Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN HE COULD NOT OWNCassian tore the IV from his arm.
Marin pushed him back.
“You cannot stand.”
“My men are with June.”
“The camera is inside the hospital system.”
Marco was already calling security.
Marin grabbed the television remote, but the screen would not turn off.
Lucien continued speaking.
“The foundation is real. The money is real. The legal responsibility is real.”
Documents appeared beside his face.
Marin Holloway listed as sole director.
“If Miss Holloway refuses the appointment, the accounts transfer to law enforcement with a complete record of every Marquette crime.”
Cassian’s jaw tightened.
“If she accepts, she becomes the owner of assets desired by every surviving enemy our family has made.”
Lucien leaned toward the camera.
“A perfect inheritance.”
The feed of June expanded.
The red dot remained on her back.
“Choose carefully.”
The screen went black.
Marin’s phone rang.
Lucien.
She answered.
“Remove the gun from my sister.”
“Accept the foundation.”
“What do you want?”
“To speak with my son.”
Cassian held out his hand.
Marin did not give him the phone.
“First, June walks into a secure room.”
Lucien laughed.
“Your mother negotiated the same way.”
“Then you know I mean it.”
The targeting dot disappeared.
June’s guards rushed her through a door.
Marin exhaled.
“Now Cassian.”
She handed over the phone.
“Father.”
“Come to the clinic.”
“Release the accounts.”
“No.”
“You’re dying.”
“Aren’t we all?”
“What do you want?”
Lucien’s voice softened.
“To see what kind of man survived me.”
The call ended.
Cassian stood.
His face drained of color from the effort.
Marin blocked him.
“You need surgery recovery, not a family reunion.”
“He will keep targeting June.”
“Then we move her.”
“He will target you.”
“Then protect me by staying alive.”
“I cannot hide in a hospital bed.”
“You can heal in one.”
Cassian looked at Marco.
“Prepare the car.”
Marin turned.
“Do not help him.”
Marco appeared conflicted.
“He’s my boss.”
“He is actively bleeding through the bandage.”
Cassian looked down.
A red stain spread beneath the gauze.
Marin’s anger vanished beneath fear.
She forced him onto the bed and opened the dressing.
One stitch had pulled.
Her stitch.
“You promised to bring me back,” she said quietly.
Cassian looked at her.
“I promised June.”
“No.”
Her hands trembled as she repaired the dressing.
“You looked at me when you said it.”
The room fell silent.
Marin tied the bandage and stepped away.
“If you leave like this, you will collapse before reaching the clinic.”
“Then come with me.”
She stared.
“That is your solution?”
“You are the only person I trust to keep me alive.”
Marco looked away again.
Marin wanted to refuse.
She should have.
Instead, she gathered the medical supplies.
The private clinic stood near the old industrial district.
Lucien waited on the top floor with no visible guards.
He looked smaller than before.
Illness had hollowed his cheeks.
But his eyes remained sharp.
Cassian entered with Marin and Marco.
Lucien looked at the bandage.
“Another Holloway stitch.”
Cassian sat opposite him.
“End the transfer.”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
Lucien looked toward Marin.
“I want her to understand what she owns.”
“I own nothing.”
“You own the future of the Marquette family.”
“I reject it.”
“Then every ledger goes to federal prosecutors.”
Cassian answered.
“Send them.”
Lucien blinked.
Marin looked at Cassian.
He continued.
“Send every name. Every transaction. Every body.”
“You will lose everything.”
“Yes.”
“Your men will turn on you.”
“Then they were never mine.”
“Your companies will collapse.”
“Then they should.”
Lucien’s face hardened.
“I built an empire.”
“You built a grave and called it inheritance.”
For the first time, Lucien looked wounded.
Cassian leaned forward despite the pain.
“You shot me at fourteen.”
“I made you strong.”
“You hid while I buried you.”
“I gave you power.”
“You gave me enemies.”
“I gave you a name.”
Cassian looked at Marin.
Then back at his father.
“I am done carrying it the way you taught me.”
Lucien’s hand moved beneath the desk.
Marco drew his gun.
But Lucien did not pull a weapon.
He placed a small voice recorder on the table.
Evelyn Holloway’s voice filled the room.
“If anything happens to me, Lucien Marquette ordered it.”
Marin stopped breathing.
The tape continued.
“He used Cassian as a shield. Teddy reopened the wound to hide the bullet angle. Adrian discovered the truth. Lenora helped me copy the ledgers.”
Lucien watched Marin’s face.
“Your mother believed this recording would destroy me.”
“It will.”
“No.”
He coughed into a handkerchief.
Blood stained the cloth.
“It will destroy everyone.”
Marin took the recorder.
“No. It will expose them.”
A door opened behind them.
Serafina entered with federal agents.
Lucien looked genuinely surprised.
Cassian had sent her the location before leaving the hospital.
The dying patriarch looked at his son.
“You called the government.”
“Yes.”
“You surrendered your family.”
“No.”
Cassian reached for Marin’s hand.
“I chose one.”
Lucien’s expression twisted.
He grabbed a pistol from beneath the desk.
The agents shouted.
Marin saw the barrel turn toward Cassian.
She moved.
Cassian moved faster.
He pulled her down as gunfire exploded.
Lucien fell behind the desk.
The bullet meant for Cassian struck the wall.
Federal agents surrounded Lucien.
He was alive.
Wounded.
Finished.
Cassian remained over Marin.
Their faces inches apart.
“You moved in front of me,” she whispered.
“So did you.”
“That was stupid.”
“Yes.”
“You pulled your stitches again.”
“Probably.”
She laughed shakily.
Then kissed him in front of federal agents, Serafina, Marco, and Lucien Marquette.
When she pulled away, Cassian looked almost stunned.
May you like
“You are medically irresponsible,” he said.
“Liar.”
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