The success of the health center's partnership with the insurance firm had sent the Vane Empire's stock to an all-time high. But for Xavier, the higher they climbed, the more he felt the air thinning.
He was sitting in the back of the town car, heading back from a late meeting at the clinic, when his phone buzzed. It wasn't a text from Seraphina. It was an encrypted message from a number he hadn't seen in years—back from his days in Lagos.
'The debt isn't just about money, Xavier. Some people don't want a center built on their old turf. Watch your back.'
Xavier stared at the screen, his jaw tightening. He had thought he'd left the shadows behind when he signed Seraphina's contract, but it seemed the shadows had followed him across the ocean.
When he arrived at the mansion, the lights were dim. He found Seraphina in the library, a glass of wine untouched on the table beside her. She looked troubled.
"Isabella called," she said, her voice small. "She didn't lead with a threat this time. She lead with an offer. She wants to buy out my share of the health center. She said if I don't sell, 'unforeseen complications' will start happening at the construction site."
Xavier walked over and stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "It's not just Isabella. I got a message tonight, too. They're trying to squeeze us from both sides, Seraphina. They want to prove that we're too 'weak' to protect what we've built."
Seraphina leaned her head back against his chest. "I'm not afraid of the board anymore, Xavier. But I am afraid for you. If Silas's friends are reaching back into your past... there's no limit to what they'll do."
"Then we don't give them a chance to move first," Xavier said, his voice hardening. "You told me once that the world belongs to the Vanes. It's time we showed them why. We aren't just a CEO and a husband. We're a team. And in my world, when someone threatens your home, you don't wait for them to strike."
Seraphina stood up, her eyes flashing with that familiar, icy resolve. "What are you suggesting?"
"A gala," Xavier said with a dark smirk. "But not one for the board. A fundraiser, right in the middle of the construction site. We invite the press, the politicians, and every one of our rivals. We make the health center so public, so visible, that any 'complication' would be a national scandal."
Seraphina looked at him, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "Using the light to hide the shadows. I like it. But it's dangerous, Xavier. We'll be exposed."
"We're already exposed," he replied, pulling her into a firm embrace. "We might as well be standing center stage when the curtain rises."