Chapter 201

Chapter 201

Elizabeth's POV

"A place you'd never find." His voice sounded tired, but his tone still carried that infuriating certainty.

"I'm not calling to catch up. I'm calling to tell you something."

"Franklin is going to Windsor Estate this afternoon to see Gray. They're not talking business. They're talking about you."

"Me?"

"At Mr. Gray Windsor's birthday banquet, he's going to announce something in front of everyone." Aiden paused. "He's going to have Franklin name you his goddaughter."

My head rang. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me. Goddaughter. Franklin's goddaughter. Back then, your father took the fall for Franklin. Now Franklin wants to make you his goddaughter and tell the world it's compensation. Privately, you're married to Alexander, and once you become Franklin's goddaughter, Franklin and Alexander become family. And if they're family, how do you sue each other? How do you drag up the past?"

I gripped my phone so hard my fingers started shaking. "Aiden, why are you telling me this?"

The line went quiet for a moment.

"Because I hate Franklin. He used me like a pawn and threw me away when he was done. I can't get into The Windsor Family, but you can't either." He paused. "Elizabeth, I'm not a good man, but on this, we're on the same side."

The call ended, and I sat there on the couch, my thoughts spinning into chaos.

Goddaughter.

Franklin's goddaughter.

He was trying to make me one of his people. Trying to tie me to Alexander so tightly that Alexander would never be able to move against him.

It was brutal.

Would Gray agree to it? He would.

Because in Gray's eyes, this was the perfect ending. Franklin was back. Alexander had stayed. The family would be whole and peaceful, and the past could stay buried.

Who would care whether I wanted it?

Who would care whether Alexander wanted it?

I picked up my phone and called Alexander. "Alexander, come back. I need to talk to you."

He got home fast.

When he pushed the door open, his expression was the same as always, calm and unreadable, but I noticed his tie was pulled tighter than usual and every button at his collar was fastened. He looked like a blade sealed inside its sheath.

He stopped in front of me. "What happened?"

"Aiden called me."

One of his brows shifted slightly. "What did he say?"

"Franklin is going to Windsor Estate this afternoon to see Mr. Gray Windsor. They're talking about the birthday banquet." I drew in a breath. "Gray wants to announce at the banquet that Franklin is taking me as his goddaughter."

Alexander's expression didn't change, but one of his fingers moved.

It was such a small motion that if I hadn't been watching his hand, I would have missed it completely. "What else did he say?"

"He said Franklin is doing this so we all become one family. And once we're family, no one can reopen old accounts." I looked him straight in the eyes. "Alexander, did you know about this?"

He was silent for a long time.

"I suspected," he said at last, his voice low.

"If you suspected, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wasn't sure. Because I didn't want you to worry. Because I thought my grandfather wouldn't go this far."

His voice dropped even lower, as if he were speaking more to himself than to me. "I thought he'd at least care a little..."

He didn't finish.

Care about what? Was that Alexander his grandson? That Alexander's parents were dead? Was there a notebook with everything written in it? Was there a recording of Franklin admitting it himself?

No. He cared about none of it.

He only cared about Franklin. Only about The Windsor Family's reputation. Only about the man who had always come first in his heart.

"Alexander, what are you going to do?"

He looked at me, then reached out and gently ruffled my hair. "I'm going to make sure you don't have to become anyone's goddaughter."

That afternoon, Alexander didn't go to the office.

He stayed in the study and made several phone calls, his voice pitched low enough that I couldn't make out the words. But from the tone of his voice and the measured pauses between sentences, it was obvious the person on the other end wasn't reporting to him.

They were taking instructions.

He was doing something.

Piece by piece, he was moving things he had prepared a long time ago into exactly the right place.

I sat in the living room for a while, then picked up my phone and sent Julia a message.

[Julia, help me find someone.]

[Who?]

[A reporter. Not some tabloid gossip writer. I need someone who's brave enough to publish the truth, skilled enough to write it well, and powerful enough that no one can bury it afterward.]

There was a pause before she replied.

[Elizabeth, what are you planning to do?]

[I'm going to make sure something comes out at the birthday banquet. In front of everyone.]

[Is this about Franklin?]

[Yes.]

Julia went silent again for a few seconds.

[Okay. I'll find someone.]

After I put down my phone, I walked to the window.

The flowers in the garden were in full bloom, the sunlight spilling over them so gently that everything looked unnervingly still, like the last stretch of calm before a storm broke open.

By evening, Alexander came out of the study. He had changed clothes. Dark suit. Dark tie. He looked like a knife that had just been sharpened.

"Going out?" I asked.

"To see someone."

"Where?"

He looked at me and hesitated for a second. "Windsor Estate."

My heart jolted.

"To see Mr. Gray Windsor?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"I'm coming with you."

"Elizabeth."

"That wasn't a suggestion." I cut him off and stepped in front of him, tilting my face up to meet his eyes. "Franklin wants to make me his goddaughter. This is about me too. I'm not staying out of it."

He held my gaze for a long moment. "Fine. But remember what you promised me."

"No matter what they say, I won't speak."

By the time the car turned toward Windsor Estate, night had already fallen.

The sycamore trees lining the road cast long shadows in the headlights, their branches stretching across the pavement like hands reaching for the car.

I sat in the passenger seat, clutching the seat belt so tightly my knuckles had gone white.

"Nervous?" Alexander asked.

"A little."

He reached over and wrapped his hand around mine, where I was gripping the belt. "Don't be. I'm here."

I turned and looked at his profile.

His expression was calm, calm enough that he might have been on his way to an ordinary family dinner.

But his eyes were different.

There was light in them, but not the gentle kind, not the kind meant to soothe. This light was cold and sharp, like steel catching a blade of moonlight.

The car stopped at the foot of the hill.

It was the same uphill road. The same line of sycamore trees. But tonight, Windsor Estate felt completely different.

Tonight it felt alive.

The lanterns at the entrance were lit. Every light in the courtyard was on. Voices drifted from the main hall, and there was more than one person inside.

Alexander took my hand and led me in.

There were three people seated in the main hall.

I tightened my hold on his hand, wanting to pass some of my warmth into his skin, wanting him to know without words that I was standing beside him, that I was on his side.

Alexander squeezed my hand back and led me forward with long, steady strides.