Sebastian
Present
After the accident, I hadn’t really been back in the office much as I’d been busy holding everything down at the Organisation.
It shouldn’t have come as any surprise that my dad decided to call an emergency board meeting, as if he were still running the place.
The only reason I knew about it was because Aria had mentioned it this morning.
Fucking asshole thought he had a right to do what he wanted just because he was the majority shareholder.
“Wait out here,” I told Aria as we reached the room.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in?”
“No, this won’t take long.”
She smiled and sat down on one of the chairs outside the boardroom, and I pushed the door open.
“Nice of you to join us, Sebastian,” Dad said as I walked in.
He sat at the other end of the table, with Caspian on one side and Mr Kingsley on the other. Three fucking snakes together. The rest of the board members were in a row around it. Half looked nervous, and the others … well, they looked like they had somewhere else to be.
“I don’t have time for this bullshit. What’s the meaning of this?”
“I told you there were going to be some changes around here. If you’d have bothered showing up to work, you would have been aware.”
“Did you forget I was in a car accident? Your only son, yet not a word from you.”
I’m sure he wouldn’t have cared if I’d died. Just one less thing in the way.
“If you think you can run Luxe Corp, I’m pretty sure you’re old enough to take care of yourself.”
“Right, shall we get started?” Mr Kingsley interrupted.
I pulled my cuffs straight and sat down in the only free chair, ready to listen to these stuffy old suits act like they knew what they were talking about.
“Sebastian, we have discussed your position with Luxe Corp, and we think it would be in the best interest of the company if you stepped down. Immediately,” Mr Kingsley informed me.
I nearly choked, then cleared my throat. Did this man just say what I think he did? I looked over at my dad, who sat there with a smug look on his face.
“I don’t fucking think so, Mr Kingsley.”
“Unfortunately, Sebastian, we have all voted, and it was unanimous.”
“If you think I’m going to let you appoint my father again to ruin this company and the progress we’ve made since I took over, you’re clearly mistaken.”
“Oh, it won’t be me running the company,” Dad piped up.
Confusion ran through my mind. The company could only be run by a Knight; it was a stipulation in my granddad’s will. It had to stay in the family, which was why the burden fell on me.
I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table. “Then I guess I’m staying.”
“The thing is, son ….” My dad rose to his feet. “You and I are not the only Knights here.”
I narrowed my eyes, knots forming in my stomach as acid swirled around. What the fuck was he talking about?
He placed his hand on Caspian’s shoulder. “You’ve met your older brother, Caspian, haven’t you?” His eyes burned into me, his smirk turning venomous.
I froze, trying to grasp what he’d just said. My eyes darted to Caspian, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“You’re lying.”
“I knew you wouldn’t believe it, so I went ahead and got all the paperwork ready for you, son.” Dad flung a file to me across the table.
I looked down at it, hesitating. Swallowing hard, I opened the file.
A paternity test sat in front of me, showing Caspian as my dad’s son.
My half-brother.
Paperwork from a solicitor, signed, showing everything was legal and above board.
This couldn’t be happening. How could I not know any of this? Dad had another son, and I had a brother I knew nothing about.
I sank back down in the chair.
“Everyone get out,” I said calmly, but that rage was festering.
I flicked my eyes up from the paperwork and looked around at the unease amongst the board members.
“Did I stutter? Everyone get the fuck out of this room,” I snapped.
They jumped, hurrying out of their chairs and bolting for the door. I’d never seen them leave a board meeting so fucking fast.
Mr Kingsley sat there next to my father, sharing that smug expression.
“I’d fuck off too if I were you, Mr Kingsley, or I’ll make sure you can never visit any of those clubs again,” I threatened.
My dad gave him a nod, a silent acknowledgement to tell him to leave. He slowly stood and made his way out of the room.
“Sebastian—” Caspian rose from his chair.
“Don’t fucking talk to me right now,” I growled, standing and stepping closer to them.
This burning rage inside of me was pulsing through my veins. My fists clenched tightly, and I could feel the blood leaving them.
He’d lied to me my whole life.
Made me believe I was alone in this world.
That I had no one but him.
“Don’t speak to your new CEO like that, boy. You’re finished. He’s a far better Knight than you’ll ever be.”
Was this guy fucking kidding me right now? A brother I never knew. Another sick pawn in Dad’s power play to get Luxe Corp back.
“Caspian, can you please have security clear out Sebastian’s things?” Dad told him.
Caspian gave him a nod and made his way out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Dad looked me straight in the eyes.
“You were a mistake, Sebastian. I gave you everything in life, and all you did was disappoint me. Your mother made you weak from the start.”
“My mother loved me—something you don’t have a clue about.”
He snorted. “Your mother had no idea how to raise you properly, and when she tried to take you from me, well, I had to take matters into my own hands.”
I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes at him. “Take me? What are you talking about?”
Memories of my mum flashed through my mind. Then, the morning Dad told me she’d been involved in a car accident the night before. I’d never understood what she was doing out at that time.
He let out a vindictive laugh. “Your mother didn’t die in an accident.”
“Yes, she did. The police were at the house that morning.”
“It’s amazing what money can do for you. She was about to leave. She was trying to take a Knight, a mediocre one at that, but I couldn’t allow her to do so. We argued, and I gave her a helping hand down the stairs.”
Dad wouldn’t, would he? He was many things, and I’d seen them all growing up, but to take my mother away from me?
He’d never cared about me, so why would he have given a shit?
That fucking Knight name, that’s why.
He’d wanted to save his reputation.
A cloud of fog rolled through my mind like it was sweeping through the empty streets, returning its memories to the place that stood still. Flashes of my mum when I was younger flickered through like a camera flashing in my eyes. This violent storm filled my whole body with rage.
This fucking man, who was meant to be my father, had killed my mother?
I went for him.
I hit him clean in the face with my fist, causing him to stumble to the floor.
This man had taken my mother away from me.
He deserved to die.
I was going to kill him.
I grabbed his collar, pulling him up, and hit him again. Blood poured from his nose as he grabbed it to try and stop the bleed.
“You took my mother away from me. I’m going to fucking kill you!” I roared, grabbing his collar and pulling him up.
My fist hit the side of his face, and a crack echoed through the office. Red started to bleed out, covering his lips. I pulled my arm back again.
“Sebastian!” Aria screamed.
My eyes flicked to her as she rushed over.
I could feel her hands trembling as she grabbed my arm to pull me off, but that fire was burning through me.
I couldn’t stop, even with her touch. That chaos she’d always managed to calm was no longer under control.
It had been unleashed into the darkness, consuming every little bit of light and suffocating it until it went out.
Before I had a chance to do anything else, security rushed in, grabbing hold of my arms to try to restrain me.
“Get the fuck off me,” I roared, trying to free myself.
“You need to calm down, Mr Knight,” one yelled as they tried to hold me still.
“Sebastian, what have you done?” Aria said, her words shaking.
I looked around the room. Caspian had rushed back in, and he and Aria were now at my dad’s side, trying to help him up. Aria pulled her phone out to call an ambulance.
“Get him out!” Caspian ordered.
The guards dragged me out of the boardroom. Mr Kingsley stood just outside the doors with a grin on his face. I’d fucking kill him, too.
They pushed me through the doors into the main office. Everyone stopped, silence flooding the room as all eyes looked at me, the guards close behind as I stormed to the exit.