18. Xavier
The study felt like a funeral parlor.
Grandmother sat in her usual chair by the fireplace, her posture rigid, her face carved from marble. Sebastian paced before the windows, his footsteps measured and relentless. Gerald Morrison perched on the edge of the settee, legal documents spread across the coffee table, his expression grim.
And me. I sat in the corner like a defendant waiting for sentencing, watching my family's world crumble because of my stupidity.
"I warned you." Sebastian's voice was ice. "I told you this would happen. How many times did I say that Xavier wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility? That giving him the Titan deal was a mistake?"
Grandmother pressed two fingers to her temple. "Sebastian—"
"You should have listened to me. You should have let me handle it myself. But no, you wanted to give him a chance to prove himself." Sebastian stopped pacing, turning to face her. "And now look. We're about to lose the bloody company."
"Sebastian, calm down. You're giving me a migraine."
I should have said something. Should have defended myself, apologized, or offered some kind of solution. But what was there to say? Sebastian was right. I'd had one chance to prove I was more than the family screw-up, and I'd failed spectacularly.
How could I have been so stupid?
The question had been circling for hours.
A vulture waiting for the carcass to stop twitching.
Except I was both the vulture and the carcass.
I'd been distracted. Worried about Kim. Eager to sign the papers so I could chase after her and make sure she was okay.
And Cole had known. He'd seen my weakness and exploited it perfectly.
I wanted to be man enough to take responsibility. To stand up and say I would fix this, for Kim, for Zoe, for my family. For once in my life, to be the one who solved the problem instead of causing it.
But I didn't know where to start.
I didn't know what to do. So I just sat there, silent and useless, while my brother and grandmother debated how to salvage the wreckage I'd created.
"Gerald." Grandmother's voice cut through the tension. "What are our options? From a legal perspective, what can be done?"
Gerald shuffled through his papers, his expression not encouraging.
"The contract Xavier signed is, unfortunately, legally sound.
The convertible debt provision with accelerated vesting is aggressive but not unprecedented.
Courts generally uphold such clauses when they're clearly written and properly executed. "
"So we're trapped," Sebastian said flatly.
"There are limited avenues we could pursue." Gerald adjusted his glasses. "First, we could attempt to negotiate directly with Mr. Matthews. If he's willing to amend or void the contract voluntarily, the matter would be resolved. However, given his apparent intentions, that seems unlikely."
"What else?" Grandmother asked.
"We could challenge the contract on grounds of fraud or misrepresentation.
If we can prove that Titan Ventures deliberately concealed material information or made false statements to induce Xavier to sign, the contract could be rendered voidable.
" Gerald paused. "The difficulty is proving intent.
Mr. Matthews was careful. The clause exists in the contract, which Xavier signed.
A court would likely find that Xavier had the opportunity to review the terms and chose not to exercise due diligence. "
Sebastian made a sound of disgust. "In other words, we have nothing."
"There's one more possibility." Gerald leaned forward.
"If we can demonstrate that the contract was procured through duress, undue influence, or deliberate manipulation—and obtain evidence of such—the contract could be voided entirely.
This would require proof that Mr. Matthews intentionally engineered circumstances to impair Xavier's judgment during the signing. "
"And how exactly would we prove that?" Sebastian demanded.
"A confession would be ideal. Documented communication showing premeditation. Witness testimony establishing a pattern of manipulation." Gerald spread his hands. "Without such evidence, our legal position is extremely weak."
The room fell silent.
I stared at the floor, Gerald's words echoing in my head. Proof of manipulation. A confession. Evidence that Cole had deliberately engineered the circumstances.
Cole was an egotistical piece of shit. I'd seen it in every interaction, the way he talked down to everyone, the way he looked at Kim like she was property he'd misplaced, the way he'd smirked while blood ran down his chin like getting punched was just another inconvenience.
He was the type who loved being the smartest person in the room. The type who couldn't resist gloating about his victories.
If I played my cards right...
"There has to be something," Grandmother was saying. "Some flaw in his plan, some angle we haven't considered—"
I stood up.
The movement felt foreign. Like my body had decided something my brain hadn't caught up with yet.
Everyone turned to look at me.
“Where are you going?” Sebastian's voice was sharp. “We're not finished here.”
I didn't answer. Couldn't, really. The pieces were still clicking into place, and if I stopped to explain, I might lose them.
"Xavier!" Sebastian called after me. "Xavier, get back here. We need to—"
I kept walking.
The argument continued behind me, Sebastian's frustrated voice rising, Grandmother's measured tones trying to calm him. I heard Gerald saying something about reconvening in the morning. None of it mattered.
I had an idea.
The night air was cool against my face as I crossed to my car. I slid behind the wheel but didn't start the engine immediately. Just sat there, thinking.
Cole had played dirty. He'd used Kim to distract me, timed his questions about Zoe to throw me off balance, manipulated the entire signing to ensure I wouldn't read what I was agreeing to. He'd cheated. Lied. Schemed.
Why couldn't I do the same?
If Cole could trick me into signing away my family's company, surely I could trick him into admitting what he'd done. He was arrogant. Smug. Convinced he'd won. That kind of confidence made people sloppy. Made them want to brag.
All I needed was to get him talking. Get him comfortable. Let him gloat about his brilliant plan while someone—or something—captured every word.
It was risky. If Cole suspected what I was doing, he'd shut down immediately. And if I couldn't get him to admit anything concrete, we'd be exactly where we started.
But it was the only play I had.
I pulled out my phone and called Sebastian.
He answered on the second ring. "Xavier, what the hell was that? You can't just walk out in the middle of—"
"I have a crazy idea.”
