Chapter 5
Cass
As Rhea sputtered, Cass met her mother’s glare with equal fire.
After not even ten minutes in her parents’ presence, it was clear she wasn’t welcome.
An old rage seeded with hurt came roaring back with nauseating familiarity.
Family duty? What a crock. They have no idea what family really means, but damn, can they ride the duty train into hell.
“Your grandmother is dead,” her mother all but hissed.
And whose fault is that? Cass fought not to let the vicious, illogical accusation tear free and instead ground out, “I’m very aware of that, which is why I am here.”
“Truly, Cassandra? You’ve never been one to care about presenting a united family front.”
She jerked under her mother’s ugly insinuation and vaguely felt Grayson’s body go rock solid. She tightened her grip on his shirt as unexpected pain sliced through her. She should have known this would happen. Her mother was nothing if not predictable. But why does it have to still hurt?
And just like always, she proved she was her mother’s daughter by striking back. “I’m not here for you or Pythia.” It was her mother’s turn to flinch, but Cass was too pissed to care. “I’ve come because it’s about Yaya, who’s the only one around here who knew what it meant to be family.”
Her mother gasped. It was echoed by Sofia, a result Cass had not intended.
Her father did what he always did—he stayed out of it—but he did lay a hand on Rhea’s arm.
Cass caught the silent sign of support, and resentment flared.
Without fail, the two always stood as one, regardless of who they faced down.
Which meant nothing had changed. She wondered why she kept expecting it to.
“Okay, I think maybe we all need to take a breath here.” The man at Sofia’s side stepped between Cass and her mother, his hands up, palms out as he tried to take things down a notch. “This is a difficult time for everybody.”
A thin layer of condescension rode under his words and slithered over Cass’s skin.
With some serious effort, she bit back the two-word response that would have sent her mother into an apoplectic fit.
It didn’t help when Sofia stepped up behind him, her hands twisting together, her face a shade beyond pale, her shoulders hunched.
Seeing her sister like that was another cut, just as painful as the first. Sofia’s response was the same every time Cass and her mother got into it—a visual reminder of the collateral damage their clashes inflicted on her.
Coming here was a mistake.
“Russ is right,” Swanson said. “Perhaps we should take just a minute. Maybe sit down with some coffee.”
“No.” Cass held her mother’s icy glare and her father’s equally disapproving one for a long moment before turning to face Swanson.
Her lips felt rigid as she forced them into a polite curve as she reached for, and found, a calmer tone.
“No, thank you. We’re going to go.” There was nothing to be gained by sticking around.
Swanson inclined his head. “Of course.”
Following her lead, Grayson turned her toward the door so they could leave, but Swanson’s brief touch on her arm brought them to a stop. His face held sympathy and concern. “You have the information on the service?”
Doing her best to ignore her silently seething parents, Cass managed a nod.
“Good,” he continued. “Perhaps you’ll have more time after the reading.”
Gods, she didn’t want to come back. Hell, she didn’t want to be here at all. She managed another, stiffer nod and headed toward the door.
“Cassandra, the reading of the will will be for family only,” her mother bit out.
With freedom just a few feet away, Cass stopped, forcing Grayson to do the same.
She caught Swanson’s mouth tightening into disapproving lines at her mother’s all-too-obvious power play.
Turning just her head and matching her mother’s frigid tone, she informed her, “As Grayson stated earlier, he is family. My family.”
Russ shot her mother a frown, but then Sofia reached out and touched his hand, gaining his attention.
When he turned to Sofia, she shook her head.
Russ’s expression darkened, but he simply pulled her into his side.
Sofia was tense for a second and then relaxed as if startled by his touch, but he wasn’t watching her.
He was watching Cass and her parents with an unsettling intensity.
Whoever Russ was, he meant something to her sister. What he wasn’t was an Ambrose.
Cass looked at Swanson and asked quietly, “Will he be there?”
The arrogant amusement that flashed over Russ’s face set her teeth on edge.
“Yes,” Sofia answered before the lawyer could. She glanced at their parents as her tongue touched her top lip, a nervous tell, before she turned back to Cass. “Russ is my fiancé.”
The unexpected pronouncement left Cass stunned. Fortunately, Grayson stepped in with his congratulations. Only when she caught Sofia watching her did Cass get her shit together and gave her sister a hug. “Congratulations, baby girl.”
Sofia’s arms tightened. “Thanks.”
When they separated, Cass said, “I’d love to hear about how you two met. Can we do lunch or something?”
Sofia looked at Russ, who inclined his head, then she turned back to Cass. “Perhaps brunch tomorrow. I can text you an address.”
