Bloodlines
2092 Words
“I’m contesting it.”
Victor doesn’t even sit down before he says it.
We’re in Ezra’s office. Floor to ceiling glass. The same stupid skyline behind him like he personally owns the sun. My pulse is already high and I don’t even know why I agreed to this meeting.
Victor stands across from Ezra’s desk like he’s giving a toast instead of starting a war.
“I’ve filed the paperwork this morning,” he continues casually. “As next of kin, I have every right to challenge Nina’s inheritance claim.”
My ears ring.
Inheritance.
He said it out loud. Not whispered. Not implied.
Claim.
I look at Ezra.
He’s leaning back in his chair, fingers steepled, watching Victor like this is chess.
“You’re aware,” Ezra says calmly, “that this will trigger a full review.”
Victor smiles. “That’s the point.”
My stomach drops.
This isn’t some quiet family disagreement. This is public. Legal. Corporate.
“You can’t just do that,” I say before I can stop myself.
Victor turns to me slowly. He looks good. Too good. Clean suit. Easy grin. Like he didn’t grow up in the same house I did. Like he didn’t watch my mother get pushed out.
“I absolutely can,” he says lightly. “Grandfather’s will had conditions. You meeting them is… debatable.”
I feel heat crawl up my neck. “You weren’t even around when he wrote that will.”
“And you were?” he shoots back.
Silence.
That silence says everything.
Ezra clears his throat softly. “The board will vote on whether to proceed with formal review.”
“And you’ll allow it?” I turn to him, disbelief rising fast. “You’re the CEO.”
“Yes,” he says simply.
That’s it. Yes.
“You’re supposed to protect company stability,” I push.
“I am.”
“By letting my cousin try to strip me of my position?”
“By letting the process play out,” he corrects.
Victor lets out a quiet laugh. “See? Even Ezra understands this is bigger than feelings.”
I step toward the desk. “This isn’t about feelings.”
“It’s about legitimacy,” Victor replies smoothly. “And optics.”
Optics.
Everything with this family is optics.
Ezra stands now, slowly. The movement shifts the room. He doesn’t raise his voice. He never does.
“If you proceed,” he tells Victor, “you accept that all financial records tied to the estate will be reopened.”
Victor’s smile flickers. Just a little.
“I’m not afraid of audits.”
Ezra’s gaze sharpens. “You should be.”
The tension between them feels old. Personal.
I look from one to the other.
This isn’t sudden. This isn’t random.
Ezra knew.
“You wanted this,” I say quietly.
Both men look at me.
“You allowed this because you wanted it.”
Victor raises a brow. “He didn’t convince me to file.”
“No,” I say, eyes locked on Ezra. “But you didn’t stop him.”
Ezra holds my stare.
“I told you,” he says evenly. “You need thicker skin.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
I feel cornered. Not by Victor. By Ezra.
“You’re testing me again,” I realize.
Ezra doesn’t deny it.
Victor exhales impatiently. “Can we skip the romantic tension and focus? This is a legal matter.”
My head snaps toward him. “Excuse me?”
He smirks. “The entire building sees it.”
Heat floods my face.
“There is no—” I start.
Victor cuts me off. “Please. The boardroom scene? The way he shut down Holloway? The whispers are everywhere.”
I look at Ezra, expecting him to shut that down.
He doesn’t.
He just says, “Stick to the issue, Victor.”
The issue.
Right.
Victor steps closer to me now. Not touching. Just invading.
“You’re not ready for this,” he says softly. “You don’t even know what’s in the trust.”
“I don’t need to know everything to know you’re greedy.”
His smile turns thin. “Greedy? I’ve been here for years. You showed up last month.”
“I was kept out.”
“You were protected.”
That word lands wrong.
“From what?” I demand.
Victor glances at Ezra for a split second.
There’s something there. A shared history. A secret language.
“You really don’t know,” Victor says quietly.
My chest tightens.
“Know what?”
Ezra steps between us slightly. Subtle but intentional.
“That’s enough,” he says.
Victor lifts his hands like he’s surrendering. “Relax. I’m just stating facts.”
“State them in court,” Ezra replies.
So it’s happening.
It’s official.
The inheritance. My grandfather’s shares. The controlling stake that determines who holds power in Galen Holdings.
Victor wants it.
And Ezra is letting him try.
“Why?” I ask Ezra again, softer now. Not angry. Just confused. “Why would you risk this?”
His eyes meet mine. Steady.
“Because if you can’t survive this challenge,” he says, “you don’t deserve the position.”
The words cut clean.
It’s not cruel. It’s cold.
“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I whisper.
“I’m on the company’s side.”
That hurts more than Victor’s smirk.
Victor checks his watch. “I’ll see you both at the preliminary hearing.”
He walks toward the door, then pauses.
“Oh,” he adds lightly. “You might want to review your own records before this gets messy.”
“What does that mean?” I snap.
He just smiles.
And leaves.
—
The door shuts.
The office feels heavier now.
I don’t look at Ezra at first. I’m trying not to shake.
“You could have stopped him,” I say finally.
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
“Do you hate me?”
The question slips out before I can stop it.
