Chapter 1: A House Divided

Robert sat alone with his thoughts.

Elena's destiny was the kind that made a man's heart beat a little harder each day. The question he kept returning to, the one he never fully answered, was simple: could she survive it?

Her grandmother had carried the same destiny. Her mother after her. Both were gone now, with nothing to show for it. The pattern was there, and Robert had lived long enough to know that patterns like that didn't break on their own.

He thought about the world as it was now, how far the distance had grown between the bottom and the top, how hard it had become for someone without a name to get close to the people who mattered. The only thing he could do for Elena was push her up. Use every resource the family had to make sure she stood somewhere worth standing. If he didn't, she would end up the same way as the women before her.

Her right to the CEO position was already under threat, his past mistakes had seen to that. And telling her the truth of it was its own problem. He knew her so well that, for the sake of peace, she would have gladly turned down the position. But there was no other way.

Trouble or no trouble, she needed to take that seat, whether she learned the truth or not. That was a separate question. But the seat was not negotiable.

Robert asked his eldest son, William — Elena’s father — to tell her about the decision the family had already made.

It was evening when Elena came home.

William was already seated, waiting patiently. He had been waiting for some time. When Elena walked in, he gently asked her to sit down and then told her everything.

Elena stared at him. "Dad. Why not Harlan?"

"Harlan is not fit for that seat. You know him better than anyone."

"I understand that. But you know how dangerous he gets when things don't go his way."

"Is that your fear?" William said. "Leave Harlan to me. You're his elder sister — act like it."

She let out a short, tired breath. "That's not the point. I have my own life. My own plans. I never asked for this."

"Stop, Elena." His voice was firm but not unkind. "Nobody is stopping you from your dream. You're looking for a reason to avoid Harlan's trouble — I understand that. But let me tell you something." He leaned forward.

If you truly want to catch the attention of the man you’ve been dreaming about, it can’t happen like this. You cannot be unknown, No! Elena, not the way you are right now. You can’t remain ordinary and expect to reach the mighty. You need a big name to catch big eyes, before you can stand in front of someone who carries more. The mighty don't notice the small.”

Elena said nothing.

Her father continued, “They say the War God is mighty and powerful in a way most people will never understand. No one dares speak when he says no. No one even coughs or breathes wrong in his presence. It’s said he fought bravely in the last war. — In all of this, here is the part you need to hear — he needs you just as much as you need him.”

That is the only way your destiny ends differently from your mother's. From your grandmother's." He paused. "Take the position. Climb from there. The higher you go, the closer you get to his world. He is the only one capable of helping you carry what you were born carrying. I don't want to lose you."

Elena's jaw tightened. His words had found something real inside her, but she pushed back against them. "Fine. If that's how it is — I'm not going to throw myself at anyone just because I need help."

"Why would you say it like that?" William's voice sharpened. "This pride of yours is out of hand. Have you even thought about what it means,” he added gently. What does it actually bring, if you stand beside a man like that? The protection. The cover. Not just for you, for this entire family. And eventually even becoming his wife."

"Dad." She lifted her chin. "Men who think they're too big for everyone else are not worth my attention. And besides, the only reason I'd ever want to meet him has nothing to do with marriage."

"Close your mouth." His voice went flat. "I'm speaking. Who is the father in this house?" He pointed at her. "If your refusal of every man has nothing to do with him, then let me be very clear, I don't want to see any man near you. Not one. In the name of love or anything else. Do you understand me?"

"Dad, stop. You're changing the subject. We were talking about Harlan just now."

"I thought we settled this. Leave Harlan out of it and take the position. You'll understand when the time comes."

"But this is serious and you know it, Dad. At least let the board vote. That's the fair way, that's how it should have been handled. Then Harlan would know it was their decision, not Grandpa's."

"The board," William repeated it slowly. He looked at her. "Do you know what Harlan has already done? He's been bribing board members. Turning them to his side, like he saw it coming. Your grandfather had to move first."

Elena felt something cold move through her. "He actually did that?"

“Yes, he did,” William said. He stood up and looked at her for a long, quiet moment, still seeing the resistance in her eyes.

"You. Or no one. Period, Elena. Even if the heavens fall."

The words landed as something dropped from a great height. That was not a man open to persuasion. That was a man who had already decided with her grandfather and was waiting for her to accept it.

She had never once thought about that position. Not for a single day of her life. And now they were going to force it on her.

Are they really going to do this?

"Dad—" The rest of her words died in her throat as the front door flew open.

Harlan stumbled in.

Speaking of the devil.

The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke reached them before he did. He moved like a man whose legs had made a separate agreement with the floor, swaying as he crossed the entrance.

"What meeting is this?" He grinned at nothing in particular. "Am I missing something?"

Elena and William went completely still.

William's eyes hardened. "Where have you been? It's just past seven and you're already—"

"Dad." Elena stepped forward.

Harlan waved her away with a loose, easy smile. "Let him talk. I'm used to it."

