Real hope. Because we were almost there.
“And the video that proves it,” I said, lifting my mask.
GRAY
Story revealed herself, lifting the white feathered mask from her eyes. Her big, walnut eyes found mine.
The world faded away.
Safe.
She was fucking safe.
Neruda, she mouthed.
Maybe this was what all these months of silent torture had been working toward.
This moment.
So I could look my wife in the eyes and know she loved me, even as I had to restrain every throbbing muscle from running to her.
Because we were almost there.
“Charlotte du Lac will get everything,” I said, tearing my eyes from Story. “The entire company.”
Beryl laughed. “You mean I get everything? I’ve already absorbed Du Lac Enterprises.”
Lottie’s soft voice. “That’s too bad. Grayson had a postnup drawn up.”
“You taught me well, Grandpa. All those lessons in hostile takeovers I was forced to take instead of doing shit like, I don’t know, climbing trees.”
You could see the color slowly drain from his face as he realized what was happening.
“Your whole plan was to screw each other over—using us as puppets. Using my body. Using his. And now it has fucked you.” Lottie said it without emotion.
“Charlotte.” Mrs. du Lac gasped.
“No one really thought much of me,” she whispered. “But I’m giving it back. Well, to whatever company Grayson forms.”
“I will lead this generation into a new era, as CEO of Crowne Enterprises, and Lottie will lead Du Lac Enterprises. And I’ll leave you with what you left me. Strings. Iron ones.”
Grandfather laughed. “You’ll need more than one mistress to form a company.”
“I’ll have a wife, two sisters, a mother, and three half-siblings.”
His eyes grew. “You would give it to the bastards?”
“I’ll give it to my brothers and sister. I’ll do what you couldn’t do—I’ll acknowledge our family and be stronger because of it.”
As if on cue, my half-siblings slammed into my side. “He means us,” Jo said, pointing to her chest, then she spun to me. “Destroying-Draconian-castes-and-talking-to-your-brother-and-sister-for-the-first-time-in-your-life five.”
They all lifted their hands for a high five.
I exhaled.
They were still fucking high.
Still, I pressed my hand to theirs. In that moment, something happened. Like the rotted ghost vines wrapping around Crowne Hall suddenly fell to the ground.