Silence lingered inside the car as Hades drove toward the Clark residence.
Not a word was spoken.
Evadne kept her eyes closed, not out of exhaustion, but to avoid any attempt from Cieryl to strike up conversation. She already knew anything Cieryl said would be the opposite of what she truly thought.
Both Hades and Cieryl sat tensely. Cieryl wanted to reach for Hades's hand, offer some comfort, reassurance, but she couldn't. Not when she knew Evadne was aware that Hades had picked her up first that morning. Which meant Evadne also knew that their "coincidental" meeting at the theme park had been planned.
When they arrived at the Clark residence, Hades didn't even bother pulling into the driveway. He simply stopped across the street.
"Thanks for the ride, Hades," Cieryl said softly, her tone laced with disappointment. She had hoped he would at least walk her to the door, maybe offer a goodbye kiss. "And Vee… thanks for letting me tag along."
"No worries," Evadne replied with a small, detached smile. "Say hi to your parents for me."
She gave a light wave and nothing more.
"Are you not moving to the front?" Hades asked once Cieryl had stepped out.
"No. I'm fine back here," Evadne said, her eyes already closed again.
Silence once more.
Hades wanted to ask. Wanted to know how she found out about picking up Cieryl earlier. But he didn't. Asking would mean admitting he lied. It would confirm that everything, his lateness, their "coincidental" meeting, was intentional.
"You don't have to enter the estate," Evadne said flatly once she saw the Monteverde gates approaching. "Just drop me off here."
He considered arguing, if his parents found out he let her out at the gate instead of walking her in, there would be hell to pay. But then he caught her eyes in the rearview mirror. Sharp. Calculated. Watching.
"Pick me up tomorrow. One p.m.," she said coolly, the moment the car slowed near the gate. "I want to go to the mall. I need supplies for the school opening. And a new phone. Don't make me wait like you did earlier. And make sure we're alone. Just the two of us. We need to talk. And don't even think about pulling the same trick you did today."
As soon as the car came to a complete stop, she opened the door and stepped out without waiting for a reply, no goodbye, no glance back.
And just like that, she vanished through the Monteverde gates.
Hades sat frozen, both hands gripping the wheel.
She knew.
And though he didn't want to admit it… he was nervous. Because if Evadne told his parents what really happened today, he was done.
His thoughts were spiraling when he finally reached the Falcon Estate.
"Young Master," the butler greeted him at the door. "Master Jupiter is waiting for you in his study."
Dread slithered up his spine.
He followed the butler through the marble halls.
"Sir, you wanted to talk to me?" Hades asked once the door closed behind them.
Jupiter was seated on the couch, flipping through a book. He didn't even bother to look up.
"Pour me a rum," he said.
Hades did as instructed, two cubes of ice, just how his father liked it. He handed him the glass.
"Take a seat."
Hades sat down across from him, and Jupiter slid a folder toward him.
Hades opened it.
"Shares and property transfers?" he read aloud, confused. His voice faltered.
Jupiter took a long sip of his drink, gaze unreadable. The silence that stretched between them was far more suffocating than any outburst of rage.
"I told you to stop seeing Cieryl Clark," he said at last, his voice deceptively calm. "I told you to spend today with Evadne. Get to know her. Build something real. And yet, you chose to defy me on both counts."
His eyes met Hades's with chilling precision.
"And don't feed me that bullshit about you not being in a relationship with Cieryl. I wasn't born yesterday, Hades. Do you think I became successful because I'm easy to fool?"
Hades remained silent, jaw clenched, but said nothing in his defense.
"And spare me the excuse that your meeting with her today at the theme park was a coincidence," Jupiter went on, his voice tightening. "Only an idiot would believe that story."
He leaned back slightly, the weight of his words pressing down.
"We adopted you because we couldn't adopt Evadne. We raised you to become the perfect husband for her. But you are far from worthy."
Hades looked down at his hands, the sting of shame crawling up his spine.
"We gave you a chance. We gave you everything. But you didn't seize it. And let me be clear, Evadne doesn't deserve a man who doesn't make her his first priority."
Jupiter's voice turned colder, sharper, like a blade sliding between the ribs.
