The Shadow Kingdom

Chapter 14 - Homecoming

It is nighttime in Adrian's apartment. I'm wearing the Alexander Wang dress that I picked out with Selena. It feels decidedly appropriate. Everyone is here – Augustus, Diana, and even Tiberius though he might as well be a statue. The papers are ready, and all we need is for my new family to arrive.

"How are you feeling?" Diana asks me.

"If I asked you to kill William as soon as he comes up, would you?"

She breathes a quiet laugh. "Maybe. But you'd have to pay me first."

Sebastian announces that William has arrived along with Nathaniel and Selena. There was a large debate about where the meeting should take place, but in the end, Augustus was holding all the cards. William agreed to sign the papers here.

I lock arms with Adrian as we wait for the Ashcrofts to come up. William's face is the first to appear with Nathaniel and Selena standing on either side of him. Selena maintains her two-faced geniality and smiles at me as if we're going to be sharing recipes in the future. Nathaniel is just as emotionless as Tiberius.

"William, welcome." Augustus speaks. "Today is a defining moment in the history of our houses. You gain not only a new daughter but also a daughter who is in love with my son. I think this will be remembered for generations to come."

William clenches his teeth but maintains the façade. "Indeed, my old friend. I should thank you. Your son did us a great service by discovering Scarlett. Perhaps one day we can even speak of a union between our families. Imagine how powerful our houses would be if they were united as one."

We proceed to the dining room where the documents are laid out. William turns to me with a sad look on his face. "Scarlett my dear, if I had known that you existed, I would have taken you into my household a long time ago. For an Ashcroft, there is no greater bond than that of blood. Please forgive me for all the hardship you've endured." Keep dreaming, you son of a bitch.

William reads the documents in detail. Everyone in the room is silent, waiting for him to put his fingerprint on the piece of paper and end this nightmare for good. After an agonizing five minutes, the man finally touches the inkpad and presses his thumb to the page.

"There. Now, we can put all this ugly business behind us!" William claps and faces me. "From this day forth, your name is Scarlett Ashcroft. Be proud my dear, and embrace the glory that is your birthright."

I smile at him in the same way that Selena smiles at me. "There are a few other names I'd like to mention. Andrea Clement for one." William's eyes squeeze together as he realizes that I don't give a damn about political correctness. "She's the nineteen-year-old girl you raped so viciously that it drove her insane. And there's Alexandra Whitmore. She's my sister whom you sent three Prometheus mercenaries to kill."

William's eyes burn with anger. He is about to say something in his defense, but instead, he just swallows the tense air. He knows that he is not among friends. "My real parents died in a car accident two years ago. I'll take your last name but only so that you won't kill me. I will never call you father, and I will never call you family. I will hate you until the day one of us is dead. And you can keep my damn birthright."

Adrian maintains his crown prince reserve, but Diana beams at me. I saunter over to Selena whose false amity has faded like smoke from a dying flame. "I'm very sorry for what happened to your mother." I say to her. "But the only person to blame for that is your daddy, not Adrian. He sacrificed her for the sake of his own pride."

After that, Selena's pseudo-friendliness is replaced with homicidal rage. If she had a dagger right now, she would no doubt try to kill all of us. I wonder who would win – her or Diana. "You don't have to worry about me taking one third of daddy's kingdom. I don't want anything from him or you. Now, do us all a favour; go back to London, and stay there."

The Ashcrofts leave much less amicably than when they arrived. Tiberius and Nathaniel exchange an irrefutably hostile glance right before Nathaniel marches out the door. As Sebastian closes the door behind him, my invisible shackles finally vanish.

"My new Ashcroft Highness," Augustus says to me. For the briefest moment, his face was ablaze in ire directed at me, and I have no idea why. "Congratulations on your new station. I hope this whole experience has shown you who your true friends are in this world."

I curtsy to Augustus. "Of course, Shang Majesty. Your help has been invaluable to me in these difficult days." Adrian grins at me mockingly. I give him a look that says, "Shut up."

"Has my son ever mentioned something called Lex Clementiae to you?"

"Yes, Shang Majesty. I understand the concept perfectly."

Augustus's face becomes hard as stone, an utterly no non-sense expression. He makes it clear that this is all just business to him. "It is one of our most absolute laws. It is inviolable even for kings. You would be wise to remember this if and when I require your generosity." I just smile and curtsy again.

His eyes behold Adrian's, and slowly, they become more at ease. "Ah, my prodigal son." Both his hands clamp onto Adrian's shoulders. "When will you come to your senses and retake your rightful place at my side in Shanghai?"

"Perhaps one day when you stop blackmailing judges and politicians." Adrian answers. "Or when you stop running gambling and prostitution dens. Or when you stop murdering innocent women and children. Perhaps that will be the day." I get the feeling no one else could speak to Augustus this way without losing a tongue.

Augustus snickers as though it's an inside joke. "Our business here is done." He grabs his briefcase and heads for the door. Everyone follows him obediently, but Diana winks at me from the doorway right before she leaves.