Silence on the other end. I could picture Sebastian's face, that pinched expression he got when I was about to suggest something monumentally stupid.
“It might work,” I continued. “But I need you to trust me."
"Xavier..." Sebastian's voice was heavy with exhaustion. With doubt. With years of bailing me out of messes, of watching me fail, of waiting for me to finally grow up. "This isn't a game. We're talking about the company. About everything Father built. If you make this worse—"
"I know." I gripped the phone tighter. "I know what's at stake. I got us into this mess, and I'm going to get us out of it. But I need you to trust me. Please."
The silence stretched. I could hear Sebastian breathing, could practically feel him weighing the risks.
"What's your plan?" he finally asked.
"Cole's arrogant. He thinks he's already won. If I can get him talking—really talking, bragging about how clever he was—and we record it, we'd have proof of deliberate manipulation. Gerald said that could void the contract."
"You want to trick him into confessing."
"I want to give him the opportunity to gloat. He'll do the rest himself."
More silence. Then, "It's risky."
"I know."
"If he suspects anything—"
"He won't. He thinks I'm an idiot. Let him keep thinking that."
Sebastian exhaled slowly. "What do you need from me?"
"Just back me up tomorrow at the board meeting. Follow my lead. And make sure Gerald has everything ready to move fast if this works."
"If it doesn't work, we lose everything."
"If we do nothing, we lose everything anyway." I started the car. "Trust me, Sebastian. Just this once.”
A long pause. Long enough that I started composing my backup argument.
“Alright. Don't make me regret this.”
“I won't.”
I meant it. For the first time in my life, I actually meant it.
I hung up and pulled out of the estate, driving through the dark streets toward Kim's apartment. The city lights blurred past, and for the first time since Sebastian's phone call in Hawaii, I felt something other than despair.
Hope. Fragile and uncertain, but there.
Kim's building looked the same as always—slightly shabby, the lobby light still flickering. Cole's rejected gifts had been cleared from the hallway, but I could see a few crushed flower petals ground into the carpet near her door.
She opened before I could knock, like she'd been waiting.
"Hey." Her eyes searched my face. "Are you okay?"
"Getting there." I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. "Where's Zoe?"
"Living room. She's been asking about you."
I found Zoe on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching some cartoon with a stuffed elephant tucked under her chin. She looked up when I entered, and her whole face transformed.
"Xavier!" She scrambled off the couch and launched herself at my legs. "You came back!"
"Of course I came back." I scooped her up, holding her tight. "I told you I'd always come back, didn't I?"
"You were sad before. At the big house." She pulled back to study my face with those perceptive dark eyes. "Are you still sad?"
"A little. But seeing you makes me feel better."
She considered this with the gravity of a five-year-old solving a very important problem. Then nodded seriously. “Mommy's hugs make me feel better when I'm sad. Maybe Mommy should hug you, too.”
Something cracked in my chest. This kid. This perfect, ridiculous kid.
“That's an excellent idea.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You're very smart, you know that?”
“I know.” She grinned, and I could almost believe yesterday hadn't happened. Kids were resilient that way. "Can we watch cartoons together?"
"In a bit. I need to talk to your mom first, okay? Grown-up stuff."
"Okay." She wiggled until I set her down, then immediately returned to her blanket nest on the couch. "But come back soon!"
Kim was waiting in the hallway, arms crossed, watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"Your room?" I asked.
She nodded and led the way.
Her bedroom was small and simple—a double bed with a worn quilt, a dresser with a mirror, and a single window overlooking the street. It smelled like her. Vanilla and something warm.
I closed the door behind us and pulled her into my arms.
The kiss was urgent. Desperate. I poured everything into it—my fear, my determination, my absolute certainty that I would fix this or die trying. She responded in kind, her hands fisting in my shirt, her body pressing against mine.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"I have a plan," I said. "It's crazy. It might not work. But it's all I've got."
"Tell me."
"Tomorrow's the board meeting. Cole will be there, expecting to waltz in and take control.
But I'm going to get him talking first. Get him to brag about what he did, how he manipulated me, all of it.
" I held her gaze. "If I can get him to admit it on record, the contract becomes void.
Fraud. Deliberate manipulation. Gerald says it's our only shot. "
Kim's eyes widened. "You're going to trick him into confessing."
"I'm going to give him the rope. He'll hang himself."
She was quiet for a moment, processing. "What do you need from me?"
"I need you there. At the company. Before the meeting.
" I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Your presence will rattle him. Make him smug.
He thinks he's already won—won the company, won you, won everything.
If he sees you standing with me, supporting me, it'll eat at him.
Make him want to prove how clever he is. "
"You want me to be bait."
"I want you to be exactly what you are—the woman who chose me over him. That alone will drive him crazy."
Kim studied my face. Whatever she saw there must have convinced her, because she nodded.
"Done."
The relief that flooded through me was staggering. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when it works." She reached up, cupping my face in her hands. "You can do this, Xavier. I believe in you."
I kissed her again. Slower this time. Savoring her.
When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers.
"Tomorrow," I said. "Tomorrow, this will all be over."
She nodded, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw.
I held her for a long moment, breathing her in, memorizing the feel of her in my arms. Then I went back to the living room, sat on the couch with Zoe, and watched two episodes of her cartoon while she explained the elaborate backstories of each character with deadly seriousness.
Later, after Zoe was in bed and Kim was curled against my side on her small couch, I stared at the ceiling and ran through the plan again.
It had to work.
It would work.
Because the alternative was losing everything, the company, my family's legacy, my chance to finally prove I was more than the spare.
More than the mistake.
More than the son who should never have existed.
I refused to let that happen.
Not now. Not when I finally had something worth fighting for. Someone worth fighting for.
Two someones, actually