Chapter 4 - The Vengeance of the Forgotten SisterThe next morning, sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, washing the room in a warm, golden glow.
I woke up wrapped in crisp white cotton sheets, wearing one of Carter’s oversized black silk shirts that smelled faintly of cedar and expensive tobacco. The king-sized bed beside me was empty, but the faint scent of coffee drifted down the hallway from the kitchen.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, feeling a strange, unfamiliar sense of peace settle over my soul.
Then my phone—which I had left on the bedside table—buzzed violently.
I picked it up. The screen lit up with twelve missed calls and twenty unread text messages.
All from Vanessa.
Diana, where the hell are you?
Answer your phone right now!
Mother is frantic. The police are asking questions about Julian Vance's arrest, and your name is tied to Battalia Holdings!
If you think you can humiliate me by running off with the most dangerous man in this city and think there won't be consequences, you are out of your mind. Come home this instant or don't ever expect to step foot in this family again.
I stared at the messages, a cold, bitter knot forming in my stomach. For years, those threats would have sent me running back to the apartment, apologizing, cowering, begging for forgiveness for simply existing.
Not anymore.
"Reading your fan mail?"
I looked up. Carter stood in the doorway holding two ceramic mugs of black coffee, wearing a pair of dark grey sweatpants, his chest bare and sculpted like marble.
"It's from Vanessa," I sighed, tossing the phone back onto the nightstand. "She's losing her mind. Apparently, Julian Vance’s arrest is all over the morning news, and my name was somehow leaked as a witness to the scene."
Carter walked over, handing me a mug of coffee before sitting down on the edge of the bed, his dark eyes steady. "Let her lose her mind. If she or anyone else in your family tries to contact you, Thomas will handle it."
"She thinks she can still control me," I said, taking a sip of the hot, rich coffee. "She's spent my entire life convincing me that I'm nothing without her permission."
Carter reached out, taking my hand in his, his thumb rubbing soothingly over my knuckles. "Today, we change that narrative. Get dressed, Diana. We're going to your family's estate."
May you like
I froze, staring at him in shock. "To my family's estate? Carter, are you insane? My mother will have a stroke, and Vanessa will call the SWAT team!"
"Let them," Carter replied, a dangerous, brilliant smile spreading across his face. "It's time the Battalia name was introduced properly to the people who spent years treating you like furniture."
