Chapter 36

Nathan's office door clicked shut behind Serena and Dylan, leaving an uneasy silence in its wake. The air still carried the faint scent of the soup Serena had insisted Nathan drink while warm—a gesture that now felt more like a claim than kindness.

Dylan adjusted his cufflinks as they stepped into the elevator, his reflection sharp in the polished metal. "You're overthinking this, Serena. Look at Evelyn—she's hardly Nathan's type. That scar on her cheek? The way she dresses? Please. He'd never seriously consider someone like her."

Serena's fingers tightened around her purse strap. "Then why did he hesitate when you mentioned the divorce?"

The elevator dinged, doors sliding open to the parking garage. Dylan guided her forward with a hand at her elbow, his voice dropping. "Because pressuring him now risks backfiring. What if he digs in his heels just to defy us?" He unlocked the car with a smooth click of his key fob. "We need to understand what—or who—is making him second-guess."

Serena slid into the passenger seat, her designer skirt whispering against the leather. "You think it's Evelyn?"

"Or this new complication—Lila." Dylan's jaw flexed as he started the engine. "Ethan gave me her number himself. That's practically an invitation."

A muscle twitched near Serena's eye. First Evelyn, now Lila Sinclair? Every woman near Nathan was a threat waiting to be neutralized.

Dylan smirked, merging into traffic. "Relax. I'll handle Lila. But Evelyn..." His fingers drummed the steering wheel. "We haven't seen her since she returned. Maybe it's time for a reunion?"

Serena stared out at the blur of city lights, her silence answer enough.

Inside his office, Nathan stared at the untouched soup container. Dylan's words echoed: "He'll keep his word."

A bitter laugh escaped him. Promises made in grief had expiration dates.

His phone buzzed—a message from Leonard: "One month, Nathan. Don't make me intervene."

The screen darkened as his thumb hovered over Evelyn's contact. Five years of silence between them, yet her face flashed behind his eyelids every night. That scar. Those defiant eyes.

The intercom crackled. "Mr. Black? Your 3 o'clock is here."

Nathan deleted the unsent text. "Send them in."

The door opened to reveal Lila Sinclair in a crimson dress that screamed calculation. "Long time no see, Nathan." Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Shall we discuss how you're going to fix what your family broke?"

Outside, storm clouds swallowed the sun.