Chapter 111 Born To Be Sacrificed
Briar's POV
Marcus's entire body went rigid at Leo's question, his face draining of color as he stared at his son standing in the doorway with tears streaming down his cheeks. The commanding presence he'd maintained throughout our confrontation crumbled instantly, replaced by something that looked almost like shame.
"Leo," he started, his voice losing all its edge, "go back to your room, son. This is adult business."
But Leo didn't move. His small hands clenched into fists at his sides, and his voice came out stronger despite the tears. "You always say lying is wrong. You punished me last month when I lied about breaking Mom's vase. Did you lie? Did you steal from Sister?"
Diane moved first, rushing toward Leo with her arms outstretched. "Baby, you don't understand what's happening here. Come with Mommy and we'll—"
Leo jerked away from her touch so violently she stumbled. The boy stood trembling, his small frame rigid with an emotion too big for his eight-year-old body to contain. I felt something twist painfully in my chest because I recognized that feeling. I'd stood in this same house at his age, watching adults lie and pretend everything was fine when the world was falling apart.
I looked at my little brother's tear-stained face and felt the weight of what I was about to destroy. Part of me wanted to take it all back, but I'd come too far to stop now.
"Answer him," I said quietly, my eyes fixed on Marcus. "Your son asked you a direct question."
Marcus opened his mouth but nothing came out. He looked between me and Leo, something like panic in his eyes, and I realized with cold satisfaction that he couldn't do it—couldn't look his beloved son in the face and admit what he'd done to me. The silence stretched until Leo's face crumpled and he let out a sob that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest.
"You did. You really did steal from her."
I pulled two folders from my bag and slapped them onto the wine-stained table. "Sign these. The first transfers my forty percent back to me. The second establishes a trust fund giving Leo ten percent of my shares—locked away until he turns twenty-five where neither of you can touch it. Sign them both, or I cut off every penny I've been sending. No more tuition, no more mortgage payments, no more subsidizing the lifestyle you've built on my stolen inheritance."
Diane's face contorted with fury. "You promised! When you agreed to marry Julian, you promised you'd take care of us!"
"That was before I knew you'd helped forge my grandfather's will," I said flatly.
"You manipulative little bitch," Diane hissed. "You planned this whole thing, didn't you? Came here on Leo's birthday knowing we couldn't refuse without looking like monsters in front of our son."
I smiled without any warmth. "I learned from the best."
Marcus grabbed the pen and signed both documents with violent strokes, his jaw tight with barely contained fury. "Take your shares. Take everything." He shoved the papers toward me. "But don't expect me to thank you for destroying this family."
I was reaching for the documents when Diane suddenly lunged across the table, her manicured nails raking across my forearm hard enough to draw blood before she slapped me with her full strength. My head snapped to the side and I tasted copper in my mouth, felt Selene surge forward with a snarl that wanted to rip out Diane's throat.
My wolf took over before I could stop her. I caught Diane's wrist mid-swing and twisted hard, shoving her backward. She stumbled and fell, her hip catching the table edge before she crumpled onto the wine-soaked carpet.
"I wasn't going to hurt you," I said, my voice layered with Selene's growl, my eyes burning gold. "I was going to take what's mine and leave. But you just couldn't help yourself."
Behind me I heard Leo crying, great hiccupping sobs that cut through my rage. I forced myself to breathe, to push Selene back down. When I looked over my shoulder, Marcus had Leo in his arms and was already halfway up the stairs, the boy's face buried against his father's shoulder. He didn't even glance back at where his wife lay bleeding on the floor. He just kept climbing with his precious son, leaving Diane and me behind.
That casual dismissal hurt more than any threat he'd made. In that moment I understood with perfect clarity what I'd always suspected: I was expendable. He couldn't bear to hear one word of accusation from Leo, but he'd faced my fury without flinching.
Diane dragged herself up using the table edge, her designer dress ruined, her carefully styled hair falling around her face. She looked at me with pure hatred in her eyes, and when she spoke her voice was thick with something that sounded almost like triumph.
"You want to know the truth? Fine." Her lip was still bleeding but she didn't seem to notice. "Julian wanted you from the beginning. Before the debt, before the Montgomery setup."
My hands clenched into fists. "Shut up."
"When Montgomery Medical engineered that trap for Marcus, Julian was the one who offered a way out. All Marcus had to do was promise you to him." Diane's laugh was bitter and sharp. "Your freedom for the family's survival. Simple transaction."
"I said shut up," I growled, and my eyes flashed gold.
But Diane was past caring about consequences. "Your grandfather knew. That's why he had that stroke. Giving you to Julian Sterling was the price for keeping everything else intact. You were born to be sacrificed. You deserved everything he did to you."
"What debt?" I heard myself ask, and my voice sounded hollow. "What sins?"
Diane's smile was cruel. "Ask Julian. He seems to know all about it."
I grabbed her jaw hard enough to make her gasp, my fingers digging into her cheeks as I forced her to meet my eyes. I felt my nails lengthening into claws, felt my teeth sharpen, and Diane's expression shifted into pure terror as she finally understood what I was.
I was going to kill her. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to finish this, to make her stop talking forever. But then small hands grabbed my leg and Leo's voice cut through the red haze completely.
"Please don't hurt Mommy! Please, Sister, please!"
I looked down at my little brother's tear-streaked face, at his small hands clutching my jeans, and felt the fight drain out of me all at once. He was crying so hard he could barely breathe, his words coming out in broken hiccups. "I know they did bad things. I know it's my fault because they wanted money for me. But please don't hurt them. Hit me instead. Punish me instead. It's all my fault. Everything is my fault."
I released Diane and she slumped against the table, coughing. I stood there for a long moment with Leo clinging to my leg, feeling the full weight of his guilt and his confused loyalty pressing down on me. Then I slowly pushed Selene back down, let my eyes fade to normal, and crouched to his level.
"Go to your mother," I said quietly. "She needs you right now."
Leo released me and threw himself at Diane, wrapping both arms around her. She pulled him close and buried her face in his hair, and I turned away before I could watch the scene for another second.
I walked out of the house with steady steps, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking. When I passed the garden entrance I saw the old brass bell hanging from the doorframe, the one my grandfather had given me for my seventh birthday. He'd told me it was a Vance family tradition, that the sound would bring good luck and keep me safe.
I unhooked it, the metal cold against my palm. The nameplate on the bottom was nearly worn smooth, but I could still make out the engraving: [Briar].
I leaned against the stone doorframe and let myself cry without making a sound, clutching the bell tight enough to leave marks on my palm. Then I heard Leo's voice behind me calling my name, and I made myself keep walking.
I got into the car and collapsed against the seat. "Drive," I told the chauffeur, and my voice came out hoarse.
As we pulled away I looked back through the rear window and saw Leo burst out the front door, running after us in his bare feet. He fell on the gravel and scrambled back up without stopping, his small figure getting smaller as we accelerated down the drive.
"Sister! I'm sorry! Sister, please!"
I pressed my hand over my eyes and felt tears slide through my fingers. "Don't stop," I told the driver. "Just keep going."
Leo's voice faded as we rounded the corner and the gate closed behind us. I sat in the dark car and cried silently, my fingers wrapped around the old bell.
When I could finally breathe again I pulled out my phone. Diane's words kept circling in my mind.
I opened my messages and typed before I could second-guess myself: [I need James to get me Julian's number. I deleted both of theirs.]