"But Tommy... he's so little. I don't want him hurt anymore." My voice broke, full of guilt toward my child.
"Tommy has us. We'll all protect him! You're not alone. You never have been!" Lina's tone was absolutely firm. "You've worked at that hospital for years, helped so many patients, helped so many neighbors. Everyone knows who you are. We can go to the community for help, get your coworkers to testify. We'll prove your credentials are legit!"
Lina hugged me tight again, gently patting my back, voice soft but powerful. "Casey, don't be afraid. You have Paul. He loves you, he'll stand by you. You have me. I'll be with you, help you fight this. And you have the whole community's support. Everyone's on your side. The Vincent Family and Diana can buy power, manipulate banks, spread lies—but they can't buy people's hearts!"
I closed my eyes, leaning into Lina. The despair didn't fully lift, but the warmth of her palm, her steady words—they were a small, warm light piercing my darkness, giving me something real to hold onto.
Outside, the Hawaiian breeze still blew gently, carrying the island's unique tenderness. But I knew our life could never return to its old peace. The real storm was just beginning. And I had nowhere left to run.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Paul
When Lina told me what Diana had done, I'd just pulled out of Marcus's office, my head still spinning with those investigation reports. Frozen accounts, forged complaint letters, hired internet trolls... The sheer filth of it turned my stomach.
I slammed the gas pedal. The engine's roar matched the fury burning in my chest.
Outside the presidential suite at the Hilton, two bodyguards saw me coming and stepped aside, heads bowed. I shoved through the heavy wooden door. Diana sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows in a silk robe, a glass of deep red wine in her hand.
"Paul, I knew you'd come." She turned, smiling. Set down the decanter. Picked up two glasses filled with amber liquid and walked toward me, one slow step at a time.
She didn't offer me the drink. Instead, she took a sip herself, then pressed the rim—stained with her lipstick—against my lips.
"Try it? 1982 Macallan, your favorite. Had it shipped from London just for you."
I turned my head away. "Diana, stop whatever you're doing to Casey and Tommy. Withdraw that complaint letter to the hospital."
Diana didn't flinch at my coldness. She set down the glass, swept her hair over one shoulder. The thin strap of her robe slipped down her arm. She took another step forward, pressing herself against me.
She laughed softly, trailed one finger down my lapel to my tie. Wrapped it around the knot. Pulled, forcing me to look down at her.
"Paul, you look so out of control right now." She sighed, her breath warm against my neck. "Everything I've done—isn't it for you? For the Vincent Family? That woman, Casey, what has she given you besides endless trouble and scandal? Why would you challenge your mother, challenge two families' interests, for someone so ordinary?"
Her other hand slid up to the back of my neck, fingers playing at my hairline. "Besides, Tommy has Vincent blood. If you want, we could marry. He'd become the rightful heir. I'd give him the best education, the best name. The three of us under the spotlight—isn't that the life you should want?"
I grabbed her wrist. "Respectable?" I laughed bitterly. "Diana, your version of respectable is built on destroying a mother's livelihood and terrorizing a child? Casey doesn't have your schemes because she loves me for who I am, not the board seat behind my name. And stop saying 'the three of us.' It makes me sick."
Diana's eyes finally went cold. "Paul, you're destroying yourself." She tried to break free, her voice sharp but still controlled. "You think that woman really loves you? She's just using your guilt over the past. Speaking of the past..."
"Speaking of the past, did you think I'd never find out the truth?" I cut her off, staring hard into her eyes. For a splitsecond, I caught panic there. "Diana, six years ago in that hotel lounge—nothing happened between us. You've used that lie to torment Casey over and over. I haven't settled that score with you yet."
Diana froze. Then she laughed coldly.
"Does it matter whether anything happened?" She yanked her hand free, sat back down with forced elegance, and reached for her wine. But her fingers trembled. "What matters is your little girlfriend believed it. Paul, you're smart. Without my father's backing, the Vincent Group has no chance in the upcoming energy bid. Would you really watch your great-grandfather's empire collapse for some nobody?"
"Then let it collapse." My voice was flat, like I was discussing the weather. "If protecting it means becoming as filthy as you people, then it doesn't deserve to exist."
I turned toward the door, threw my last words over my shoulder.
"Diana, this is your final warning. If you touch Tommy again, I'll make sure the Rossi family vanishes from the business world entirely."
Three a.m. at Marcus's private apartment. He pushed a thick stack of files across the table.
"Paul, everything you asked for is here."
I flipped through them, one by one.
Bank records showing Elizabeth illegally freezing Casey's account using family trust funds, every page stamped with a seal I knew too well. Chat logs of Diana hiring trolls to cyberbully and dox Casey. And the crucial piece—a recording. Marcus had "persuaded" a corrupt immigration official to hand it over. It clearly documented how the Rossi family had paid to force Casey's deportation before due process was complete.
