Chapter 324

Nathan frowned. He had anticipated Theodore Goldmann's arrival today—that was precisely why he'd instructed the receptionist to claim he wasn't in the office. Yet here the old man was, barging straight into his private space.

The door swung open with force. Theodore stood there, his expression thunderous. "Hmph! What's this? Cutting off your own grandfather now?"

Nathan lowered his legs from the desk, set his phone aside, and leaned back in his chair. His voice was ice. "You know I wouldn't."

"Wouldn't you?" Theodore's face darkened further. "You refuse to step foot in the mansion because of that woman, and now you dare claim loyalty?"

A cold smirk curled Nathan's lips. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who threw me out. If my presence disgusts you so much, why demand I return?"

"Nathan!" Theodore's grip tightened on his cane. "That Vanderbilt girl has poisoned your mind. Do you think I didn't recognize her in those photos? Sneaking Daisy off to meet Adrian Boucher—what was she thinking?"

His opinion of Evelyn had plummeted further.

Even if the meeting was innocent, how reckless to be photographed with another man while married to a Goldmann! The internet was already ablaze with speculation. Did she care nothing for the family's reputation?

Nathan's smirk didn't waver. "I knew about the meeting. And if you'd bothered to look closely, you'd see half a dozen staff members in the background."

"Theodore." Nathan exhaled sharply. "You've never interfered in my life before. Why this obsession with tearing me away from Evelyn? There are countless women in the world—why must you fixate on her?"

His grandfather's jaw clenched. "You know what the de Armas did to us. I won't watch history repeat itself—won't let you become their pawn like your mother did!"

Nathan shot to his feet, his chair slamming against the wall. "Don't you dare speak of her!"

Theodore froze. The fury in Nathan's eyes was volcanic.

The older man's voice softened. "We tried to save her, Nathan. By the time we got the tip—"

"Save your excuses." Nathan's laugh was bitter. "You never approved of Mother's career. Your spies blanket Stoslo—yet you expect me to believe you 'didn't know' she'd been missing for twenty-four hours?" His voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "Or did you simply not care?"

Theodore paled. This wound had festered for fifteen years.

Nathan had been seventeen when his mother, Victoria Knowles, traveled to Stoslo for Fashion Week. It was her final public appearance before her tragic death.

Theodore struggled to maintain composure. "But it was the de Armas who kidnapped her!"

"And I blame you more."

This was why Nathan had refused to inherit Night Banquet. The organization that had failed his mother didn't deserve his loyalty.

Their negligence made them complicit in her murder.

Theodore looked stricken. When he finally spoke, his voice was hollow. "I won't pretend we were perfect. But we searched every corner of that city. The trail went cold too quickly."

Nathan turned away. He was done with explanations.

Outside the door, Rosalind Summers stood frozen. The revelations about Victoria's death drained the color from her face—and a terrible realization took root in her gut.