence that followed was heavier than anything they’d said so far.

“There has to be another way,” she whispered.

“There isn’t.”

She looked down at her hands.

Then back up.

And something in her expression shifted.

Steady.

Certain.

“No,” she said again. “We fight.”

Avalon watched her carefully.

“This will be brutal,” he said.

“I don’t care.”

“They’ll try to break us.”

“They already tried that,” she said. “Ten years ago. And again in that boardroom.” And we, 

We’re still here.”

That landed. Harder than anything else.

Avalon stepped closer.

“I need you to understand,” he said, voice lower now, “this isn’t just about winning. It’s about surviving what it takes to win.”

Selene stood.

Closed the distance between them.

“I left once because I was scared,” she said. “Because someone convinced me that leaving was the only way to protect you.”

Her eyes held his.

“I’m not doing that again.”

Something in his chest tightened.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“I’ve never been more sure.”

She reached up, cupped his face.

“Marcus wants us to crumble,” she said softly. “He wants doubt. Distance. Weakness.”

Her thumb brushed his cheek.

“We don’t give him that.”

Avalon closed his eyes for a brief second.

Then opened them again.

“Okay,” he said.

Breathing slowly.

“We fight.”

Selene nodded.

“Together.”

He pulled her into him then, arms wrapping around her with a kind of urgency he hadn’t let himself show before.

She held on just as tightly.

No hesitation.No distance.

Just presence.

Outside, the city kept moving.

Unaware. Uninterested.

Monday was coming.

The lawsuits would go public.

Everything would change.

But for this moment……

They stood in the quiet.

Holding on.

And for the first time since this drama,

Avalon didn’t feel like he was standing alone in it.