Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Lucas stared at Lena, his voice slow and heavy: "You've really grown some nerve, haven't you."

Lena looked up. "Grandfather, I don't know what you mean."

"Don't know?" Lucas's cane struck the floor with a dull thud. "Last night, something major went down at the Davis family's door. Crow died right outside. The whole south side was in chaos. The Black Tiger Society got wiped out. Even the police kept their heads down. And you're telling me you don't know what I mean?"

Lena's chest tightened.

She'd expected last night to stir things up for the Davis family, but she hadn't expected Lucas to lay it all out so plainly.

"I don't know why Crow died." She bit her lip, but kept her voice steady. "And I don't know who pushed things that far last night."

"You don't know?" Lucas looked at her, barely holding back his anger. "Then tell me — in six years, who would go this far for you? Who could dig up that much on that many people in a single night? And who could make every arrogant person in the south side suddenly too afraid to say a word out of line?"

Lena didn't answer right away.

She knew exactly who the answer pointed to. But she also knew that name could not come from her. Not because she was afraid — but because she understood better than anyone that the moment she said Ethan's name out loud, the Davis family would smell blood and lunge, turning every calculation toward him.

Luca finally spoke, his voice low: "Lena, your grandfather isn't trying to hurt you. He just wants to know if you've been secretly involved with someone you shouldn't have been."

Lena shook her head. "I haven't."

"Haven't?" Cassia couldn't hold back. "Then why you? Why did things blow up like that last night while everyone else stayed out of it? Don't tell me those people just had nothing better to do than stick their necks out for you."

A flicker of cold passed through Lena's eyes.

"Maybe," she said, meeting their gazes, "it's because someone reached out and touched me first. If they hadn't made a move on me, none of this would have gotten this far."

The room went quiet.

Lucas's expression shifted slightly. He understood exactly what she meant. Lena wasn't explaining herself — she was reminding them. The first move hadn't been hers, and it hadn't been whoever was backing her. Someone inside the Davis family had made the wrong move first, and that was what had forced the whole situation to that point.

But he didn't want to follow that thread.

Because if he did, the Davis family became the one truly at fault.

"Enough." Lucas cut her off, his voice flat. "Whatever happened first last night, here's where we are. Lena, I'm only asking you one thing: who is the person behind you?"

Lena was quiet for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know."

"Still playing dumb?"

"I'm not playing dumb." She looked at him. "I genuinely don't know."

"Fine." Lucas let out a humorless laugh, as if the whole thing was too absurd. "Let me ask it differently. Who around you has been acting strange lately? Who might not be as simple as they look?"

And in that moment, Lena understood.

They'd finally set their sights on Ethan.

Luca looked up at her too, waiting for her to say the name.

Cassia instinctively leaned forward half a step, something complicated moving behind her eyes. She was afraid Ethan might be someone truly untouchable — but she also desperately wanted to hear Lena say "it's not him," so she could go on thinking of that man as useless.

Lena slowly stood.

"There is someone new in my life recently." Her voice was quiet but clear. "But he's not who you think he is."

"Not who we think?" Lucas said with a cold laugh. "You haven't even said the name."

"His name is Ethan."

The name had barely landed before Cassia blurted out: "Impossible."

Luca's expression shifted too, his brow pulling tight.

Lucas just stared at her. "You're defending him that hard?"

"I'm not defending him." Lena said. "I'm stating facts. I know what kind of person he is better than any of you. Whatever happened last night, whether he was involved or not, I won't let you pin everything on him."

Lucas's expression finally went completely cold.

"You're still covering for him?"

"I told you, I'm not covering for anyone."

---

The slap came without warning.

It wasn't light. Lena's face snapped to the side, a sharp ringing filled her ears, and for a moment her vision went white.

Cassia startled. Luca frowned slightly. But no one stepped forward to stop it.

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Lucas gripped his cane, his chest heaving. "This family has been on edge since last night. No one's had a moment's peace. And here you are, still speaking up for that man."

Lena turned her face back slowly. Her eyes were a little red, but she didn't cry.

"Then what am I to you?" she asked suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper — but every word cut through. "Am I a daughter of the Davis family, or am I a bargaining chip you can trade away whenever it suits you?"

The room fell still, as if the air itself had stopped moving.

"For six years, you've been ashamed of me. I was an embarrassment. An eyesore. Someone who dragged the family's name through the mud." She held Lucas's gaze, each word deliberate. "But now that someone stronger has shown up, your first thought isn't what almost happened to me last night. It's not whether someone had me cornered with nowhere to go. It's whether that person can be of use to the Davis family."

Luca's face went rigid. He turned away, unable to look at her.

Cassia's nails pressed into her own palm without thinking. She opened her mouth but said nothing.

Because Lena had cut too straight and too deep, and every word had landed exactly where it hurt.

Lucas was quiet for a moment before speaking, his voice cold: "If you understand that, then you should understand — the family is not a place for you to act on your feelings."

"So what does that mean?" Lena asked, her tone flat, almost detached.

"It means, starting today, you stay away from Ethan." Lucas said. "If he really has that kind of power, the Davis family will reach out to him directly. We don't need you in the middle, playing these pointless games."

Something clenched hard in Lena's chest, like a fist closing around her heart.

She finally understood what Lucas had actually wanted from this conversation. Not to reprimand her. Not out of concern. Not to make sense of what happened last night. He'd wanted to use this moment to cut her off from Ethan — and then let the Davis family reach in and take what they wanted.

The realization was so exhausting, and so absurd, she almost laughed.

"No." she said. Final.

Lucas's brow twitched. "What did you say?"

"I said no." Lena looked at him, her voice steadier than before, and colder. "Whatever kind of person you think Ethan is, he's not someone the Davis family gets to touch or scheme against. And right now, I'm the one standing next to him."

The words hit Lucas like a slap. His expression turned ugly. He stared at her, something close to fire in his eyes. "You really think because someone stood up for you last night, you can talk to me like this?"

"I'm not riding anyone's coattails." Lena said, calm and steady. "I've just finally figured something out."

"What?"

"That in your eyes, I've never been my own person." Her voice dropped, carrying years of exhaustion and something close to relief. "I'm a connection to be traded. Something you pull back when I'm useful and push away when I'm not."

Cassia opened her mouth — to push back, or maybe to soften things — but nothing came out. She just lowered her head.