Chapter 4
He hung up and looked at me. Calm. Controlled. Like a man who started wars for fun.
"He's suing my parents?" My voice was steady, but my hands weren't.
"Breach of contract. The merger agreement between Cole Capital and Lawson Construction included a marriage clause. By walking out, Dylan's claiming your family owes them forty million in damages."
Forty million. That was more than enough to cripple my parents.
"That bastard." The words came out quiet. Lethal.
Callum reached over and took my hand. His thumb traced across my knuckles once, slow and deliberate.
"He won't get a cent," he said. "I'll have my legal team on it within the hour. But this is just the beginning. Dylan's panicking, and panicking men make stupid moves."
My phone erupted again. This time, it was my mother.
I answered.
"Serena!" Mom's voice was shaking. "The Lawsons just served us papers. What is happening? Your father is beside himself. Come home right now."
"Mom, listen to me. I'll handle it."
"How? You just—you walked out of your wedding and vanished! We have guests asking questions, reporters outside—"
"Mom." I made my voice firm. "I got married."
Dead silence.
"What?"
"I married Callum Reed. Thirty minutes ago."
The silence stretched so long I thought the call dropped. Then my mother made a sound that was half-gasp, half-laugh.
"Callum Reed? The Callum Reed?"
"Yes."
Another pause. Then her voice dropped low. "Serena, if this is some kind of rebound stunt—"
"It's not. I'll explain everything tonight. But right now, I need you and Dad to trust me. Can you do that?"
I heard her exhale. Slowly.
"Okay," she whispered. "Okay. But you'd better have answers when you get here."
I hung up and turned to Callum.
He was watching me with something like admiration.
"You're steady under pressure," he said.
"I had four years of practice."
He nodded like that made sense. Then he leaned forward and tapped the partition. "Take us to Reed Tower."
The car changed direction smoothly. I looked at him.
"What's at Reed Tower?"
"My office. Where we're about to bury Dylan Lawson's lawsuit before it even hits a courtroom."
When we arrived, the building was sixty floors of glass and steel. People in the lobby froze when they saw him. Then froze harder when they saw me—still in my wedding dress, mascara slightly smudged, walking beside their CEO like I owned the place.
His assistant, a sharp-eyed woman named Diana, met us at the elevator.
"Mr. Reed, the legal team is assembled in Conference Room A. Also—" she glanced at me, "—congratulations?"
"Thank you, Diana. This is my wife, Serena Reed. Whatever she needs, she gets. Treat her word as mine."
Diana didn't miss a beat. "Understood."
Inside the conference room, six lawyers in expensive suits were already spread across the table, papers and laptops everywhere.
Callum didn't sit. He stood at the head of the table, hands in his pockets.
"Dylan Lawson filed a breach-of-contract suit against the Cole family forty minutes ago. I want it dead by end of day."
A senior partner looked up. "On what grounds are we countering?"
Callum glanced at me. I took the cue.
"The marriage clause in the merger agreement is contingent on good faith from both parties," I said. "Section twelve, paragraph four. If either party engages in conduct that materially damages the trust required for the union, the clause is voidable."
The lawyers stared at me.
Callum smiled.
"My wife studied at Wharton," he said casually. "She also has video evidence of the groom kissing another woman at the altar in front of three hundred witnesses."
I pulled out my phone. Harper, bless her, had sent me a clip. Filmed from the third row. Crystal clear.
"Dylan breached good faith first," I said. "The clause is void. If he wants to push this, we counter-sue for fraud and emotional damages. My family invested sixty million into Lawson Construction over the past two years based on this agreement. If the agreement is void, we want it back. All of it."
The senior partner was already typing. "We can file by tonight."
"Do it," Callum said.
When the room emptied, he turned to me.
"You didn't need me for that."
"No," I admitted. "But I'll need you for what comes next."
"What comes next?"
"Dylan won't stop at a lawsuit. He'll come after me personally. Amber too. They'll try to turn people against me, control the story."
Callum loosened his tie, his expression darkening.
"Let them try," he said. "I'd love to see how they spin this once the fraud evidence hits the press."
My phone buzzed. An unknown number.
I opened it.
[Serena, this is Amber. I know you're angry, but let's talk like adults. Dylan and I can explain everything. Don't do something you'll regret.]
I turned the screen toward Callum.
He read it and laughed. Cold. Short.
"She's scared," he said.
