Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Scarlett's words fell, and the hallway went dead silent.

Brandon froze where he stood.

The truth about the Luminous City car accident hit him like a sledgehammer, shattering everything he'd believed for the past three years.

He stared at Scarlett's cold face, his throat working hard, but he couldn't find a single word to argue back.

Scarlett didn't give him time to process it. She stepped back and moved to shut the door. "Don't come looking for me again, Brandon. I'm done."

Brandon caught the door with his hand, the impact leaving an angry red welt across his skin.

He didn't let go. His eyes locked onto Scarlett.

"I won't give up." Brandon's voice was rough, stubborn in a way that left no room for argument.

He knew there was no point appealing to her feelings right now, so he went straight for leverage. "David's restaurant has been on the radar of a local gang lately. The tax bureau is also looking into his books."

Scarlett's eyes went cold. "Did you set that up?"

"No." Brandon held her gaze. "But he doesn't have the right connections. He can't protect that business in Imperial City on his own. Come home with me, and the Robinson family will take care of it. Nobody in Imperial City will ever bother David again."

Scarlett pressed her lips together. She knew exactly how things worked underground in Imperial City.

David was the only family she had left in this world. She couldn't gamble with his safety.

A long silence passed.

"Fine." Scarlett let go of the door handle, her eyes empty of any warmth. "I'll go back with you."

After they returned to Long Island Estate, Brandon changed completely.

He put away the control and the cruelty he'd always carried, and started carefully, almost cautiously, trying to hold their broken marriage together.

Every morning, the black Maybach would be waiting at the door right on time, and he would personally drive Scarlett to the medical center in Phoenix City.

Every evening, no matter how late the Robinson Group meetings ran, he would be standing outside the lab building to pick her up.

He stopped interfering in Scarlett's social life, and even quietly arranged a large research grant for Ethan's lab.

What surprised Scarlett even more was that he stopped pressuring her to fulfill her duties as his wife.

At night, back in the master bedroom, he would simply lie beside her in silence, keeping his distance, even his touch restrained.

On the weekend, Brandon sat in the plain private dining room of David's restaurant, wearing a perfectly tailored bespoke suit.

He showed no sign of discomfort, and even poured David a cup of tea himself.

David was so caught off guard he kept waving his hands in protest.

While Brandon stepped away to use the restroom, David pulled Scarlett into the back kitchen and lowered his voice. "Lettie, I think Mr. Robinson is serious this time. A man who runs the Robinson Group, coming here to sit with me over coffee — that's not nothing. If you two can talk things through, maybe just try to make it work."

Scarlett looked at the gray hairs at David's temples and didn't argue. She just gave a quiet nod. "I know."

She turned away, and whatever warmth had been in her eyes was gone.

Make it work?

The child who had dissolved into nothing, and Elizabeth still walking free — they were two poisoned thorns lodged deep in her chest, and they weren't going anywhere.

Brandon's softness now was nothing more than guilt, guilt she'd triggered by exposing the truth about the accident.

Once that guilt wore off, he would go back to being the tyrant who controlled everything. The damage between them had gone too deep. There was no pulling it out.

On Wednesday morning, Scarlett was sorting through data in the lab when her phone buzzed.

Alex's name lit up the screen.

Brandon had blocked the number, but Scarlett had added it back the very next day.

"Scarlett, sorry to bother you." Alex's voice carried a note of helplessness. "I've got an urgent acquisition deal I can't step away from. Stella has a routine checkup at a private hospital in Phoenix City today. Could you take her?"

"Sure, no problem." Scarlett agreed without hesitation.

She had a real soft spot for Stella. That little girl had been one of the few bright spots during the dark stretch of her life in Shadow City.

That evening, the Maybach pulled up outside the lab.

Scarlett opened the door and slid into the back seat, speaking directly to the driver. "The Upper East Side. Alex's apartment."

Beside her, Brandon's hand stopped mid-page.

He turned his head, his expression darkening instantly. "What for?"

"Alex has something to deal with. I'm taking Stella to her checkup." Scarlett's tone was calm, like she was mentioning something that had nothing to do with him.

"He has plenty of assistants and nannies. Why does it have to be you?" Brandon clenched his back teeth, jealousy flaring hot in his chest.

He knew exactly what Alex was doing. This was just an excuse to use his daughter to get closer to Scarlett. "You're not going."

Scarlett looked at him coolly. "Alex helped me when I was in Shadow City, and I genuinely like Stella. If you don't want to come, drop me off at the next corner and I'll get a cab."

"Scarlett!" Brandon raised his voice. "Are you seriously picking a fight with me over another man?"

"You're the one being unreasonable." Scarlett didn't back down, her eyes clear and cold.

The air in the car dropped to freezing.

Brandon stared at the hard set of Scarlett's profile, his fist tightening and releasing.

He knew that if he threw her out of the car right now, the fragile calm they'd managed to build over the past few days would shatter completely.

He pulled in a slow breath and forced the anger down. "Upper East Side," he said to the driver, his voice flat.

Half an hour later, the Maybach stopped outside Alex's upscale apartment building.

Scarlett pushed open the door. Brandon got out, too.

There was no way he was letting Scarlett go in there alone.

They had just reached the lobby when the elevator doors opened.

Alex walked out, holding Stella's hand.

"Scarlett!" Stella was wearing a pink princess dress. The moment she spotted Scarlett, she let go of Alex's hand and flew across the lobby like a happy little bird, throwing herself into Scarlett's arms.

Scarlett caught her easily, her face breaking into a soft, warm smile. "Stella, you've gotten taller."

Stella wrapped her arms around Scarlett's neck and planted a big kiss on her cheek.

Then the little girl blinked up at her with wide eyes and said exactly what came to mind. "Scarlett, you're so nice to me. I wish you could be my mommy. Then I could see you every day!"

The words landed, and the air in the lobby went completely still.

Brandon's face turned thunderous.

He stepped forward and pulled Scarlett against his side, his arm around her waist, staking his claim as he looked down at Stella. "She's Uncle Brandon's wife," he said, his voice hard and cold. "She can't be your mommy."

Stella flinched at his expression and shrank back behind Alex.

Alex put a protective hand on his daughter's shoulder and looked up, his calm eyes meeting Brandon's murderous ones.

"Kids say what they feel, Mr. Robinson. No need to take it out on a child." Alex's mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Though it does say something — Scarlett is easy to love. Compared to someone who keeps a person around by force without knowing how to treat her, Stella has much better judgment."

Something dangerous flashed in Brandon's eyes.

He moved forward, radiating the kind of pressure that made the air feel heavy. "Watch what your daughter says, Alex. I hear it again, and I'll make sure that acquisition deal of yours falls apart completely."

"Feel free to try, Mr. Robinson." Alex didn't move, his gaze just as sharp.

The two men faced each other, the tension between them thick enough to cut.

"Enough." Scarlett's voice cut through it, cold and flat.

She pulled free of Brandon's arm, took Stella's hand, and didn't spare Brandon a glance. "Come on, Stella. Let's go."

Brandon watched Scarlett walk toward the car with Stella, his jaw locked tight. He shot Alex one last hard look, then swallowed it down — Scarlett was right there — and turned to follow.

He was still holding the whole thing together, barely, by the thinnest thread of appearances.