Chapter 2 - The Marston Protocol
Adrian reached down, took Emma gently by the elbow, and guided her off the freezing stone planter. His grip was remarkably firm yet infinitely careful, as if he were handling a piece of delicate porcelain that was on the verge of shattering into a thousand irrecoverable pieces.
He opened the rear door of the black sedan for her.
“Get in, Emma,” he murmured, his deep voice carrying a command that invited no argument. “It’s freezing out here.”
Emma didn't resist. She slid into the plush leather interior, wrapping Adrian’s heavy overcoat tightly around her shaking frame. The heat inside the vehicle was already running, filling the cabin with warmth.
Adrian stepped into the car beside her, closing the door with a quiet, solid thud.
Up front, his long-time driver and security chief, a broad-shouldered man named Vance, met Adrian’s eyes in the rearview mirror without uttering a word.
“Take us to the estate,” Adrian ordered smoothly. “And Vance?”
“Sir?”
“Call Marcus. Tell him I want Cole’s personal accounts, corporate expense cards, and harbor access passes suspended within the hour. Tell him to freeze every line of credit attached to the Marston holdings bearing Cole’s signature.”
Emma turned her head sharply to look at Adrian, her eyes wide with shock.
“Adrian... you don't have to do that,” she whispered. “That’s family business.”
Adrian turned his head to look at her, his gaze intense and unyielding.
“Cole made his choices, Emma,” Adrian said coldly. “He used Marston funds to lease that suite at the Harbor Crown. He used Marston credit to buy gifts for your sister. He abused my family's name while tearing apart a woman who deserved nothing but devotion.”
He leaned back against the leather seat, resting his large, calloused hands on his knees.
“Cole has lived thirty-two years believing there are no consequences for his weak impulses because I have always been there to clean up his messes. That ends today.”
Emma looked out the tinted window as the black sedan smoothly pulled away from the curb, leaving the Harbor Crown Hotel behind.
“My mother is going to be devastated,” Emma murmured, staring blankly at the passing brick storefronts of downtown Port Mercy. “The invitations were sent to two hundred people. The caterers are paid. The church... my mother spent six months sewing the table runners.”
“Let me handle the logistics, Emma,” Adrian said quietly.
“No, Adrian, you don't understand,” she said, her voice rising as the full reality of the public humiliation began to crash over her like a tidal wave. “Tessa is my sister. My mother has spent her entire life favoring her, excusing her behavior, making excuses for her tantrums. When she finds out Tessa took Cole... she won't defend me. She’ll tell me I should have held onto him tighter. She’ll tell me I pushed him into Tessa's arms by working too many night shifts at the hospital.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed into slit-like daggers.
“If your mother utters a single word of blame toward you, she will answer directly to me,” he said, his tone leaving no doubt whatsoever that he meant every syllable.
“Why are you doing this?” Emma asked, turning her head to meet his dark grey gaze. “He’s your brother, Adrian. Your only brother.”
Adrian looked at her for a long, heavy moment. The silence inside the luxury vehicle stretched out, heavy with unsaid truths that seemed to linger right beneath the surface.
“Cole is my brother,” Adrian acknowledged smoothly. “Which means I know exactly how foolish, careless, and self-indulgent he truly is. He possessed a rare, beautiful woman who was loyal, kind, and brilliant—a woman who stood by him while he built his career—and he threw her away for cheap, temporary validation.”
Adrian reached out, his long fingers hesitating for a fraction of a second before lightly brushing a stray strand of dark hair away from Emma’s pale cheek.
“Cole never earned you, Emma,” Adrian said softly. “He just happened to find you first.”
Emma’s breath hitched in her throat. The heat from his touch seemed to burn through the cold numbness that had gripped her since entering Suite 402.
The sedan glided up the winding, tree-lined driveway of the Marston estate—a massive, historic stone manor sitting high on the granite bluffs overlooking Port Mercy Harbor. The iron gates swung open automatically, closing behind them with a heavy, final clang.
Vance pulled the car up to the front portico and stepped out to open Emma’s door.
“Welcome home, Miss Bennett,” Vance said respectfully, holding out an umbrella to shield her from the light drizzle that had begun to fall.
Emma stood on the stone steps, looking up at the grand facade of the Marston estate. She had been here dozens of times for family dinners, holiday parties, and charity galas hosted by Cole and Adrian. But walking through those grand oak front doors beside Adrian now felt entirely different.
As they stepped into the grand foyer, a butler approached to take Adrian’s coat—only to realize Adrian had already wrapped it around Emma’s shoulders.
“Bring tea to the library, Thomas,” Adrian commanded smoothly. “And tell Mrs. Gable to prepare the west wing guest suite for Miss Bennett. She will be staying with us for the foreseeable future.”
Emma spun around to face him. “Adrian, I can't stay here! This is Cole’s home too.”
“Cole will not set foot on this property again without my explicit permission,” Adrian said calmly, unbuttoning his waistcoat. “You need a safe place, Emma. A place where reporters, gossiping wedding guests, and your sister cannot corner you.”
Before Emma could protest further, the heavy brass door clapper on the front entrance sounded three times in rapid, frantic succession.
May you like
Thomas, the butler, opened the door cautious.
Standing on the rain-slicked porch outside, soaking wet and breathing heavily, was Cole.
