Chapter 4 - Echoes of the Past
Christmas Day passed in a blur of laughter, unwrapped toys delivered by my emergency concierge service, and the faint, sweet smell of pine and baking cookies. For the first time in five years, the quiet halls of Prescott Manor felt alive. Watching Violet laugh as I gave her piggyback rides and seeing Luke attempt to teach me how to build a Lego tower filled a void in my heart I hadn't even realized existed.
But as night fell and the children were tucked into bed, the reality of our situation returned with icy clarity.
Cassandra and I sat by the roaring fireplace in the library, two glasses of wine resting untouched on the mahogany table between us. In her lap lay the faded blue envelope.
"I need to read them," I said quietly, looking at the bundle of unsent letters.
Cassandra handed them to me without a word. Her hands were trembling slightly.
I opened the first letter, dated three months after our breakup.
'Dear Damon,' it read. 'The doctor told me today that there are two heartbeats. Twins. I cried in the parking lot for an hour because the first person I wanted to call was you. But your legal assistant told me you were unavailable. I know you're building your dream, but Damon... our dream is growing right here.'
I closed my eyes, a tear trailing down my cheek. I opened the second letter, written during her seventh month.
'I had a scare tonight. Contractions started early. Sitting in this emergency room alone, I realized how far apart our worlds have drifted. You are on the cover of Forbes, and I am choosing between buying cribs or paying rent next month. I don't want your money, Damon. I just wanted my best friend.'
"I didn't know," I choked out, the paper trembling in my hands. "Cassandra, swear to me you know I would have given up everything. I would have walked away from Prescott Technologies that very night."
"I believe you now," she said softly, reaching out to touch my arm. "When I saw what you did at the airport—firing Julian, risking the deal for those babies—I realized the man I loved wasn't dead. He was just buried under years of ambition."
"Julian will pay for this," I said, my voice hardening. "My legal team is already filing a criminal complaint for mail fraud, corporate sabotage, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He isolated me from you so he could control the company."
Cassandra looked at me, concern etching her brow. "Julian is dangerous, Damon. He knows everything about your operations. When you threw him out, he looked at you with pure hatred."
"Let him try," I said coldly. "He took three years of my children's lives. There is nothing on this earth that will protect him from what I'm going to do to his career."
"Damon, please," Cassandra urged, resting her hand over mine. "Don't let vengeance consume you again. That’s what drove us apart in the first place. Focus on us. Focus on Luke and Violet."
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed on the table. It was an encrypted text from Marcus, my head of security.
May you like
[22:15 PM] Marcus: Boss, we have a problem. Julian just met with Richard Calder at his private residence. Calder's legal team is preparing an injunction to block the Merritt acquisition tomorrow morning. They're going after your personal board control.
I stared at the screen, my jaw tightening. The battle for my family had just begun, and my enemies were already aligning against me.
