Darius #3
"Because..." Darius swallowed hard as his hand tapped the folder in front of him. "I've had a profound change of heart. To be completely honest with you, this specific acquisition project hasn't sat right with my conscience for a very long time."
Penny nodded slowly, looking across the table at Isabel.
"I can completely vouch for that, Isabel," Penny stated, raising her hands quickly before a fresh argument could flare.
"No, I am not taking your brother's side to smooth things over. I’m simply reporting the truth.
Darius has been creating administrative delays on the final acquisition compliance orders all summer. "
"I've noticed the internal conflict in him as well," Isabel admitted, her tone losing its sharp edge by a fraction.
"But even if I want to completely halt our active corporate play and look at the alternative project you were discussing with Mom," Darius explained, his voice sinking into a quiet register, "we have an entirely separate development threat."
"What threat?" Penny asked, her eyes narrowing sharply.
"A rival development firm called the Carolina Group is actively preparing to target Hearts Hotel as well," Darius revealed, his jaw tightening.
"They've been outmaneuvering our commercial bids on the mainland for months. I’m sure we have a corporate mole feeding them Wayne Group information, and I believe that leak extends right into this town, perhaps even into the hotel staff itself. "
"Baxter!" Isabel and Penny said in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized.
"We can’t make an official accusation without hard physical evidence," Darius warned them, holding up a steady hand.
"It might be an independent analyst or someone else working beside him, or even me.
But right now, they are preparing to aggressively acquire the land the moment our company falters or even stalls. "
Isabel leaned back against the vinyl cushion, processing the revelation. "Alright. What exactly do you want to do about it?"
"I have an aggressive plan," Darius told them, looking between his sister and Penny, "But I am going to need your absolute cooperation to execute it properly."
Isabel closed her eyes, shaking her head with a weary movement. "Oh, wonderful. So this is the part where you use a terrifying ghost story to coax us back to the beach house so you can carry on with the original transaction."
"No," Darius insisted, his expression entirely intense.
"I need you to sit down with Penny and map out every single asset, loan parameter, and guideline connected to whatever you and our parents were working on. But you cannot tell anyone else about this.” His eyes moved between them.
“The rival firm and the internal leak must believe that the Wayne Group is still aggressively marching forward with the acquisition of Hearts Hotel.
If they think I'm still pushing the line, they won't alter their current tactics, which gives Clyde the window he needs to expose the mole. "
"What I do for this town and the trust I handle for it is not common knowledge," Isabel assured him. "Only my private assistant knows about it."
Penny leaned across the table, her sharp gaze boring into Darius's profile. "Tell us the absolute truth, Darius. Have you truly abandoned the original corporate play?"
"Or are you running this elaborate maneuver simply because I threatened to expose your actual name to Linda?
" Isabel pushed, her eyes searching his face. “And to reveal your plans for not only her family’s legacy but her home too. Because taking Hearts Hotel also involves taking Heart House and that wetland beside it”
Darius stopped, a profound stillness settling over his features.
"I am going to tell Linda the truth myself," he promised, his voice dropping into a rough register.
"But I cannot do it within the twenty-four-hour timeline you demanded.
I need the proper window." He swallowed hard, his hands resting steady against the table.
"I promise you, it was never my intention to hurt or deceive Linda.
I truly enjoy her company, and my relationship with her has nothing to do with my plans for Hearts Hotel. "
The two women stared at him, completely silenced by the raw vulnerability written across his face.
"Something clicked with her the moment we first met that day on the beach when we arrived in Sweet Blossom Bay,” Darius admitted, looking out at the calm bay water through the window glass.
"That first day on the beach, I think deep down inside, I knew in that exact moment I would never allow the commercial machinery to touch this coast.” He glanced back at them.
“That's why I've been creating administrative delays all summer, hoping the family would find a legal loophole to preserve the property.
I even instructed Clyde to monitor their private bank debts because I wanted to quietly buy up their liabilities myself just to shield them from predatory mainland developers.
" He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh.
"When Baxter warned me about the pool excavation find, a part of me was secretly rooting for it to be a massive historical discovery. "
Penny's eyes widened as the final piece of his behavior clicked into focus. "Because if a state historical freeze forces the delay, it wouldn't look like you failed your father's memory," Penny realized softly. "It would simply be an act of unpredictable legal logistics."
Isabel felt the last lingering chunk of her icy rage melt away completely, her chest expanding with a deep wave of sympathy for her brother. She reached across the polished wicker table, resting her fingers gently over his hand.
"Darius, you aren't disappointing our parents," Isabel told him, her voice turning thick with emotion. "They didn't want to destroy this town. They wanted to inject our family capital into the existing structures to save the community spirit."
"You need to show me every bit of that alternative plan," Darius said, his fingers tightening briefly around hers.
"But for now, this alliance stays entirely between the three of us.
Whoever is directing the Carolina Group needs to think our family fracture is permanent.
I need the two of you to remain registered at the hotel to maintain the public appearance of a massive fallout. "
Isabel nodded slowly. "Alright. We can do that."
Darius looked out at the shifting coastal sky, his jaw clenching tightly as a quiet, painful realization settled into his eyes.
“No matter what happens,” He looked at both of them, his eyes darkening with emotion.
“I need you to trust me. Know that I won’t be able to tell you everything, as it’s best to keep this between myself and Clyde.
But you have to know, whatever I do, it’s not because I’m moving forward with the initial plan. It will only look like I am.”
“That’s how you can flush out whoever’s working to steal this project from the Wayne Group and who’s trying to destroy the company,” Penny realized.
Isabel’s eyes widened as she realized what her brother was going to do.
"Darius,” Isabel breathed as another thought dawned on her. “Surely if we just move forward with the trust and help with the Hearts Hotel debt, we could stop the Carolina Group?”
Penny, realizing what Isabel meant, looked alarmed. “Yes, Darius, moving ahead as if nothing has changed on the Sweet Blossom Bay project could have huge consequences for you.”
“Especially personal ones, Darius,” Isabel said worriedly. She truly had never heard her brother talk or even look at any woman the way she’d seen him with Linda.
“Yes, there is an immense cost to this strategy," Darius agreed softly, his voice barely louder than the hum of the ceiling fans.
"By continuing to play the part of the aggressive corporate predator for a little longer to trap the rivals, I am likely going to lose the only woman I've ever truly fallen in love with. "