Chapter 9 - Damian's Last Warning|
Damian arrived at the Ashcroft townhouse shortly after midnight.
He came alone, without his usual security detail, and stood outside the gate until Vivien agreed to see him.
She met him in the front hall.
He looked exhausted. His tie was loose, and the confidence that had carried him through decades of negotiations had been replaced by something uncertain.
"You're making this worse than it needs to be," he said.
Vivien almost smiled.
"You took the necklace from my throat in front of every major family in America. What would you consider an appropriate response?"
"I was trying to modernize the organization."
"You could have started by asking your wife what she thought."
His face tightened.
"I made a mistake."
"Which one?"
He stared at her.
"Vivien."
"No. I want you to name it. Was it the affair? The public humiliation? The attempt to transfer the trust? Or was it the years you spent assuming that because I didn't challenge you, I had nothing to say?"
Damian looked down.
"I thought you would understand."
"Understand what?"
"That the organization was changing. That I needed someone who could help me move forward."
"Seline?"
"She understands the world we're entering."
Vivien studied him.
"And what world do you think that is, Damian? One where people respect you because you can give away a necklace?"
He flinched.
For a moment, she saw the young man she had married. The man who once listened to her ideas and admitted when he was wrong. The man who had promised to build a future with her rather than a monument to himself.
Then she remembered the ballroom.
"Why did you really give it to her?"
Damian hesitated.
"Thomas said the council would accept the transfer if it happened publicly. He told me the old covenant was symbolic and that a visible succession would force everyone to adapt."
"So you believed him."
"I had no reason to doubt him."
"You had twenty-two years of reasons to trust me."
He said nothing.
Vivien stepped toward the door.
"Our marriage is over."
Damian's head snapped up.
"You can't mean that."
"I do."
"You would destroy everything we built?"
"No, Damian. I am trying to prevent you from destroying everything you inherited."
He reached for her hand, then stopped when she moved away.
"What do you want from me?"
"Nothing."
The answer seemed to hurt him more than anger would have.
Vivien opened the door.
Damian remained on the threshold.
"If you remove me from power, the other families will tear the organization apart."
"Then perhaps you should have thought about that before you taught them your word could be bought."
He left without another argument.
When the door closed, Gabriel appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Do you believe him?"
"About what?"
"Thomas. Did he really convince Damian that the transfer was legitimate?"
Vivien considered the question.
"Damian wants to believe that his mistakes are someone else's fault. Thomas understands that weakness."
She looked at the journal.
"And Seline understands Damian."
Gabriel nodded.
"Which makes all three of them dangerous."
Vivien's phone rang.
An unfamiliar woman spoke without greeting.
"My name is Helena Vale. I believe you have something that belongs to me."
Vivien gripped the phone.
"What do you want?"
"To correct a mistake your mother made."
"What mistake?"
May you like
Helena's voice softened.
"Allowing you to believe you were the rightful Donna."
