One Night, His Unseen Legacy

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shattered porcelain doll. Charlton, my rock, looked two decades older, his shoulders heavy with the weight of both grief and the

, of Hayden's 'academic emergency'. I had missed saying goodbye, missed his l

the back. Mark Davidson. The man who had attacked me in Gale' s apartment. He w

th false sympathy. His eyes, however, were fixed on me, a predatory glint within

udacity of him showing his fac

narled, stepping forw

.. a small token of my regret." He extended the envelope towards my mother. "For you

e million dollars. The exact amount Charlton had "donated" to Julian's lab

money, Davidson," I spat,

lly with all the stress of your company's... recent difficulties." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You kno

? Charlton's face went white. My m

ut?" Charlton demanded, h

ittle email, and a mighty empire crumbles. And a mighty man... falls." He looked directly at me. "Such a shame.

. He was talking about Jul

ce trembling with suppressed fury. "You sent a stres

ng to a theatrical whisper. "But you see, Chandler, some people are very good at finding 'information.' Especially about things that are meant to b

bout Hayden. He knew about t

more insidious. "He simply saw you as a means to an end. A five-million-dollar m

efiling my father' s memory with his grotesque insinuations. The pain of my father' s death

sperate, uncontrolled surge of fury. My palm connected wit

ure hatred. "You bitch!" he roared, spitting the words at me. "You just sealed your family's fate. And yo

but two of Davidson's men, who had materializ

ur little escapade with his precious Hayden. He knows you drugged him. He knows you forced yourself on hi

ted me. The one night I had stolen, the one moment

n. His eyes, cold and hard, swept over the scene-Davidson, the men, my distraught f

ut a word, Julian walked up to me, his gaze glacial, and backhanded me across the face. The bl

ition. "How dare you defile Kathryne's memory by mentioning her name in the same breath

etrayal than the physical pain. He had ac

ing, is everything alright? I heard a commotion." Her eyes slid over to me, a flash of triump

Hayden, his expression softening instantly. "It's nothing, Hayden. Just s

, broken. "Get out of my father's f

ound. He simply continued to guide Hayden out, leaving me standing th

ned into him, fragile and innocent. My anger, my grief, my humiliation-it all converged into a sing

ace a mixture of shock and fury.

my hand covering the burning imprint on my c

ullied. And the man I had once loved, the man I had once believed I could save, ha

ck of ice. There was no going back