Chapter 20 - An Invitation to the EstateThe invitation arrived on thick, cream-colored cardstock—ironically similar to the post-marriage agreement Ethan had once forced her to read.
Victor Vance requests the honor of your presence for a private dinner at Vance Manor to discuss the future of the riverfront trusts.
There was no threat in the ink. No veiled warning. Just an address on the jagged cliffs overlooking the Atlantic, miles outside the city limits.
Reyes strongly advised against going. “It’s a ghost ship, Claire. Vance hasn't given a public interview in twenty years. People like that don't invite you to dinner to discuss architecture.”
“If I don't go, Julian’s remaining associates will dismantle the employee trust piece by piece,” Claire replied, packing her small bag. “Vance holds the master deed. If he wants the riverfront, he has to look me in the eye first.”
She drove out as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the coastal sky in bruised shades of purple and orange. Vance Manor was an imposing fortress of dark stone and towering glass, perched precariously over crashing waves.
A butler in an immaculate black suit met her at the heavy iron doors. “Miss Morgan. Mr. Vance has been expecting you for quite some time.”
The interior was stark, minimalist, and suffocatingly quiet. She was led not to a grand dining hall, but to a glass-walled study overlooking the ocean. Sitting in a leather armchair facing the storm was an elderly man wrapped in a cashmere blanket, his silhouette sharp against the lightning flashing over the water.
“You have your father’s stubbornness,” Victor Vance said without turning around. “And your mother’s absolute disregard for self-preservation.”
Claire stopped ten feet behind him. “You knew my parents?”
May you like
Vance turned his chair slowly. His face was weathered, marked by age and sharp intelligence, but his eyes were startlingly clear.
“I didn't just know them, Claire,” he said, pouring two glasses of amber liquid from a crystal decanter. “I built them.”
Related Stories
