Chapter 7 - The Uninvited Guest
The wind howled against the heavy windowpanes of the coastal house as I crossed the room to stand beside Dorian.
"If it wasn't your mother or Meridian, who has this landline number?" I demanded, my patience wearing thin. "Dorian, talk to me."
"Elena," he said, his voice dropping into a flat, dangerous register. "She slipped away from the penthouse while the board was distracted by our network blackout. She's parked down the cliff road at the old lighthouse keeper's cottage."
I crossed my arms over my chest, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "And you believe her? After everything? She helped your mother orchestrate the fake medical prescription, Dorian! She was part of the plot to use our child as corporate leverage."
"I don't trust her," Dorian corrected, grabbing his heavy wool coat from the back of the chair and shrugging it on. "But she said something on the phone that changes the timeline of everything my mother told us. She claimed Eleanor didn't just partner with Meridian Capital—she was blackmailed into it."
I stared at him, trying to weigh the manipulation against the truth. "Blackmailed by whom?"
"That's what we're going to find out," Dorian said, reaching for his car keys on the counter. "You're staying here with Noah."
"Like hell I am," I snapped, grabbing my own jacket. "You think I flew halfway across the coast to sit by a fireplace while you interview the woman who tried to steal my baby? I am coming with you."
Dorian opened his mouth to argue, saw the absolute, unyielding fire in my eyes, and closed it again with a sharp sigh. "Fine. But you stay behind me."
Ten minutes later, we were picking our way down the treacherous, unpaved cliff path toward the abandoned lighthouse cottage. The salt spray stung our faces, and the darkness of the Pacific was absolute save for the pale beam of Noah's flashlight cutting through the mist.
When we reached the rotting wooden porch of the cottage, the door creaked open before we even knocked.
Elena stood in the dim doorway. She didn't look like the composed, untouchable corporate operative she had been in the penthouse. Her hair was windblown, her mascara slightly smeared, and her hands were trembling as she clutched a worn manila folder to her chest.
"You came," she whispered, stepping back to let us in.
"Talk fast, Elena," Dorian said, stepping into the damp, salt-scented room while keeping me firmly behind his shoulder. "You have about two minutes before I let Noah escort you off this property."
Elena swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously toward me before landing back on Dorian. "I didn't want to be part of Eleanor's endgame, Dorian. Not like this. When she brought Adrian into the scheme, she told us it was just a matter of securing the voting block. She swore nobody would get hurt."
"You forged medical records and injected synthetic hormones into my body," I said, my voice cutting through her excuses like ice. "People did get hurt, Elena. My life, my body, and my child were treated like pawns."
"I know, and I am sorry—" Elena choked out, holding out the manila folder. "—which is why I copied these before Eleanor wiped the main server in the penthouse."
Dorian took the folder, flipping it open under the weak beam of a battery-powered lantern on the table. Inside were faded financial statements, medical clearances, and a series of explosive legal agreements dating back thirty years—long before Dorian was even running the company.
"What am I looking at?" Dorian asked, his eyes scanning the pages.
"Your father's death wasn't an accident," Elena said quietly.
The air in the room instantly vanished. I looked from Elena to Dorian, whose entire body went completely rigid.
"My father died of cardiac arrest in his office," Dorian said, each word forced out through clenched teeth. "The autopsy was certified by three independent doctors."
"Certified by doctors chosen and paid for by Eleanor," Elena corrected, her voice shaking. "Because your father discovered that Eleanor was quietly liquidating the company's core assets to fund a private shadow portfolio managed by Meridian Capital. He threatened to divorce her and cut her out of the trust entirely. The night before he died, he filed a legal amendment."
Elena pointed a trembling finger down at the bottom page of the folder.
"She didn't just blackmail the board, Dorian. She blackmailed your father's doctors. And when Adrian found out about it three months ago, he tried to use that exact secret to force Eleanor into giving him a seat on the board. That's why she let him take the fall today."
Dorian stared down at the paper, his face completely devoid of color. The untouchable billionaire, who had spent his entire life believing his father's legacy was built on strength and honor, was looking at the architectural blueprint of a family built entirely on murder and betrayal.
"And the baby?" I whispered, my hand instinctively resting over my stomach as a cold wave of horror washed over me. "Why did she target my pregnancy?"
Elena looked down at the floor, unable to meet my eyes. "Because according to your grandfather's original trust, if the primary heir is born while the CEO is legally separated or incapacitated, the trust automatically dissolves into a neutral executor committee—controlled entirely by Eleanor."
Silence descended on the room, broken only by the violent crash of the waves against the rocks below.
Then, my personal phone—which Dorian had pocketed earlier—began to ring in his coat.
Dorian pulled it out. The screen flashed with a single, glowing notification from an unknown satellite relay.
[System Alert]: PRIMARY SERVER GRID REBOOTED. HOSTILE OVERRIDE INITIATED FROM CROSS HOLDINGS PENTHOUSE.
Dorian looked up from the screen, his dark eyes meeting mine with a terrifying, undeniable truth.
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"They didn't wait for morning," Dorian said quietly. "Mother just seized the company."
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