𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter Twenty

The night passed with many different emotions for everyone. Vienne was distraught, Sebastian was confused and worried about her, Claudine was angry, and Edward felt a smug sense of self-satisfaction that the first part of his plan had worked and was now moving forward. But he knew he wasn't done yet, not at all.

He knew Vienne and Sebastian were both stubborn and wouldn't give up so easily if given the slightest chance of acting out in a rebellion, so he believed in taking deeper measures in order to ensure that he got what he wanted. But his desires also ran a lot deeper than just wanting Vienne. Edward was the kind of man who always sought out for more—more fame, more money, more of anything. But he had always managed to make it look like it had come naturally and not like he had been pulling strings behind the scenes to get it.

And he was planning on turning this into one of them.

Edward was a very egotistical and narcissistic man to his core, and although he was good at hiding it from the public eye, he would never not be egotistical and narcissistic. Growing up with a silver spoon in hand and getting whatever he wanted started this for him very early on. And the pressure of being the oldest in the Carter family, which meant somehow bringing more attention and power to the family, also fed into this idea that also contributed increasingly to his decline in morals.

And over the past few months, they had certainly declined more. Claudine introducing him to her daughter, knowing that it would probably be a hassle to get her to comply, ignited some insane fire inside of him that made him disregard others feelings more and more as time went on. It had gotten to the point where he hardly cared about anyone but himself, truly cared, that is.

If he could marry Vienne, use the Austen fortune to his advantage, and take credit for everything, he'd be set. The only issue—Luis was now in the way. The money left for Vienne was currently in his possession as Vienne wouldn't get it until she was twenty-four years old, and she was twenty-two. That was two years Edward was not willing to wait.

And besides, the entire Austen fortune sounded a lot more appealing than just Vienne's inheritance.

The Carters had raised a money- and power-hungry man, but even now it surpassed anything they had ever thought. The fight to get Vienne had only thrown him down a slippery slope.

It wasn't just about winning Vienne over anymore; he wanted a lot more than just her. He was quickly allowing himself to be overcome by greed and selfishness; not a single thought about the well-being of others crossed his mind.

When he returned home, he had a smug smile on his face. Upon entering his office, he saw Rolf, who hadn't' left since failing to keep the paper away from Edward. He was still sulking, feeling guilty about not doing something about this earlier. And he could tell by the look on Edwards's face that his plan had indeed worked. Rolf immediately felt sick to his stomach.

"Today is a good day, Rolf." He announced with a smile on his face. "The first part of my plan has successfully moved forward. I can practically feel the victory from here."

Rolf's eyes widened. "What do you mean the first part? Wasn't telling Claudine your whole plan?" He asked; the terror of knowing Edward was planning something else was beginning to rise in his voice.

"Well, yes, that was all it was originally, but then I thought, why stop there?" Edward replied. "There also have been some things to come to my attention that draw my concern or have piqued my interest. Telling Claudine was simply the start of things."

"What could you possibly be planning next?" Rolf questioned. He wanted to criticize Edward, but he knew if Edward was going to tell him anything about this plan, he needed to seem like he was on his side so he could prevent it this time.