Chapter Sixteen: Scarlett’s Ultimatum
1933 Words
The sun blazed over Santorini, but the air between Liam and Anna had turned cool. After finding the letter she’d written five years ago—the one Liam had secretly kept—Anna had been quiet. Too quiet.
Liam watched her now, sitting by the edge of the infinity pool, her feet dangling in the water. The letter rested on her lap. Her fingers clutched it like a fragile truth.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me you remembered that night?” she asked finally, not turning to face him.
Liam sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. “Because I didn’t. Not fully. After you left… I searched. I asked the hotel. No one knew your name. All I had was that letter.”
Anna turned slowly, her eyes glassy. “So you kept it… why?”
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Something about your words—they haunted me. Comforted me. I guess… some part of me hoped fate would bring us back together.”
She let out a soft laugh, filled with disbelief. “And it did. Just with twins involved.”
Liam walked over, knelt beside her, and took her hands in his. “Anna, I didn’t fall in love with the woman from that night. I fell in love with the woman who fought for her boys, who worked two jobs, who didn’t break even when life did. That’s the woman I married.”
Anna blinked away tears. Just as she leaned in to kiss him, Liam’s phone vibrated again.
Another message from Scarlett.
This time, it wasn’t cryptic.
> “We need to talk. Alone. You owe me that much, Liam. I’m outside your villa.”
His stomach dropped.
“What is it?” Anna asked, her tone wary.
Liam stood, lips pressed into a thin line. “Stay inside. I’ll handle it.”
---
At the Villa Gate…
Scarlett Hart leaned against a sleek red convertible, her presence as bold as her lipstick.
“Liam,” she said, her voice velvet and venom. “Still charming as ever.”
“What do you want?” he asked coldly.
She smirked. “So that’s how we’re playing this?”
“You show up on my honeymoon. What do you expect?”
Scarlett stepped closer. “I want what you promised.”
Liam stiffened. “That was years ago. We were different people then.”
“You promised me 15% of DeWitt Holdings if I kept my silence about your father’s illegal offshore accounts,” she hissed. “I kept quiet. And now that your company’s booming, you think I’ll just fade into the shadows?”
“You’re blackmailing me?” he said through clenched teeth.
“I’m reminding you,” she snapped. “Honor the deal—or I go to the press. And your perfect little family? Gone.”
---
Back Inside…
Anna paced the balcony, heart thundering. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this woman—Scarlett—was more dangerous than Liam admitted. She moved to the window just as Liam stormed back inside.
“She’s gone,” he said curtly.
“What did she want?”
He hesitated. “It’s… complicated.”
“Liam.” Her voice hardened. “I’m your wife. The mother of your children. Stop protecting me and tell me the truth.”
And so, he did.
He told her about the deal with Scarlett. About his father’s secret crimes. About the promise he made to keep the family’s name clean. About the shares he promised to a woman he barely knew.
Anna listened, her face unreadable. When he finished, she exhaled deeply.
“Then we fix this. Together. No more secrets.”
He looked at her—truly looked at her—and nodded. “Together.”
Later that evening, the Santorini sky bled with streaks of amber and rose. The villa was quiet—almost too quiet—as the twins napped upstairs and Anna sat curled on the couch, processing everything Liam had told her.
Her husband—her children's father—wasn’t just fighting to keep their family intact. He was fighting to protect a legacy built on a crumbling secret.
Scarlett Hart had leverage. Dangerous leverage.
When Liam returned from his tense meeting, Anna stood up to meet him. “I need to see her,” she said plainly.
“No,” he said instantly. “It’s not safe—”
“I’m not asking for your permission, Liam. I’m asking for your trust.”
His jaw tightened. “What are you going to do?”
Anna walked up to him, laid her hand over his chest. “I’m going to end this. Not with fear. Not with more secrets. But with truth.”
---
The Next Morning – Café at the Caldera’s Edge
Scarlett sat in an open-air café overlooking the Aegean Sea, sunglasses shielding her eyes, a glass of chilled white wine in hand. She hadn’t expected Anna.
But there she was—poised, graceful, holding two lattes. One she set in front of Scarlett with a calm smile.
Scarlett raised an eyebrow. “Well, this is unexpected.”
Anna sat. “You threatened my husband. I don’t take that lightly.”
Scarlett chuckled. “He should’ve told you I’m not the threatening type. I’m the collecting type. I earned that deal. And I intend to make sure he honors it.”
Anna sipped her coffee. “What you’re doing—extortion—could land you in prison.”
Scarlett leaned in, her voice a whisper. “So could exposing Liam’s father’s fraud.”
