He Made Our Daughter Call Him “Uncle”—So I Left

Chapter 2

The next morning, my eyes red and swollen, I called Logan Ashford.

Logan was Arthur's half-brother, the true master pulling the strings behind the Ashford empire.

Unlike Arthur's brash, showy arrogance, Logan was ice-cold and unfathomable, a recluse who directed Wall Street's deepest financial currents from the shadows.

"I need you to track down a lame puppy. It should have landed at the animal shelter yesterday." My voice scraped out, raw and hoarse.

A beat of silence hung on the line before Logan's deep, steady voice cut through. "Downstairs. Thirty minutes."

Half an hour later, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom purred to a stop beneath my apartment building.

Logan stepped out in a razor-sharp black trench coat, cradling the freshly bathed, lame little pup in his arms. A private vet tailed him, toting a top-shelf pet medical case.

The moment Lily spotted that puppy, the light flooded back into her eyes. She launched herself straight into Logan's arms. "Thank you, Uncle Logan!"

Logan's chiseled features softened to velvet as he gazed down at her. He ruffled her hair with a tender hand. "You are welcome, little princess. No one is ever going to snatch your things again."

We had just returned to the penthouse when the elevator chimed open with a crisp ding.

Arthur strode out, Chloe and Mia flanking him like shadows. The instant he clocked the puppy cuddled in Lily's arms and Logan standing solidly beside me, his face crashed into a black thunderhead.

"Logan, what the hell are you doing here?" Arthur's glare slashed between us, dripping with suspicion and raw irritation. "And did I not order that dog tossed out? Serena, did my words just go in one ear and out the other?"

Logan did not spare Arthur a single glance. Instead, he peeled off his leather gloves with maddening slowness, each motion dripping with contempt. "Arthur, you are not just blind in the eyes, your heart is blind to the core. You would wrong your own flesh and blood without blinking. Is that all you have learned in the business world, how to bully the weak and grovel before the strong?"

Arthur's face flared a violent scarlet. Nothing infuriated him more than Logan's lofty, all-seeing superiority, like a god passing judgment from on high.

"This is a family matter! You have no right to stick your nose in!" Arthur snarled through clenched teeth.

As the air crackled with tension and the standoff teetered on the edge of explosion, Chloe thrust herself forward.

Tears glistened at the brims of her eyes as she clutched Arthur's sleeve. "Arthur, please, do not fight with Logan. It is all my fault, I am too sensitive. If Serena wants to keep that dog, then let her. Worst comes to worst, I will just lock Mia in her room. She does not have to come out at all."

Arthur clasped her hand tightly and whirled on me, his glare dagger-sharp and dripping with disillusionment. "Serena, not only are you selfish, but now you have learned to drag outsiders in to bully me? You even pulled Logan into this just to humiliate Chloe. Honestly, I do not even know who you are anymore!"

I watched his self-righteous tantrum and found it utterly, laughably absurd.

"Arthur, I only wanted to get back what belongs to my daughter." My voice stayed level. "If that embarrasses you, then your standards are paper-thin."

Arthur let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Fine. Perfect."

He stalked into the study, snatched a document, and then, right in front of Logan, smashed it down on the coffee table with a vicious thwack.

"That gallery opening you poured your heart into for half a year? The Ashford Group's sponsorship is officially withdrawn." His tone oozed with the sadistic thrill of punishment. "Chloe's charitable arts foundation just happens to need startup capital. Since you are so terrible at sharing, let me give you a crash course in what big-picture thinking looks like."

I froze, my blood turning to ice in my veins.

That gallery opening was my passion project, every ounce of my heart poured into it. Arthur knew exactly how much it meant to me.

He had once kissed my forehead and whispered, "Serena, I will make all of New York know you are the best curator around."

And now, just to soothe Chloe's wounded pride, he had casually destroyed everything I had worked for.

"Arthur, that is my gallery," I said, my voice quivering.

"You are Mrs. Ashford," he retorted, oozing smug righteousness, a condescending note in his voice. "What is yours belongs to the family, and family resources go where they actually matter. Apologize to Chloe, promise to leave Mia alone, and maybe, just maybe, I will toss some funding your way next month."

Looking at this man I had once known so well, a violent wave of nausea churned in my gut.

Logan stepped forward, planting himself like a shield between me and Arthur.

He fixed Arthur with a glacial stare, a mocking smirk tugging at his lips. "Canceling the sponsorship? Fine. Capstone Capital will fully underwrite Serena's gallery. As for you, Arthur, I do hope you will not end up choking on bitter tears over your own foolishness today."

Then he turned to me, his voice gentle but firm as steel. "Serena, we are leaving."

I did not spare Arthur another glance. Holding Lily's hand, the puppy cradled in my other arm, I followed Logan out the door.

Behind us came the sharp, furious crash of a vase being smashed.

'Arthur, you broke more than porcelain today. You broke the very last reason I had to ever look back.'