"She should be." I typed back three words.
[See you soon.]
"He's suing my parents?" My voice was steady, but my hands weren't.
"Breach of contract. The merger agreement between Cole Capital and Lawson Construction included a marriage clause. By walking out, Dylan's claiming your family owes them forty million in damages."
Forty million. That was more than enough to cripple my parents.
"That bastard." The words came out quiet. Lethal.
Callum reached over and took my hand. His thumb traced across my knuckles once, slow and deliberate.
"He won't get a cent," he said. "I'll have my legal team on it within the hour. But this is just the beginning. Dylan's panicking, and panicking men make stupid moves."
My phone erupted again. This time, it was my mother.
I answered.
"Serena!" Mom's voice was shaking. "The Lawsons just served us papers. What is happening? Your father is beside himself. Come home right now."
"Mom, listen to me. I'll handle it."
"How? You just—you walked out of your wedding and vanished! We have guests asking questions, reporters outside—"
"Mom." I made my voice firm. "I got married."
Dead silence.
"What?"
"I married Callum Reed. Thirty minutes ago."
The silence stretched so long I thought the call dropped. Then my mother made a sound that was half-gasp, half-laugh.
"Callum Reed? The Callum Reed?"
"Yes."
Another pause. Then her voice dropped low. "Serena, if this is some kind of rebound stunt—"
"It's not. I'll explain everything tonight. But right now, I need you and Dad to trust me. Can you do that?"
I heard her exhale. Slowly.
"Okay," she whispered. "Okay. But you'd better have answers when you get here."
I hung up and turned to Callum.
He was watching me with something like admiration.
"You're steady under pressure," he said.
"I had four years of practice."
He nodded like that made sense. Then he leaned forward and tapped the partition. "Take us to Reed Tower."
The car changed direction smoothly. I looked at him.
"What's at Reed Tower?"
"My office. Where we're about to bury Dylan Lawson's lawsuit before it even hits a courtroom."
When we arrived, the building was sixty floors of glass and steel. People in the lobby froze when they saw him. Then froze harder when they saw me—still in my wedding dress, mascara slightly smudged, walking beside their CEO like I owned the place.
His assistant, a sharp-eyed woman named Diana, met us at the elevator.
"Mr. Reed, the legal team is assembled in Conference Room A. Also—" she glanced at me, "—congratulations?"
"Thank you, Diana. This is my wife, Serena Reed. Whatever she needs, she gets. Treat her word as mine."
Diana didn't miss a beat. "Understood."
Inside the conference room, six lawyers in expensive suits were already spread across the table, papers and laptops everywhere.
Callum didn't sit. He stood at the head of the table, hands in his pockets.
"Dylan Lawson filed a breach-of-contract suit against the Cole family forty minutes ago. I want it dead by end of day."
A senior partner looked up. "On what grounds are we countering?"
Callum glanced at me. I took the cue.
"The marriage clause in the merger agreement is contingent on good faith from both parties," I said. "Section twelve, paragraph four. If either party engages in conduct that materially damages the trust required for the union, the clause is voidable."
The lawyers stared at me.
Callum smiled.
"My wife studied at Wharton," he said casually. "She also has video evidence of the groom kissing another woman at the altar in front of three hundred witnesses."
I pulled out my phone. Harper, bless her, had sent me a clip. Filmed from the third row. Crystal clear.
"Dylan breached good faith first," I said. "The clause is void. If he wants to push this, we counter-sue for fraud and emotional damages. My family invested sixty million into Lawson Construction over the past two years based on this agreement. If the agreement is void, we want it back. All of it."
The senior partner was already typing. "We can file by tonight."
"Do it," Callum said.
When the room emptied, he turned to me.
"You didn't need me for that."
"No," I admitted. "But I'll need you for what comes next."
"What comes next?"
"Dylan won't stop at a lawsuit. He'll come after me personally. Amber too. They'll try to turn people against me, control the story."
Callum loosened his tie, his expression darkening.
"Let them try," he said. "I'd love to see how they spin this once the fraud evidence hits the press."
My phone buzzed. An unknown number.
I opened it.
[Serena, this is Amber. I know you're angry, but let's talk like adults. Dylan and I can explain everything. Don't do something you'll regret.]
I turned the screen toward Callum.
He read it and laughed. Cold. Short.
"She's scared," he said.
"She should be." I typed back three words.
[See you soon.]