Chapter 7
Vincent confessed first.
Not nobly.
He realized Sebastian could no longer protect him.
He had arranged the greenhouse staff.
Moved guards.
Changed the dessert schedule.
Made sure the west garden cameras were turned toward the driveway during the sessions.
No outside crime.
No grand operation.
Household logistics.
That was enough.
“Why?”
He wanted Sebastian’s seat when the old man retired.
Simple.
Sebastian hinted cooperation would prove he could manage delicate family matters.
Vincent saw Clara as a test.
Not a child.
A problem to solve quietly.
I removed him from command immediately.
He looked stunned.
“You’re ending twenty years over this?”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I’m ending it because you used twenty years of trust to make my daughter easier to manipulate.”
His face changed.
Better phrasing.
Then Everett.
He was worse.
He believed the recordings were useful.
Not cruel.
“Children say things they don’t mean all day.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
“So you kept correcting her until she said what you wanted.”
He shrugged.
“She’ll forget.”
I stared.
That sentence.
Adults love believing children forget whatever would make adult guilt inconvenient.
“You won’t be here to find out.”
No more Hawthorne properties.
No more private dinners.
No access through Rosalind.
He laughed.
“You can’t remove Pierce from the marriage.”
“There is no marriage.”
That ended the laughter.
Rosalind heard from the doorway.
She did not protest.
Good.
Something in her had finally accepted that consequence and love could coexist.
She might love me.
I might still care about her.
May you like
Marriage still ended.
Not every feeling deserves continuation.
