Chapter 18 Unanticipated Plan

Chapter 18 Unanticipated Plan
Damien’s POV

The slam of the door still echoes in my head. I shouldn’t have done that, not with her friend there.

I drop my phone on the bed and check the message again, the words that turned my blood cold the moment they arrived.

“Damien, I know you’re still mad at me but you need to believe me. Mother woke up really sick today, she’s currently on bed rest and unconscious.” — Nicholas

I rake my hand through my hair and sit on the edge of the bed. I can’t stay here. Not when Mom is unwell.

I have to go home.

But I can’t bring Seraphina back with me. Taking her to New York right now would be like walking her into a lion’s den. She will wait at Steven’s, I will drop her with him and come back for her later.

I start packing when she slips gently into the room. She looks small, scared.

“Sir, is… everything okay?” she asks politely.

“It’s Mom,” I say. “She’s sick.”

Her face goes pale, like someone sucked the color out of her. For a second she looks helpless.

“We have to leave now,” I tell her. “But you will go to Steven’s house. You won’t come back to New York with me. Wait there.”

“Steven?”

“Yes. Any problem?”

“No sir”

She doesn’t look happy, but my words are final. She gently goes to fetch her things.

Sylvia and her bodyguard are already gone… Lance, she called him. Who needs a bodyguard in Madrid? I don’t have time to think about it.

The SUV to Steven’s is waiting.

When we drive there, he’s shocked when I tell him I’m dropping Seraphina at his place. He doesn't know how Michael will feel.

Michael isn’t back home from the gym, and there isn’t time to wait. I hand Seraphina one of my cards for emergencies and tell Steven to look after her.

I head out to the SUV. Seraphina, sad, watches as we drive away.

The jet is parked and Ron, the pilot, briefs me on airport bills: parking, refuel, safety checks. I sign, then we taxi and climb into the sky.

Mid-flight I call Mom again. No answer. Probably still unconscious. The worry feels like an iron weight in my gut.

I glance at the clouds and think of Seraphina. She’s safe with Steven, but Michael… I don’t know him. He’s private, guarded. I hope he keeps Seraphina safe.

“Sir, would you like some wine?” Nadia asks, interrupting my thoughts.

“Sure,” I say.

She hands me a glass. I drink it down, then pour more. The burn of liquor does nothing to the knot of worry. Not about Mom. Not about Seraphina.

We land safely.

A chopper is already waiting, and the pilot flies me home. The second it touches down I sprint toward the mansion, calling for Mom.

“Mom! Mom!”

I fling her door open and stop dead.

Mom is sitting up, smiling. Victoria, Nicholas and Dante stand nearby. Victoria looks smug… too smug. My mind tries to recalibrate.

Where are the drips, the monitors? Isn't mom supposed to be on bed rest, or has she just gotten better? Though it doesn't look like she has been sick in anyway.

“Nicholas!” I snap. “What’s going on?”

He won’t meet my eyes. His gaze drops and some guilty color passes over his face, but my gut already knows.

Victoria’s smile fades when Mom cuts to the point, “Where is Seraphina?”

Victoria storms out toward the hall. “Where is the fcking btch?” she spits as she looks around.

My blood boils. “So this is all a plan, a set-up to lure us back?” I hiss toward Nicholas, glaring at him.

Mom tilts her head. “It was my idea,” she says, like she’s proud. “So don’t look at him like that.”

“Fck!” I roar, and the word rips out of me. Everyone freezes except Diaz, who stands like a statue behind her.

“You, Mom… I hate you,” I blurt, heat flaring in my chest.

“Watch your tongue, Damien. I am your mother,” she snaps. “What I’m doing is for your own good.”

“For my good?” I laugh, a raw edge to it. “You are forcing me to marry someone I don’t love, and you call that ‘my good’?”

“That’s enough, Damien. Now where is she… the maid?” Mom demands.

Before I can utter a word, Victoria suddenly comes back in, panting. “Mom, he’s alone!” she gasps.

Mom’s face tightens. “What do you mean he’s alone?”

“The pilot says he came back alone,” Victoria says, smug. “He didn’t bring her.”

Mom whips toward me, eyes hard. “Where is she, Damien? Where is she?”

“I thought you told me not to bring her back to this mansion,” I say, trying to remind her of her own order.

She breathes, then like a snake reveals the final twist. “Nicholas told me everything,” she says slowly, savoring the words. The room seems to tilt.

“Everything?” I repeat, afraid of the answer.

Mom leans forward. “First you saw her in Monte Azul, then you chased her to La Terra. From there to La Estancia, where you bought her. Isn’t that… romantic?”

My world narrows. I look at Nicholas. He avoids my gaze, shame written allover his face. He promised he wouldn’t tell. Why would he spill everything?

I feel sick. The humiliation, the betrayal.

Mom’s voice drops, cold as a blade. “Now tell me, where is she? Before I find out myself. And trust me, you won’t like what I do next.”

The threat hangs heavy. I can feel the room closing in.

I swallow, clenching my fists. In that moment I understand exactly what
they plan… to use Seraphina as leverage, to force me into a choice I refuse to make.

And I know I have to act.