Chapter 5

A fragile peace settled over me in the following weeks. The small dorm room, devoid of personal touches, became a sanctuary. My days were filled with the demanding schedule of Detroit project preparations. The rigorous nature of the work, the endless data analysis, the meticulous planning-it was a welcome distraction. I buried myself in blueprints and spreadsheets, finding solace in the logical order of things, a stark contrast to the emotional chaos of my personal life.

The firm's decision to temporarily reassign me to the Detroit project meant I was technically still employed, still within the New York office's orbit, even if my physical presence was confined to the staff housing. It was a limbo state, but it offered a strange comfort. A buffer zone before my complete severance.

My phone buzzed, vibrating on the worn desk. A call from an unknown number. My stomach tightened with a familiar dread. I let it ring. A few moments later, a text appeared: We know where you work, Cayla. We need to talk.

My parents. My parasitic family. They had found me.

I braced myself, a cold premonition settling deep in my bones. I knew their visit wouldn't be a pleasant one. It never was. I closed my laptop, the screen reflecting my drawn, weary face, and walked towards the entrance of the building.

They were there, just as I expected, a garish splash of discord against the austere backdrop of the research institute. My mother, her face a mask of aggrieved concern, my father, his jaw set in a grim line. And Artis, slouched against a pillar, scrolling through his phone, looking utterly bored. People were staring. Whispering. My humiliation was a public spectacle.

"Cayla Norris! There you are!" My mother's voice, shrill and theatrical, carried across the lobby. "We've been so worried about you! Why haven't you returned our calls?"

I stopped a few feet from them, my arms crossed over my chest, a shield against their emotional onslaught. "What do you want?" My voice was low, devoid of any familial warmth.

Artis finally looked up, his eyes narrowing. "What do we want? What do you think we want? You cut us off! Your father's credit card was declined this morning! And Mom can't afford her new wardrobe for the charity gala!" He gestured wildly, his voice rising in an indignant whine. "How could you do this to us?"

"I'm not responsible for your finances, Artis," I stated, my gaze steady. "I never was. You're a grown man. Get a job."

My father stepped forward, his face mottled with anger. "Don't you dare speak to your brother like that, young lady! He's going through a tough time! And we've relied on you for years! You promised to take care of us!"

"I promised nothing," I retorted, the anger a hot, burning ember in my chest. "I helped because I thought it was what a good daughter, a good sister did. But you don't care about me. You only care about the money. About Declan's money, which you thought you had access to through me."

"You selfish bitch!" Artis shrieked, lunging forward. He slapped me, a sharp, stinging blow across my face. My head snapped to the side, the sudden impact sending stars dancing behind my eyes. I stumbled back, losing my footing, and landed hard on the polished marble floor. A fresh wave of pain shot through my injured arm as I tried to brace myself. My vision blurred.

Around us, the lobby had fallen silent. Gasps rippled through the few employees who were still in the building. Their shocked faces, their wide, horrified eyes, only amplified my humiliation. I lay there for a moment, the cold marble seeping into my bones, the taste of blood in my mouth. My face stung, my arm throbbed, but it was the deep, insidious wound of betrayal that truly crippled me. To be struck by my own brother, in front of strangers, for daring to assert my independence.

"Get up, Cayla!" my mother hissed, her concern not for my pain, but for the spectacle we were creating. "This is embarrassing! Just give Artis what he wants so we can leave!"

I pushed myself up, my muscles screaming in protest, my dignity in tatters. I met Artis's furious gaze, my own eyes burning with a newfound coldness. "I will not give you anything," I declared, my voice raw but firm. "Ever again. You will not get another cent from me."

Artis's face contorted into something ugly, feral. He raised his hand again, his eyes glinting with malicious intent. "You bitch! I'll teach you a lesson!"

Before his hand could connect again, a blur of motion, a sudden, forceful presence. Declan. He appeared as if from nowhere, stepping in front of me, shielding me with his own body. Artis's hand, meant for me, struck Declan's shoulder with a sickening thud. Declan grunted, a sharp intake of breath.

My eyes widened in shock. Declan. Why was he here? Why was he protecting me? A tangled mix of confusion and a fleeting, dangerous spark of hope flickered within me.

Artis stared at Declan, his face paling, the aggression draining from him like water from a sieve. My parents, too, looked terrified. Declan Sharp. The man who wielded immense power, the one they had sought to exploit. His presence, his unexpected intervention, struck a primal fear in them.

Declan, his face impassive despite the impact, reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His movements were calm, deliberate. "Security to the main lobby," he said into the phone, his voice steady, authoritarian. "And dispatch police. We have an assault. And I'd like to file charges."

My father stammered, "Declan, wait! No, please! She's our daughter! He's her brother!"

Declan's eyes, cold and unwavering, fixed on my father. "What I witnessed was an unprovoked assault. And repeated harassment. That is a criminal offense." He didn't even acknowledge their pleas, his gaze remaining steely.

Within minutes, security guards arrived, followed by two police officers. My parents and Artis, their faces now contorted with fear and desperate apologies, were led away, their protests fading down the hallway. "Cayla, please! Don't let them do this! We're your family!" My mother' s voice, a pathetic wail, echoed in the receding distance.

I watched them go, a strange, detached calm settling over me. The pain in my face, the throbbing in my arm, faded into a dull background thrum. Their pleas, their accusations, meant nothing to me anymore. They were strangers. Less than strangers. They were a scar, a wound that was finally, irrevocably closing.

Declan turned to me, his gaze softening slightly as he took in my bruised face and blood-stained sleeve. "You're hurt," he said, his voice laced with an unfamiliar concern. "Let's get you to the clinic. You might have a concussion."

His words, his presence, sent a jolt through me. It was so unexpected. So... kind. It brought back a distant memory, a faint echo from my past. High school. I was a quiet, awkward girl, an outsider struggling with academic pressure and my family's constant demands. Declan, then a senior, a brilliant prodigy already making waves, had once seen me cowering in a corner, bullied by some older students. He'd stepped in, silent and formidable, his mere presence enough to send them scattering. He hadn't said a word to me then, just offered a fleeting, almost imperceptible nod. But that small act of unexpected kindness had resonated with me, a lifeline in my lonely existence. It had been the first spark of my devotion, the seed from which my decade-long love had grown.

He had helped me then, when I was vulnerable. Just as he had helped me now. My heart, a stubborn, bruised thing, ached with a confused mix of gratitude and the ghost of an old affection.