Chapter 5 - The Father Behind the Empire
Charles Dre arrived at the hospital that afternoon carrying flowers.
The absurdity almost made Serena laugh.
White roses.
Her least favorite.
After fourteen months as his daughter-in-law, he still did not know that.
Matthias stood beside the window.
Roman had left an hour earlier, but two federal investigators were positioned nearby.
Charles did not know.
He kissed Serena’s forehead.
“My dear girl. Matthias told us you had a scare.”
Serena smiled.
“A small one.”
“You should have been resting instead of attending that ridiculous party.”
Matthias’s eyes hardened.
“It was your party.”
Charles waved dismissively.
“Your mother’s party.”
Serena studied him.
Sixty-three.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
The kind of man who could order a person destroyed while discussing Bordeaux.
She had once desperately wanted his approval.
Now she wondered why.
Charles turned to his son.
“What happened with Hensley?”
Matthias did not blink.
“What makes you think anything happened?”
“The shooting.”
“Perhaps you should ask Hensley.”
Charles paused.
Only briefly.
“Why would I?”
Serena saw it.
The same micro-hesitation Matthias had shown earlier.
Father and son shared more than cheekbones.
Matthias walked toward him.
“Did you know someone planned to kill Serena?”
Charles looked offended.
“Of course not.”
“Did you know Hensley was targeting our family?”
“No.”
“Did you know Fiona Vale was working for him?”
“No.”
Three lies.
Serena could almost hear them like irregular heartbeats.
Charles turned toward her.
“Pregnancy is stressful. You shouldn’t involve yourself in business matters.”
Serena smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The part where you mistake me for stupid because I wear scrubs instead of a three-piece suit.”
Charles’s expression cooled.
Matthias almost smiled.
Serena continued.
“You never liked me.”
“That is untrue.”
“You tolerated me because Matthias married me.”
“You’re emotional.”
“I’m observant.”
Charles looked toward his son.
“Control your wife.”
The room went silent.
Matthias stepped forward.
“My wife does not require controlling.”
Charles’s face changed.
Serena looked at Matthias.
Something in her chest shifted.
Charles set down the flowers.
“I see.”
“No,” Matthias said. “I don’t think you do.”
He placed a tablet on the table.
The restaurant video played.
Charles watched himself appear onscreen.
His face did not collapse.
That would have been easier.
Instead, he became cold.
Calculating.
“You have no idea what you’re looking at.”
“I’m looking at my father discussing whether my pregnant wife is expendable.”
“It was business rhetoric.”
“‘The child complicates matters’?”
Charles glanced at Serena.
“You were never supposed to hear that.”
Matthias laughed without humor.
“That’s your defense?”
Charles lowered his voice.
“Hensley controls judges, unions, half the construction contracts on the East Coast. I made accommodations.”
“You sold him access to our company.”
“I protected what I built.”
“What you built?”
Matthias moved closer.
“You were prepared to sacrifice my family.”
Charles’s face tightened.
“Families survive because somebody makes difficult decisions.”
Serena touched her stomach.
“No. Families survive despite men who say things like that.”
Charles looked at her with open contempt.
“You really believe you understand this world?”
“No.”
Serena smiled faintly.
“I understand people bleeding because powerful men thought consequences were for somebody else.”
Charles reached for his coat.
The door opened.
Two federal agents entered.
Charles stopped.
Matthias’s voice was quiet.
“I gave them everything.”
His father turned slowly.
“You did what?”
“Everything.”
“You’ll destroy the Dre Group.”
“Maybe.”
“Your inheritance.”
“I don’t want it.”
Charles stared.
“You would throw away generations of work for her?”
Matthias looked at Serena.
“No.”
Then back at his father.
“I’m throwing away what you turned it into.”
The agents escorted Charles out.
He did not shout.
He did not threaten.
But before disappearing through the door, he looked at Serena.
“This family will blame you.”
Matthias answered before she could.
“They can blame me.”
The door closed.
Matthias stood motionless.
Serena watched his shoulders drop.
Then he sat.
For the first time since she had met him, Matthias looked like a son instead of an heir.
“My father taught me that everything has a price.”
Serena remained quiet.
“He taught me never to tell anyone more than necessary. Never let your wife know business. Never let employees know fear. Never let enemies know weakness.”
“And Fiona?”
“I thought keeping the investigation secret protected you.”
“You also enjoyed having a beautiful woman depending on you.”
His eyes met hers.
There it was.
The uncomfortable truth.
“Yes.”
Serena appreciated the answer more than another denial.
“Did you kiss her?”
“No.”
“Want to?”
He hesitated.
Serena’s eyes filled.
Matthias did not hide.
“For a moment, yes.”
That hurt.
He continued.
“I liked being admired without having to explain myself. At home, you could see through me. Fiona saw the version of me I presented.”
Serena wiped a tear.
“You understand that doesn’t make it better.”
“I know.”
“But you didn’t sleep with her?”
“No.”
“Touch her?”
“Once. She kissed me.”
Serena closed her eyes.
“I stopped it.”
“When?”
“New Haven.”
“The hotel.”
“Yes.”
“Then you came home and slept beside me.”
His face twisted.
“Yes.”
Serena turned away.
Matthias did not reach for her.
That mattered.
“I need space.”
“You have it.”
“I don’t know whether we survive this.”
His eyes reddened.
“I know.”
“You don’t get to tell me you did everything for us.”
“I won’t.”
“And if I decide our marriage is over?”
He swallowed.
“Then I’ll spend the rest of my life being a good father to our daughter and respecting the decision I gave you reasons to make.”
Serena finally looked at him.
That was the first thing he had said in weeks that made her believe there might still be a man worth saving beneath Matthias Dre’s secrets.
Her phone buzzed.
Roman.
Serena answered.
His first sentence erased the fragile calm.
“We found Fiona.”
“Alive?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Serena exhaled.
“Where?”
Roman’s voice became grim.
“Chicago.”
Matthias stood.
Roman continued.
“And she isn’t alone.”
A photograph arrived.
Fiona sat inside a car beside her missing brother.
Behind them stood Dominic Hensley.
And beside Hensley was someone Serena recognized immediately.
May you like
Her attorney.
The same attorney who had received the anonymous envelope.