Anna didn’t flinch. “Do it. Go public. Destroy the DeWitt name. But if you think you’ll get a dime before you ruin your own career, think again. Liam is not his father. And I won’t let you bleed our sons’ future dry for your grudge.”
Scarlett’s composure cracked for a brief moment.
“You think this is about money?” Scarlett hissed. “That man promised me something. And now he’s playing happy family with you?”
Anna stared at her, the pieces clicking into place.
“You loved him,” Anna said quietly.
Scarlett looked away.
“I don’t hate you,” Anna said. “But I won’t let you use your pain as a weapon. You need to heal. And let go.”
Scarlett stood abruptly, tossing her napkin onto the table. “You’re too good for him.”
Anna’s eyes softened. “Maybe. But he’s good for me. And he’s not running anymore. Neither am I.”
Scarlett gave her one last look—one filled with years of bitterness and longing—and walked away, heels clicking against the stone floor.
---
Back at the Villa
Liam waited at the gates like a man about to lose everything.
When Anna returned, he nearly ran to her.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She’s gone,” Anna said. “For now.”
Liam stared, amazed. “How?”
Anna smiled faintly. “I reminded her that some battles are better walked away from. Especially when they’re built on the past.”
He pulled her into his arms, emotion thick in his voice. “I don’t deserve you.”
“No,” Anna whispered. “You deserve to be forgiven. And so do I.”
The sun dipped low, casting gold over the hills. For the first time in years, they breathed—together.
That night, after the boys were tucked into bed, Anna found herself unable to sleep. The tension of Scarlett’s threats still lingered in her mind, wrapping tightly around her chest. She walked out onto the villa’s balcony, the cool sea breeze brushing her skin like a whisper. The moon bathed the cliffs of Santorini in silver, making the world look like a dream.
Liam joined her moments later, silent as he slipped his arms around her from behind.
“She won’t stop,” Anna murmured.
“I know,” Liam said. “But neither will I.”
Anna turned to face him, her eyes searching his. “We can’t keep living like this. Looking over our shoulders. Hoping she doesn’t strike.”
“I’ve already contacted a legal team,” Liam admitted. “I’m not giving in to her demands anymore. And I’ve decided—if it comes to it, I’ll step down from DeWitt Industries. Let her have the board seat she’s demanding. I care about the boys more than I care about any empire.”
Anna’s breath caught. “You’d give it all up?”
“For you. For them. Yes.”
Her heart squeezed. She remembered the man she had once met in the shadows of that hotel ballroom—the man who gave her one unforgettable night and disappeared. And now here he was, standing in front of her, ready to sacrifice a billion-dollar legacy to protect her and their family.
She stepped into his embrace. “Then we fight together. No more running.”
Liam held her tightly, as if letting go would shatter the fragile peace they were building.
---
The Next Morning
Anna received a message from Scarlett.
> “Meet me. Alone. One last time.”
Liam objected, but Anna insisted. “If this ends today, then I have to be the one to do it.”
---
At the Santorini Cliffs
Scarlett wore white—ironic, Anna thought. The color of purity and peace, yet she was anything but serene.
“I knew you’d come,” Scarlett said, her voice distant.
Anna approached slowly. “This ends today.”
Scarlett’s eyes glittered with something unreadable. “You think you’ve won. That because he loves you, you can rewrite everything.”
“I’m not trying to rewrite anything,” Anna said. “Just move forward.”
Scarlett turned away, staring at the sea. “I loved him before he was anything. Before the world saw him as the heir to a billion-dollar empire. But he chose a legacy over love. And now he’s choosing you.”
Anna stepped closer. “I’m sorry for what you lost. But punishing us won’t bring him back to you. And it won’t make the pain go away.”
Tears shimmered in Scarlett’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “He never looked at me the way he looks at you.”
Anna said nothing. There was no pride in that statement—only sorrow.
Scarlett reached into her bag and pulled out a file.
“What’s this?” Anna asked.
“The last of it,” Scarlett said. “Everything I have on DeWitt Industries’ shady past. You can do with it what you like. But if you’re smart, you’ll bury it.”
Anna took the folder cautiously. “Why give this to me?”
“Because he won’t hurt me the way I want him to. But maybe… maybe letting go is the only way I heal.”
Scarlett turned and walked away, heels echoing on the stone path, leaving Anna with the weight of a history she never asked for—and a future she had to protect.
---
Back at the villa, Liam read through the documents.
“She had everything,” he whispered. “She could’ve ruined us.”
Anna sat beside him. “But she didn’t.”
He looked at her with awe. “You saved us, Anna.”
“No,” she said softly. “We saved each other.”
And for the first time since their paths crossed again, the past felt truly behind them.
- Writer
