Chapter 101 Seeing Red

Chapter 101 Seeing Red
The others backed the hell off, and I stormed up the grand staircase until I reached the study.
Not bothering to knock, I kicked the doors open, barrelling in. 
Elliott Sinclair sat there like a king on a throne, calm and composed in an infuriating manner, like he hadn't heard the chaos just outside his door.
He didn't rise from his chair or even fret. The bastard simply sipped from a glass of whiskey and looked at me over the rim. 

We stared at each other for a long, spite-filled moment, the air burning with tension.
Then, finally, I spoke, my teeth gritting so hard against each other, I swore they drew blood from my gums. 
"Why?"
Elliot scoffed, setting his glass down on the desk, a frown of irritation marring his features. "What do you mean, 'why?'"
He shifted his chair backwards, but didn't rise. "Because I begged you, Zephyr."
His voice was calm, but the bitterness beneath it was palpable. "I came to you as a man. As someone who once protected you when you were a child. I asked for mercy. For dignity. For my company… my life's work. And you spat in my face."

My fists tightened. "You wanted me to overlook the fact that your daughter tried to murder my wife."
"I didn't ask you to forgive her," he snapped, slowly rising to his feet. "I asked you to separate her actions from the business. You refused." He gesticulated furiously. 
I let out a short, bitter laugh. "Actions have consequences, Elliott. You taught me that. Or did you forget?"
"I also taught you loyalty."
His voice hardened. "But clearly that lesson didn't stick."

Elliott stepped away from his desk. "You want to know why Lyla?" he asked, stopping in front of me. "Because hurting you directly would've been too easy. But to take something precious from you would sting."
He paused for a moment. 
"You love her. You married her for love, yes, but also for legacy. For heirs. For the future of the Wrath line."
He gave a mocking shrug. "So I made sure you'd have none of it."
Elliott's blue eyes held not even an ounce of regret. "Your Luna would remain beautiful. Strong. But never be able to carry your child. And that pain… would eat you alive."

I'd never been filled with so much rage in my entire life.
"You planned this after you sat in front of me, asking for mercy. You looked me in the fucking eye that day." I hissed. 
Elliott stared at me. "I did what was necessary to protect my family's name."
"Don't you dare talk about family to me."
He shook his head slowly, almost pityingly. "Zephyrus, you were never going to budge. You took everything from Christina. From me. You destroyed our business. Our legacy. Our honor."

I sneered. "Your honor? Don't make me laugh. Your daughter tried to kill my wife."
"And she paid for it," Elliott snapped. "You ruined her. You ruined her reputation. You ruined her future. You made sure she'd never hold her head high in society again… in any pack again. You humiliated her and me. So yes… I decided if my line would die, then so would yours."
A thick silence descended. 
"This isn't even revenge, Zephyr," Elliott spoke again, after a while. "Call it being even." 
"You will not live to see tomorrow," I swore. 
Suddenly, the doors burst open behind me.

"Father!"
Christina's frantic voice cut through the quiet.
I didn't even turn to look at her; my focus was locked on the evil bastard in front of me.
"Stay out of this, Christie," Elliott ordered, not looking at her.
But she ignored him, rushing around me to get between us. When her eyes, filled with fear, finally met mine, they softened a bit. 
I might've imagined it, but I thought I could sense regret in them. 

"Father, I got a call from Frank." She turned to him. "What happened? Why's Zephyr so mad at you?" 
She paused for a moment, her voice lowering to a whisper. "What did you do?"
He glared at her. "I told you never to come here again."
Christina stiffened for a second before forcing herself to face me. "Z-Zephyr, please. Please… whatever he's done…"

"Like father, like daughter," I cut in brusquely. My eyes moved past her to the man behind. "That attitude of yours? You must've inherited it straight from him."
Christina blinked, her eyes darting between us in confusion. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Your father had Lyla cursed so she wouldn't be able to have children." I spat. "And for that, I'm going to kill him."
Christina fully turned to her father. "Dad? Is this true?"

He let out a dry, humorless laugh, crossing his arms with mocking exaggeration. "Oh dear, what's that I see? Pain? Disbelief?" He feigned a gasp. "Don't tell me you're actually disappointed. I might start thinking you weren't the genius behind that little assassination attempt on the same woman."
Christina's voice dropped. "I-I'm a changed person now," she said quietly. "I regret what I did. I… I've been to therapy."
I stood there watching the two of them, realizing this was turning into a fucked up family soap opera and I wasn't here for that.

I clapped once to arrest their attention. "Enough! I didn't come here to watch daddy-daughter therapy hour," I interrupted harshly.
Both their eyes turned to me.
Christina swallowed hard, blinking back tears. "I-I plan on reaching out to Lyla. I know it's been over a year, and it doesn't fix anything, but I'm sorry and…"
"I don't care about your apology. I'm here for your father." I cut in, pointing a finger at Elliott. "You owe me some answers. And you're going to give them to me."

Elliott's mouth pulled into a cruel smile. "You really think I still have it?"
He turned his back on us, strolling casually to the table to refill his bourbon. Glass in hand, he lowered himself into the chair.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed you uncovered all this," Eliott drawled, rolling his glass in his hand. "To be honest, I never took you for a spiritual person. Didn't expect you to buy into all that mumbo-jumbo of shamans and curses. But I guess desperate times do call for desperate measures.
He chuckled. "You think I kept the doll?"

"Where is it?" I growled through gritted teeth.
Eliott lifted the glass to his lips. "Oh, Zephyrus," he sighed, then took a slow, loud sip. "I hate to break your heart. Truly."
Setting the glass down, he leaned back into his chair.
"But it's gone. Destroyed. Your precious wife will never bear you a child. She's going to be barren for life."

The moment those words left his mouth, everything else disappeared. All I could hear was a high-pitched ringing in my ears, like everything had faded away.
A red haze covered my vision, and I barely noticed what I was doing. One second, I was before the table, and the next, I was flinging it aside like it was nothing, lunging at him.

I grabbed his collar and yanked him hard, throwing him against the wall.
The hit was so violent that the wall gave way, and we both crashed into the next room, dust flying everywhere.
Somewhere in the background, I heard Christina screaming, but it sounded muffled, as if it were underwater. But I didn't care. 
I saw nothing but red.