Chapter 110 Country Side
Caleb
I walked into the garden of our countryside house and found my father under the soft yellow lights, doing push-ups in his tracksuit. The night air was cool, quiet, the kind that made everything feel suspended in time. His movements were steady, controlled, like a man who refused to let age or exile weaken him.
“Hey, man,” he said when he noticed me. He didn’t stop immediately, just glanced up. “I’m glad you came.”
He finished the set before standing up. Heat radiated off his skin, sweat trailing down his temples and soaking into his shirt. For a man forced into early retirement and disgrace, he looked annoyingly good.
“How are you doing, Dad?” I asked.
“Well,” he replied with a crooked smile, stretching his shoulders, “as you can see, I’m keeping fit. Trying not to turn into some angry, bitter old man with a pot belly, drowning in misery after a divorce and forced retirement.”
He reached for a bottle of water resting on a bench nearby, unscrewed it, and gulped it down like he’d been waiting for it. I watched him closely. He looked better than the last time I visited. His arms were thicker, muscles tighter, biceps visibly forming beneath his sleeves. It was impressive, considering his age and everything he’d lost.
“You look good,” I admitted.
“Better than rotting behind bars,” he said lightly, though his eyes darkened for a moment. “How are your brothers?” He paused. “They still don’t want to see me?”
I scoffed. “Everyone has been busy.”
He smiled faintly. “But here you are.” He shook his head. “Ungrateful boys,” he muttered, sitting on the bench. “So… it’s TitanCrest now?”
I sat beside him. “We’re trying to build something legal,” I said. “A real legacy. Something our children, your grandchildren, can be proud of without having to look over their shoulders.”
“Hm,” he hummed, unimpressed. “That woman is destroying everything, and I’m disappointed you sat back and watched her do it.”
“Maybe you should be grateful to her,” I replied calmly. “She’s the reason you’re not rotting in prison. After Aiden called off the engagement with Lena, her father reopened some of your cases. Sarah cleaned it all up.”
His jaw tightened. “She had a man thrown from the seventh floor of his office. His brain spilled onto the street below. That’s not something to be proud of. Sarah is a monster, and you’re encouraging her.”
“My loyalty is to the family,” I said simply.
He laughed, loud and humorless. “You don’t know what loyalty is.” He leaned closer. “You’re more like me than you care to admit.” He clapped a firm hand on my shoulder. “You want power. People look at you and see a clean-cut businessman in tailored suits, but I see you. You’re just a man desperate for control.”
I hated how accurate he was.
I did want power. Not in a reckless way, not like him. I wanted it calculated, earned, and absolute. I wasn’t desperate, not yet. I could take it when I was ready. And when I did, anyone who stood in my way would be removed without hesitation.
I stood up. “I came to check on you,” I said. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“Bring my grandson next time,” he said.
I started walking away when his voice stopped me.
“Oh, son,” he called. “I hear your little plaything is back. Making her mark in the company.”
My body stiffened.
“Don’t call her that,” I said without turning around. “You know her name.”
“Do I?” he asked mockingly. “I thought she changed her identity. Brave little girl. A maid who brought my great sons to their knees. Turning strong men into shadows of themselves.” He chuckled. “I commend her. She’s good at her games.”
I inhaled deeply, forcing myself not to react. “Good night, Dad.”
I didn’t wait for his response.
As I drove away from the countryside house, the road stretched long and dark ahead of me, my thoughts anything but quiet. One name occupied my mind, digging in deep and refusing to let go. Elsie.
Seven years, and she still had this kind of effect on me. Seven years, and my control unraveled the moment she stepped back into my world.
I thought about her standing in that boardroom, confident, composed, daring anyone to challenge her. I thought about the way she looked at me like she wasn’t afraid anymore, like she’d rewritten the rules without asking my permission.
That wouldn’t last.
The idea of bringing her to her knees consumed me. Of stripping away this new version she’d built and reminding her who she used to be with me. Who she still was beneath the power suits and sharp tongue.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel.
I wanted to own her again. To mark her. To hear her voice break, to see that fire turn into submission. To feel her melt the way she used to, the way she pretended she never would.
My cock stirred painfully in my pants, hardening without permission, twitching back to life after seven long years of being buried beneath control and discipline. I hated it. Hated how easily she awakened something I’d kept dead for so long.
She had too much power over me.
And power, unchecked, was dangerous.
As the lights of the city came into view, one truth settled heavily in my chest.
Elsie wasn’t just a weakness.
She was a war.
And if I didn’t break her first, she was going to ruin me completely.