“I’d love that.”
Sofia’s small smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Me too.”
Caught in the emotional storm raging in her mind, Cass barely paid attention to where Grayson was going.
Not that she didn’t care, but grappling with the toxic brew left in her family’s damaged wake took more effort than she remembered.
Only when a screaming fire truck sped through an intersection and yanked her out of a spiral of emotional dysfunction did she realize they were stopped at a light.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I’m taking you to my place.”
“You don’t have—”
“Stop, Cass. You haven’t slept, and you’re running on fumes. You’ve got enough to deal with without adding the headache of finding a place to stay.” Grayson’s tone left no room for argument.
Not that she had it in her to fight. Hell, exhaustion was a relentless bitch, and at the moment, she was grateful to have one less thing to deal with. “Thanks?”
He shot her an amused look before the light turned green. “Are you asking me something?”
His levity snuck through the emotional fog. “No. Seriously, thank you. I just don’t want to put you out or anything.”
“You aren’t,” he promised. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes before we get to my place, so why don’t you call Isa or Des and let them know where you’re going to be?”
She pulled Isa’s number up and called her, doing her best to keep the details about what had gone down with her mother as vague as possible, but Isa was familiar with Cass’s family dynamics and accurately filled in the blanks. After that, she didn’t hesitate to share a few pithy comments.
“Well, I’m glad Grayson is there, then,” Isa said.
“Yeah, me too,” Cass said softly. It was a little disconcerting how much she liked having him at her side. “Oh, by the way, Sofia’s engaged.”
Isa’s derisive snort filled her ear. “Let me guess—he works with your parents.”
Cass hesitated. “Probably.”
“What?”
Cass frowned, confused. “What, what?”
“That tone,” Isa said. “It’s the one you get when you’re trying not to judge. Need I remind you who you’re talking to? I want you to judge, so judge away.”
She sighed. “It’s not like I have much to go on, Iz. We exchanged maybe five sentences.”
“Well, obviously it was enough, so spill.”
Highly aware Grayson was listening, Cass debated stopping the conversation, but because it was Isa, she shared the nebulous impressions swirling in her head.
“All right. Well, he acts as if he’s the prodigal son my parents never had.
In fact, he met with Swanson without the ’rents or Sofia.
Fiancé or not, why would he be meeting with the family lawyer? ”
“Good question,” Isa said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer that would fit.”
“Neither do I.” But I need to find out because it is beyond odd. “And you know how my mother is—she’d never let her venom spew in front of outsiders, especially if they’re part of the business.”
Because a division in the family was bad for business. That fact that her mother hadn’t hesitated to let Cass have it with Grayson, Swanson, and Russ standing witness boggled Cass’s mind.
“Yeah, she’s rabid about maintaining the professional image that hides the bitch underneath,” Isa agreed. “If she let fly with the fiancé around, she not only likes him—she trusts him too.”
“Maybe, but something tells me that’s going to come back and bite her in the ass.”
“Let it,” Isa said with vicious satisfaction.
“If it was just Mother, I would, but there’s Sofia to consider,” Cass said. Those little flinches when Russ had touched her baby sister had worked their way under Cass’s skin, setting off alarm bells all over the place. “I swear she’s scared of him.”
There was a tense pause from Isa. “Do you think he’s hurting her?” she asked cautiously.
Doing her best to set aside her emotions, Cass replayed the events from earlier. “Physically, no, but something’s not right there.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, skewing her glasses. “I asked her to brunch tomorrow.”
“And…?” Isa asked.
“And…” Cass opened her gritty eyes and adjusted her glasses. “She said she’d send me an address. I’m sure he’ll be with her.”
“No doubt. Will Grayson be with you?”
The last was asked with concern, not the teasing Cass would normally expect. Still, she resolutely kept her eyes off the man in question. “I haven’t asked.”
“Ask,” Isa commanded. “Have him keep the fiancé busy while you drag Sofia to the bathroom and get some answers.”
“You and I both know that would be a minor miracle.” Cass’s younger sister made it her life’s mission to be the perfect daughter, no matter how much it cost her.
“You have to try,” Isa said.
“I know,” Cass said. If she didn’t try, she’d add another painful regret to the pile she already carried.
“And if things are bad, you know Des and I are here. We’ll get her safe.”
This time Cass’s “I know” was quieter but no less firm.
If Sofia was at risk, Cass would use every resource at her disposal to not only get her safe but also ensure that she stayed that way. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the feeling that those actions would leave the Ambrose family in ruin.