He Broke My Heart, I’ll Break His

Chapter 8

Cassian wanted to acquire the Kane Corporation.

Why?

Was it purely because he believed she had hired paparazzi to snap those photos and leak them online?

Vespera's heart plummeted straight into an ice cellar. She couldn't even hear her mother's endless, shrill curses anymore. All that played on a loop in her mind was that loaded, unreadable glance Cassian had cast her hours earlier.

He hadn't let her off the hook at all.

He had orchestrated a far more ruthless maneuver all along.

He had no intention of releasing a public clarification or quietly sweeping the scandal under the rug.

Instead, he was launching a hostile takeover of the Kane Corporation, a brutal demonstration of absolute power that would silence anyone in high society who dared whisper his name in gossip.

Vespera didn't waste another second listening to her mother. She ended the call and dialed Cassian's private line immediately.

One ring, two rings... Click. He rejected the call.

Her hands shook so violently she could barely grip the phone, but she pressed redial anyway.

The Kane Corporation was her grandfather's life's work. Even if her parents, brother, and sister treated her like an outcast, she couldn't stand by and watch her grandfather's legacy burn to the ground.

Finally, the line connected.

"Uncle Cassian! It's all my fault! I'll do whatever you demand! I'll leave for Iceland right now... I'm already sitting at the airport! Please, spare the Kane Corporation... I'll take all the blame, I swear, just please..."

Vespera's words tumbled out so fast they blurred together. By the end, she barely recognized her own frantic voice.

On the other end of the line, Cassian offered only complete, suffocating silence.

He didn't speak until Vespera's throat tightened up entirely and her breath hitched in her chest.

"I already delivered the acquisition terms to the Kane family," he said slowly. "You don’t have to leave."

She was permitted to stay, yet Vespera felt not a single spark of relief.

That single sentence was nothing short of an absolute death sentence for her family's enterprise.

She sat frozen on the airport bench, a deep chill seeping into every limb. "Why? I didn't leak those photos! Cassian, please believe me, it really wasn't me, I—"

"I know it wasn't you. Genevieve had her staff leak the photos."

Cassian cut her off mid-sentence, and Vespera's mind went completely, utterly blank.

The entire terminal seemed to spin around her.

"What did you say?"

His tone was completely flat, stripped of all emotion. "She was threatened by you staying at the Thorne estate, so she acted out. I have already brought her back, and I've forgiven her. As for you? Do not show your face at the estate unless summoned."

Vespera absorbed every cold, dismissive word, unable to comprehend the sheer cruelty of it.

"If you know Genevieve orchestrated the leak, why are you destroying the Kane family?!"

His voice turned cool and mocking. "When did I ever state that acquiring the Kane Corporation was retaliation for a tabloid leak?"

Vespera froze, stunned.

Before she could process his meaning, he continued ruthlessly, "In high finance, the victor claims everything while the weak are eliminated. The Kane Corporation collapsed because its leadership was thoroughly incompetent. Don't flatter yourself into thinking you hold that kind of significance, Vespera."

He severed the connection without another word, showing zero mercy.

All that remained was the hollow, rhythmic tone of the deadline, hammering against her chest like a lead weight.

Every color in the terminal seemed to bleed out into a dull, lifeless gray. Vespera clutched her phone limply, staring into empty space, her mind reeling in total shock.

Suddenly, a piercing ringtone shattered the silence.

Her older sister Seraphina's voice tore through the speaker, sharp and frantic, "I don't care where you are, get back to the house right now! Mom is threatening to end her life!"

Vespera's heart gave a violent, sickening lurch. She leaped to her feet and sprinted for the airport exit.

*****

An hour later, she threw open the front doors of the Kane family manor.

Inside the drawing room, Helena's hysterical wails and ragged sobs echoed against the walls.

Mortimer sat stiffly on the sofa, his face an ashen, furious mask, while Seraphina and Tristan stared at the hostile acquisition contract spread across the marble table in stunned silence.

Vespera clenched her fists and stepped into the room. "Dad, Mom—"

Before she could utter another syllable, Helena charged straight toward her.

Vespera threw up her arms on instinct, bracing for a violent blow.

The next second, Helena crumpled to her knees right in front of her, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed desperately, "I am begging you...save the Kane Corporation!"

Vespera's throat burned, a suffocating wave of helplessness crushing her chest.

She reached down, trying to pull her mother up from the floor. "Mom, please get up... there is nothing I can do—"

Helena refused to listen, shoving her roughly toward the foyer with wild, desperate strength. "Go beg Cassian Thorne! Get on your knees and grovel to him! Tell him you will submit to anything he wants, as long as he spares our company!"