Chapter 121

VANESSA'S POVThe moment we arrived back at the Lancaster family mansion, Nicholas practically dragged me through the entrance, past the startled staff, and straight to the east wing.To our suite.He didn't say a word the entire way, his hand still gripping mine like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.The door to our suite slammed shut behind us with a finality that made my heart race.Nicholas finally released my hand, stalking across the room to the window, his shoulders tense, and his breathing still rough.I stood there by the door, suddenly feeling the full weight of everything that had just happened crash down on me.The funeral.Patricia in the grave.Isabella on the ground.Sebastian bleeding.The fight."Oh God," I whispered, my hands starting to shake. "Oh God, Nicholas, what did I do?""Vanessa—""I ruined it." My voice cracked. "Grandma Mae's funeral. I completely ruined it. She deserved better than that. She deserved a dignified, peaceful ceremony, and instead I—I

Chapter 122

VANESSA'S POVNicholas's mouth was on mine, and for a moment I let myself get lost in it.In him.In the way his lips moved against mine, the way his tongue swept into my mouth with a confidence that made my toes curl.But then reality came crashing back."Wait," I gasped, turning my head to break the kiss. "Nicholas, wait. We can't.""We should," he murmured against my jaw, his lips trailing down to my neck in a way that made me almost speechless."We really shouldn't, Nicholas." I tried to push against his chest, but my hands seemed to have forgotten their purpose, instead they were spreading themselves across his hard muscle. "I don't think—I don't think this is right.""It feels pretty right to me, Vanessa...""Nicholas, please—"He kissed me again, harder this time, swallowing whatever protest I was about to make.And God help me, I kissed him back.My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer even as my mind screamed at me to stop.Then suddenly the world tilted.Nicholas

Chapter 123

VANESSA'S POV"Maya is here!" Elijah said again, his voice full of innocent excitement. "She came over to play, and we've been playing games together!"The air left my lungs in a rush.Maya.Maya Lancaster.The same little girl who had lied about my son.Who had told everyone—teachers, parents, and the school administration—that Elijah had pushed, hurt and assaulted her.A lie that had gotten CPS called to my house.A lie that had resulted in my son being ripped from my arms, screaming and crying for me while I collapsed on the floor, helpless to stop them.A lie orchestrated by Isabella to punish me for existing."Elijah," I managed to call out over the phone, my voice shaking. "Baby, what is Maya doing there? I thought—I thought I told you to stay away from her.""I know, Mommy." His voice got quieter, more uncertain. "But she came over with her nanny, and Sarah said it was okay, and... and Maya also said she was sorry for what she did.""She said she was sorry?" I repeated, my hear

Chapter 124

SEBASTIAN'S POVThe drive back to the mansion was suffocating.Isabella wouldn't stop talking—her voice shrill with outrage, recounting every humiliating detail of what had happened at the funeral as if I hadn't been there, as if I hadn't lived through every mortifying second.My mother sat in the back seat in complete silence, staring out the window with an expression I'd never seen on her face before.Shock.Humiliation.Defeat.Patricia Lancaster—the woman who'd controlled this family with an iron fist for decades—had been pushed into a grave by Vanessa and nearly buried alive.And the entire thing had been caught on camera.Multiple cameras.By the time we pulled through the gates, my phone had already exploded with notifications.News alerts. Social media tags. Text messages from relatives and business associates.Everyone had seen it.I waited until we were inside, until my mother had disappeared up the stairs to her room without a word, before I pulled out my phone and looked

Chapter 125

SEBASTIAN'S POVThere was a soft knock on the door about twenty minutes after Isabella left."Come in," I called out, still standing by the window, still replaying the humiliation of the day over and over in my mind.The door opened and Maria—one of the household nurses we kept on as a maid—entered carrying a medical kit."Mr. Lancaster," she called out professionally, her eyes taking in the damage to my face without comment. "Your mother asked me to come tend to your injuries."Of course she did.My mother had asked. Not Isabella.My wife hadn't even bothered to check if I needed medical attention. She'd been too busy ranting about Vanessa and Nicholas to care that I was bleeding."Thank you, Maria," I said, moving to sit in one of the leather chairs by the fireplace.She worked in efficient silence, cleaning the blood from my face with gentle swabs, applying antiseptic that stung like hell but I refused to flinch.The cut above my eyebrow would probably scar.The split in my lip wa

Chapter 126

VANESSA'S POVTwo days after I'd pushed Patricia Lancaster into a grave and watched Nicholas beat his own brother bloody at a funeral, I was still trying to process what had happened.The videos were everywhere.Every time I opened my phone—which I'd stopped doing after the first hundred notifications—there were more clips, more comments, and more people dissecting every moment of that disastrous day.Some people called me iconic.Others called me psychotic.I didn't care either way.What I cared about was the fact that I'd ruined Grandma Mae's funeral. The one person in the Lancaster family who'd ever shown me genuine kindness, and I'd turned her final goodbye into a viral spectacle.The guilt was eating me alive.Almost as much as the other thing that was consuming my thoughts.Nicholas.For two days, I'd been trying to avoid him.Which was nearly impossible when we lived in the same suite, ate meals together, and—God help me—slept in the same bed.We hadn't touched since that almos