"You may think our expectations are too high. That we're unfair. But all we ever asked of you was to be devoted to her, and to make sure that when you stand beside her, you don't look like a joke."
Jupiter paused, finishing the last sip of his drink before continuing.
"Do you know that every time we visited Vee in France, we would tell her about your achievements? We would make sure she knew about every medal, every award. And do you know what her reaction was?"
He leaned forward.
"She would smile… but not once did she look impressed."
Hades stiffened.
"Without any help from us or her parents, Vee earned her first ten million dollars at the age of ten. She designed a jewelry set and submitted it to a royal auction house under an anonymous name. That set was purchased by the French royal family. That's her. That's what she's capable of."
He let the weight of that fact hang in the air.
"And you? What had you accomplished when you were ten? Quiz bee medals? Debate competitions? Sports awards? Yes, you earned those. But for every one gold medal you brought home, Vee brought ten more. That's why we didn't let you meet her growing up."
Jupiter stood and walked slowly toward the window, looking out at the estate grounds.
"We pressured you, yes. We demanded perfection, because we didn't want the Monteverdes to look at our chosen son and say he was mediocre. But even we realized, eventually, that there was no competing with her."
His voice softened, but only slightly.
"Vee is a certified genius. A prodigy. And so, your mother and I decided… if we couldn't match her brilliance, we would at least give her someone devoted. Someone loyal. Someone who would never make her feel alone."
He turned back to Hades.
"And what did you do?" Jupiter repeated, his voice sharp with disdain. "You prioritized Cieryl Clark. Again. You're blind, Hades. You can't tell the difference between gold and bronze. And Vee does not deserve a man like you."
There was no hesitation in Jupiter's voice. No room for argument.
"Because of that, we've decided to let you go. From this day on, you can do whatever you want. Be with whoever you want. We no longer care. We will not proceed with the engagement between you and Evadne, because you are not worthy of her."
Jupiter leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with contempt.
"Do you know how many men would kill to be in your position? Not just because of the Falcon name, but because they would have had her. She could have been yours."
He didn't give Hades time to speak.
"Starting Monday, your training with Caspian ends."
"But sir, " Hades began, only to be silenced by the coldest glare he had ever seen.
"The training was never a privilege, it was preparation. Preparation for the man who would lead the Falcon Empire as CEO. That position was never yours because you're our son. It was yours only because you were supposed to marry Evadne."
Jupiter's voice turned colder, final.
"But now that the engagement has been called off, there's no point in continuing. I've already spoken to our lawyers. Our will has been finalized. Your name has been removed."
He gestured to the folder lying in front of Hades.
"That document is all you'll receive as our adopted son. Five percent shares in Falcon Empire. A fully furnished apartment under your name. And until you turn twenty-one, you will receive an annual allowance of one million dollars. That's it."
"Don't bother using your black cards, they've already been canceled. And since you failed to fulfill the only reason we adopted you, there is no longer a reason for you to stay in this house either."
Hades sat frozen in place, unable to speak as his father stepped closer to the door.
"One more thing," Jupiter added, hand on the knob. "If you ever marry another woman or have children of your own, you will forfeit the Falcon name. The Falcon legacy will be passed only through Evadne's future husband and her children. That man, whoever he is, will inherit everything you were meant to be."
And with that, Jupiter walked out of the study without another glance.
Hades remained seated in silence.
The folder lay open in his lap, its contents echoing the weight of everything Jupiter had said. He read the document slowly, eyes scanning each line that confirmed everything, every detail his father had just spoken aloud.
And somewhere between the legal jargon and the signatures, the tears came.
Silently. Without warning.
He wasn't crying over the five percent. Or the apartment. Or even the revoked black cards.
He cried because the people who raised him, had disowned him.
Because they were ready to give the Falcon name to another man.
Because he knew… he had failed them.
Casadin was right.
If he didn't want to be thrown away, he should have made them proud. All they had ever wanted was for him to be perfect, for her.
And instead, he let pride guide him. He forgot where he came from. He forgot that if he had never been adopted, he would still be just another nameless boy in an orphanage.
If he had stayed there, he wouldn't have known what pride even meant. He wouldn't have dreamed of the right to live freely.
He would have wished for only one thing, to belong.
And he had belonged, once.
And he lost it. Because he forgot his place.