جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 70

*MAXWELL*I read the alert four times.Lakebridge Wolves, a hockey club bleeding money for half a decade, acquired in a private deal, and the buyer is Ariana Grace Chase.I set my phone face down on the desk, then pick it up and read it a fifth time.She bought a hockey team.Not a property, not shares in something quiet and untraceable - a hockey team. In Lakebridge. With her full name attached to it, announced to every sports outlet in the region before I'd even gotten through my afternoon coffee.I stand at the window and look out over the city.I don't know what I was feeling. I turn it over and try to name it, but can't. It isn't anger, or it isn't only anger. It isn't respect, though something in that direction is in there too, buried under everything else. Whatever it is, it sits in my chest and refuses to behave like one thing.My assistant knocks twice and comes in. "Mr. Cox. The board meeting…""Push it twenty minutes.""Yes, sir."The door closes.I pull up the Wolves' publ

*OMNISCIENT POV*Maxwell sits in the dark study, still fully dressed, his tie loosened hours ago and forgotten. The desk lamp is on, and the glass of whiskey on the armrest has gone warm. Selene's behavior plays on a loop in his head.For a second, his mind considers the impossible thought: the Syndicate.But they wouldn't meet with her without letting him know. Plus, they have no reason to meet with her.He pushes the thought out.Maybe it's how she's choosing to deal with the Stephanie situation. But the Selene he knows wouldn't just roll over and lie still. She would have gotten his parents involved, then replaced Stephanie with a new male assistant just to prove a point.Something else is going on.His phone buzzes on the desk.His brother's name lights up the screen.He lets it ring twice before he picks up."Max.""You home yet?" Maxwell asks."Yeah. Couple of hours ago."Maxwell's grip tightens around the phone. "How was the press conference?""Went well.""Why didn't you tell

*MAXWELL*Victor continues. "There were things that required careful handling. Things that still require it. I did what I believed was correct given everything I knew at the time.""You believed it was correct to let me hand my pregnant wife divorce papers and not say a damn word.""I believed," he said, "that you were not in a position to handle it correctly. And I was right."The silence between us stretched.I thought about the hospital. The night her father was shot. Driving with both hands tight on the wheel, and Ariana in the passenger seat staring out the window. The way her hand kept going to her stomach. I'd noticed it. I thought she was sick, and I'd told her not to throw up in my car.I thought about the last morning in the house, and the way she'd moved. The careful way.I had seen it.I had seen all of it and understood none of it.A sound came out of me, it isn’t a sound I can put words to, it was something between a breath and a groan. I didn't mean to make it. It just

ARIANAThe Belmont Room is at the end of a quiet hallway. I push the door open, he follows me in and the door shuts behind us.For a second, nobody speaks.Two years. It shows on him. He’s darker under the eyes and something tighter in his jaw. He looks like a man who hasn't slept in months and has been telling himself he's fine."You look..." he starts.I wait but he doesn't finish what he was saying."Say what you came to say."His jaw tightens. "I want to see them. The twins.""Why?""Because I'm their father."I hold his gaze. "Are you?"“You can’t keep them away from me. I’ll file for paternity.”"File for one."His mouth opens, then closes. "I want… I just…I need to know.""Before or after the paternity test you want?"He flinches. "That's not what I meant. I want to meet them. See them. Whether they're…""Whether they're yours?" I finish for him. "That's the only reason you came.""That's not…""Then what are you doing here?"He exhales sharply, and runs a hand through his hair

ARIANAEthan makes a fuss about being put in his seat and immediately reaches for Durrell. "Dada."Maxwell's fork clatters against his plate.I don't look at him, but Selene does and her smile tightens.Victor clears his throat. "Thank you all for coming. I know this is... unusual.""Unusual," Molly repeats, her voice sharp. "That's one word for it."Victor ignores her. "I asked you here because there are things that need to be addressed. As a family.""Family," Selene says softly, like she's testing the word.Molly's eyes cut to her, then back to Victor. "What things?"Before anyone can answer, Victor raises his hand."We will discuss everything that needs to be discussed," he says calmly. "After we eat. I won't have this conversation on empty stomachs."Molly stares at him. "Victor…""After dinner," he repeats. And no one argues.The food arrives, and then we eat in silence.The clinking of forks against plates. The soft sounds of the twins chewing. Mrs. Patricia quietly wiping sauc