Chapter 213: Too Late To Save The Devil

The dining room at the Greenwich estate was framed in dark wainscoting, glowing silver, and the heavy silence of centuries-old stone.

?Victoria sat at the head of the long mahogany table, cutting into her braised duck with practiced elegance, her sharp eyes pointedly avoiding her son. Damian sat opposite, swirling a snifter of scotch, radiating a rigid, immovable quiet.

?Ana sat between them, feeling the weight of the secret they still hid from the family: the debt contract that bound her to his side.

?Then came Valerie’s third glass of vintage Bordeaux.

?The wine hummed through Valerie’s veins, melting away any hesitation. Shaking her head at the stifling atmosphere, she set her glass down with a sharp clink and turned toward Ana with an affectionate, tipsy grin.

?"Oh, please, could you two look any more miserable?" Valerie scoffed, waving a hand. "It’s a family dinner, not a board hearing! You’re both looking at each other like you’re waiting for the sky to fall."

?"Valerie," Damian warned, his baritone a low, gravelly rasp. "Mind your manners."

?"Oh, stop scowling, Damian, it gives you wrinkles," Valerie shot back, leaning across the table toward Ana with a soft, reminiscent smile. "You know, Ana, Dad used to say that Damian was born with a general’s spine. When Damian was fourteen, Dad stayed up all night teaching him how to read balance sheets by the hearth. Dad had all the patience in the world for him. He always wanted Damian to feel like he didn’t have to carry the family alone. But Damian..."

?Valerie’s smile turned slightly bittersweet, looking at her brother. "Even then, my stubborn brother wouldn’t let Dad help him with a single math problem if he could grind through it by himself until his nose bled. Always so desperate to be the one protecting everyone else, never letting anyone protect him."

?Ana’s hazel eyes shifted toward Damian.

?He didn’t move. In the dancing glow of the candles, his jaw was clenched tight, his dark eyes fixed straight ahead into the amber depth of his glass.

?Ana felt a quiet ache in her chest. She had always known Arthur Sterling was revered... a kind, honorable man whose sudden end had shattered this family. But hearing how deeply Arthur had cared for Damian cast a new, piercing light on Damian’s darkness.

Damian hadn’t become this ruthless, controlling titan because he was unloved; he had become this way because the father he idolized had chosen to bear Richard Vance’s betrayal in silence and take his own life, leaving Damian with the agonizing belief that his father hadn’t trusted him enough to share the weight.

?"Anyway," Valerie sighed, reaching loosely for the decanter, "Dad would tell you to loosen that tie, Damian. You act like if you look away for two seconds, the whole world is going to... whoops!"

?Valerie’s hand wobbled, her elbow bumping her dessert spoon and sending it clattering noisily onto the floor, her wine glass tipping precariously.

?"All right, that’s enough wine for tonight," Ana said softly, stepping in to steady the glass before it spilled.

?She caught the base of the stem and gave Victoria an apologetic nod. Sliding an arm around Valerie’s waist, Ana helped the swaying younger woman to her feet. "Come on, Val. Let’s get some cool water on your face."

?"Ana... you’re too sweet... always looking after everyone," Valerie mumbled affectionately, leaning against her shoulder as Ana guided her out through the double doors toward the powder room.

?The heavy oak doors clicked shut behind them.

?The dining room plunged into complete silence. The wind hummed low against the glass, and the candles flickered over untouched porcelain.

?Victoria set her silverware down with quiet finality. She folded her linen napkin, placed it beside her plate, and looked directly into Damian’s guarded, obsidian eyes.

?"Valerie is right, you know," Victoria said softly, the aristocratic distance in her voice giving way to raw maternal concern. "Your father would hate seeing what you’ve done to yourself, Damian."

?Damian’s jaw hardened, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly tone. "Leave father out of this, Mother."

?"I will not," Victoria said, leaning forward, her gaze piercing. "Arthur made a terrible choice. He thought by hiding the scandal and dying quietly, he was sparing us the shame and the ruin. He was wrong. It shattered you. But instead of letting yourself grieve, you took his death and turned it into a cage."

?Damian’s knuckles tightened around his crystal glass until the glass creaked.

?"You think that if you control every door, every breath Anastasia takes, you can prevent someone you love from disappearing again," Victoria continued, her voice trembling slightly with quiet urgency. "You are terrified of being left in the dark the way Arthur left you. But suffocating that girl with an iron grip won’t bring Arthur back, and it won’t keep her safe. It will only push her away."

?She paused, watching the dark, volatile storm brewing behind her son’s eyes.

?"Go to the clinic with her on Thursday, Damian. Sit down with Dr. Hayes. Stop punishing yourself... and her... for what your father couldn’t bear to share."

The heavy dining room went dead silent.

?Damian didn’t even look up from his scotch. His posture was pure iron.

?"It’s already decided," he said coldly, his deep voice slicing through the air with zero room for debate. "Anastasia will take the sessions on her own. Henry will arrange her security, and Hayes will give her whatever time she needs."

?Victoria’s composure cracked. "Damian..."

?"I don’t have time for this, Mother," he cut in smoothly. "I have a global firm to run. I have the board to manage vultures circling the market. I’m not wasting hours sitting in an armchair in Westchester, letting a stranger dissect my brain."

?Victoria stared at him. The cold, aristocratic matriarch was gone. In her place was just a mother looking at her broken son, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

?"Do you really think this is about the company, Damian?" She whispered, her voice trembling. "I love you. You are my son, and all I want is the best for you. I watched your father carry his burdens until it killed him. I can’t watch you do the same."

?The dark, untouchable wall around Damian flickered for a fraction of a second.

?He set his crystal glass down with a dull thud.

?Slowly, his obsidian eyes met hers. For once, there was no cruelty in his gaze. Just a raw, heavy solemnity.

?"I love you too, Mother," Damian replied quietly. The words were rare, steady, and sincere.

?Then, his jaw set like stone.

?"Which is why you need to stop pushing me."

?Victoria froze.

?"You want me to change. You want me to be saved," Damian murmured, his voice dropping into a dark, gravelly register. "It’s too late for that. The boy who needed saving died the day my father chose a bullet over trusting me."

?He leaned back, the shadows reclaiming his chiseled face. Untouchable. Lethal. Absolute.

?"This is who I am now. The control, the suspicion, the coldness... it’s what kept this family alive. It’s what keeps Anastasia by my side. Stop trying to fix me or my relationship with Anastasia, Mother. It’s far too late."