Present
After the accident, I hadn’t really been back in the office much as I’d been busy holding everything down at the Organisation. It shouldn’t have come as any surprise that my dad decided to call an emergency board meeting, as if he were still running the place. The only reason I knew about it was because Aria had mentioned it this morning. Fucking asshole thought he had a right to do what he wanted just because he was the majority shareholder.
“Wait out here,” I told Aria as we reached the room.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in?”
“No, this won’t take long.”
She smiled and sat down on one of the chairs outside the boardroom, and I pushed the door open.
“Nice of you to join us, Sebastian,” Dad said as I walked in.
He sat at the other end of the table, with Caspian on one side and Mr Kingsley on the other. Three fucking snakes together.The rest of the board members were in a row around it. Half looked nervous, and the others … well, they looked like they had somewhere else to be.
“I don’t have time for this bullshit. What’s the meaning of this?”
“I told you there were going to be some changes around here. If you’d have bothered showing up to work, you would have been aware.”
“Did you forget I was in a car accident? Your only son, yet not a word from you.”
I’m sure he wouldn’t have cared if I’d died. Just one less thing in the way.
“If you think you can run Luxe Corp, I’m pretty sure you’re old enough to take care of yourself.”
“Right, shall we get started?” Mr Kingsley interrupted.
I pulled my cuffs straight and sat down in the only free chair, ready to listen to these stuffy old suits act like they knew what they were talking about.
“Sebastian, we have discussed your position with Luxe Corp, and we think it would be in the best interest of the company if you stepped down. Immediately,” Mr Kingsley informed me.
I nearly choked, then cleared my throat. Did this man just say what I think he did? I looked over at my dad, who sat there with a smug look on his face.
“I don’t fucking think so, Mr Kingsley.”
“Unfortunately, Sebastian, we have all voted, and it was unanimous.”
“If you think I’m going to let you appoint my father again to ruin this company and the progress we’ve made since I took over, you’re clearly mistaken.”
“Oh, it won’t be me running the company,” Dad piped up.
Confusion ran through my mind. The company could only be run by a Knight; it was a stipulation in my granddad’s will. It had to stay in the family, which was why the burden fell on me.
I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table. “Then I guess I’m staying.”
“The thing is, son ….” My dad rose to his feet. “You and I are not the only Knights here.”
I narrowed my eyes, knots forming in my stomach as acid swirled around. What the fuck was he talking about?
He placed his hand on Caspian’s shoulder. “You’ve met your older brother, Caspian, haven’t you?” His eyes burned into me, his smirk turning venomous.
I froze, trying to grasp what he’d just said. My eyes darted to Caspian, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“You’re lying.”
“I knew you wouldn’t believe it, so I went ahead and got all the paperwork ready for you, son.” Dad flung a file to me across the table.
I looked down at it, hesitating. Swallowing hard, I opened the file.
