Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
Lucien took one step inside, his hands trembling slightly as he reached out toward them. "Serena... please. Let me see my son."
Serena shifted Niko slightly, shielding the baby's face from the cold air rushing through the open door. "Your son has a name. It’s Niko. Not 'the baby.' Not an asset. Not a line item in your ledger."
"I made a mistake," Lucien said, his voice breaking as he dropped to one knee before her chair, unmindful of the dirt and snow falling from his boots onto her floor. "I chose the wrong things. I let ambition and pride blind me. But I never stopped loving you, Serena. I swear to God—"
"Don't," she interrupted, her voice cutting through the room like cold steel. "Don't invoke God in a room where you broke every vow you ever made."
She looked down at Niko, who stirred, letting out a soft, sleepy yawn before settling back against her chest.
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"You want to be a father?" Serena asked quietly. "You want my forgiveness? You want us to return to the gilded cage you built?"
Lucien looked up at her, tears glistening in his eyes—a sight no living man had ever witnessed. "I want whatever you will give me. I will burn the syndicate to the ground if that’s what it takes."