He looks almost surprised.
“If I hated you,” he says quietly, “you wouldn’t still be here.”
I laugh under my breath. “That’s not comforting.”
He walks around the desk slowly. Closer.
“This fight was coming,” he says. “Victor has been positioning himself for years.”
“And you just waited?”
“I prepared.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
My heart stumbles.
“You wanted me in this mess.”
“I needed someone not tied to the old alliances.”
“And that’s me?”
“Yes.”
“So I’m your weapon.”
He doesn’t deny it.
The truth hangs there.
I step closer to him now, anger mixing with something else. Something darker.
“You don’t care if I get hurt.”
“I care if you’re weak.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No,” he agrees.
We’re close again. Too close. I hate how this keeps happening. Like gravity shifts when we’re in the same room.
“You enjoy watching me fight,” I say.
“I enjoy watching you survive.”
His hand lifts like he’s about to touch my face again.
I grab his wrist this time.
“Stop treating me like I’m some project,” I whisper.
His gaze drops to where my fingers wrap around him.
“You are not fragile,” he says.
“I’m not invincible either.”
Something shifts in his expression. Just for a second.
“I won’t let Victor destroy you,” he says.
“But you’ll let him try.”
“Yes.”
That honesty again.
It’s infuriating.
It’s addictive.
I let go of his wrist.
“What’s in the trust?” I ask.
“You’ll see it during review.”
“Ezra.”
His jaw tightens.
“There are conditions tied to performance,” he says carefully. “To behavior. To public image.”
My stomach drops.
Public image.
The boardroom failure flashes in my mind. The whispers. The way Caleb smirked.
“You think I’ll fail those conditions.”
“I think you need to understand what’s at stake.”
I step back, pacing now.
This isn’t just about money. It’s about control. About legacy. About my mother.
“Does this have something to do with her?” I ask.
Silence.
That silence is louder than any answer.
“You said I’m exactly like her,” I press. “Victor implied I don’t know something. What did she do?”
Ezra looks away briefly. That’s new.
“This isn’t about her.”
“That’s a lie.”
He exhales slowly.
“Your mother challenged the board,” he says. “Publicly. Aggressively.”
“So?”
“So she lost.”
“Because she was wrong?”
“Because she had no allies.”
The words settle in my chest.
No allies.
“Is that what this is?” I ask quietly. “You making sure I don’t end up like her?”
“I’m making sure you don’t walk in blind.”
I stare at him.
“And if I lose?”
His eyes darken slightly.
“Then you were never meant to hold this place.”
The finality in his voice scares me more than Victor’s threats.
A knock interrupts us.
Ezra steps back. “Come in.”
It’s Mara from legal. She looks uncomfortable.
“There’s… something else,” she says carefully.
My heart drops again. “What now?”
“Victor’s filing includes a request to review Nina’s academic and financial history.”
I freeze.
“What?” I breathe.
“It’s standard in contested inheritance cases,” Mara explains gently. “They’re looking for grounds to claim instability or misconduct.”
Instability.
Misconduct.
My pulse starts pounding in my ears.
Ezra’s expression goes still.
“What records specifically?” he asks.
“Everything from the last five years,” Mara replies. “Including the incident at Westbridge.”
The room tilts.
I haven’t heard that name in years.
Westbridge.
The night I swore I buried.
“That was handled,” I say quickly. Too quickly.
Mara gives me a careful look. “It was sealed. But a formal contest can reopen sealed files.”
My hands go cold.
Ezra’s gaze snaps to me. “What incident?”
I can’t breathe properly.
“It was nothing,” I say.
But that’s not true.
Victor’s voice echoes in my head.
You might want to review your own records before this gets messy.
He knows.
He knows about Westbridge.
Mara clears her throat. “We have seventy two hours before the review begins.”
Ezra nods once. “Leave us.”
She exits quietly.
Silence floods the office again.
Ezra turns to me slowly.
“What happened at Westbridge?” he asks.
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“If Victor can weaponize it, it matters.”
I feel exposed. Like the glass walls are closing in.
“It was years ago,” I whisper.
“Tell me.”
His voice is softer now. Not commanding. Not cold.
Worried.
I look at him and for the first time since this started, I feel scared.
Not of Victor.
Of what comes out when the past gets dragged into light.
“You wanted a fight,” I say quietly.
“Yes.”
“Well,” I swallow, heart racing, “you just got one.”
He steps closer.
“What did you do, Nina?”
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes.
Unknown number.
I stare at it.
It buzzes again.
Ezra watches me carefully.
I answer.
Victor’s voice slides through the speaker like poison.
“Just thought you should know,” he says lightly, “I still have the photos.”
My blood turns to ice.
“You wouldn’t,” I whisper.
“Oh, I would,” he replies. “And when the board sees what you did that night… they’ll understand exactly why you shouldn’t be here.”
The call ends.
I lower the phone slowly.
Ezra’s voice is low. Controlled. Dangerous.
“What photos?”
I look up at him.
And for the first time since this started, I realize I’m not just fighting for inheritance.
I’m fighting to keep my past buried.
And Victor is about to dig it up.
- Writer