"You think this is something to smile about?" William's voice rose. "Coming into my house like this again—"

"Dad, listen." Harlan's voice climbed too, the slur in it making everything sound looser than he probably meant. "Why are you always complaining? I was at a birthday party when you called about the file. You said, bring it today. So I left. I came here." He spread his arms wide and swayed a little from side to side, holding the file in his right hand. "And it's still not enough. If I don't bring it — trouble. If I say I'm busy — trouble. I bring it — still trouble. So tell me. How am I supposed to make you happy?"

He put the file under his arm and pressed a hand flat against his own chest.

"I am your only son. Don't forget that. You should treat me like a king every time I walk through that door."

"Only son." William's voice dropped. "What good is a son who acts like this?"

"Dad!" Elena pushed between them. "Can you not see—"

“He knows exactly what he’s doing,” William said, speaking over her head. “So don’t say it’s because he was drunk.”

Harlan staggered to the edge of the table. He reached under his arm, pulled out the brown folder, and dropped it with a heavy, deliberate slap.

"The file." His voice had gone cold and clean. "I'm leaving."

He turned and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him.

William stared at the folder. Then he looked at Elena, and the tiredness in his face was different now. Older.

"Give it to Harlan, my half-brother." He repeated her words back slowly. "Is that the Harlan you mean? Because it cannot be him, Elena."

Elena's chest ached. She had nothing to say.

"Better start preparing yourself. Willing or by force." He paused. "Your grandfather is informing the family first, before it goes to the board." He turned and walked down the hallway.

Elena stood frozen in the middle of the room. Any more words would only make things worse. She sank slowly into the couch.

Weeks passed.

She couldn't stop turning over her father's words. She had made herself a promise: she would not accept it. Not willingly. Not even by force. Not like this.

At first, she thought the problem was simple. Harlan's temper. His recklessness. The bribes. Her own dream of the war god is still sitting quietly at the back of everything. Things that could be explained, maybe even fixed.

But three days before the family meeting, her father sat her down again and told her the truth.

Something she had never imagined.

Not once in her entire life.

So this is what it has always been about. Now she understood.

Three days had passed, and the night she had been dreading had finally arrived.

Robert had called everyone to dinner.

Mark, her uncle. Clara, her aunt. Margaret, her grandmother. Veronica, her stepmother. And Harlan. Only Sophia, her half-sister was not around, she was in school and only came home to visit during the holidays. The long table was laid with roast meat, vegetables, and glasses of red wine — everything that looked like a celebration from the outside. Everyone had eaten. Now they waited.

Robert cleared his throat. All eyes moved to him.

"I called you all here because I have something important to say. William and I have co-owned and operated the Carter Group together for years. That chapter ends tonight."

Harlan set down his wine glass.

The smile was still on his face, but something in it had shifted.

Everyone at the table knew what was coming and why. Everyone except Harlan and Veronica. Harlan leaned forward slightly, waiting for the thing he had wanted for years. Veronica didn't know yet — but the moment she heard it, she would understand exactly why Elena was chosen.

Robert's voice was calm and clear.

"I am naming Elena as the new CEO of Carter Group. I will make the official announcement tomorrow at the board meeting."

One long second passed.

Then Harlan's hand came down on the table.

The crack of it made everyone flinch. A fork hit the floor. Wine tipped and spread across the white cloth. Harlan was already on his feet, his chair thrown back behind him. His chest rose and fell in quick, hard pulls. Every trace of the easy, charming man who had walked in smiling was gone.

"What did you just say?"

His voice started low. Then it didn't.

"I will not accept this!"

"Rubbish!"

"That is not possible!"

And then his hand came down again. Everything on the table shook. "I am the only son in this house. The only son. And you're sitting here, in front of everyone, telling me you chose her?"

"Son," Robert said quietly. "Elena is the eldest."

"And what does that mean?" Harlan cut in. He let out a short, hard sound. "She's older. Fine. But is she a man? Can anyone here tell me, why have a son at all if the son means nothing?"

He stepped forward. "And why did you decide this alone? Are there no board members in the Carter Group? Why is nobody voting?"

Robert didn't move. He leaned back slightly, fingers resting on the table. He said nothing.

"Or maybe I already know." Harlan's voice dropped lower. Quieter. Somehow that made it worse. "Maybe it's because my mother wasn't the first wife. Maybe that's what this has always been about, and none of you ever wanted to say it out loud."

The room went dead.

No one spoke.

Harlan looked at William. Then Elena. Then back at Robert. His jaw was locked. His eyes were bright with anger, and something sitting just behind it that was close to tears.

Still, nobody answered.

"Nobody is going to answer me. Is that so?" His voice was heavy with bitterness. "Alright."

He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair.

"I won't forget this."

He stormed toward the door, his footsteps loud and deliberate.

"I won't forget this!" The words came back through the walls one last time, sharp and final as he walked towards the front door. Everyone still seated at that table knew, without saying it, that he meant every word.

Veronica, his mother, sat very still.

The plan had failed. She was the one who put the idea in Harlan's head — bribe the board, get ahead of it, make sure the numbers would never go against you. She had been certain it would work.

She had never imagined it would turn out to be like this.