Lance's face was grim, his expression nearly stormy. Claire had already distanced herself from them, emotionally and in every other way. The only leverage they had left was the heavy burden of everything they'd done for her growing up—and using that felt like nothing short of emotional blackmail.
If they went down that path, he knew things between him and Claire would be broken forever.
Better he be the one to take on the arranged marriage, rather than drive Claire to completely sever her last tie with the James family. The company had always been his responsibility, not Claire's. If everything fell apart, she shouldn't have to bear any of the blame.
Octavia heaved a heavy sigh when her daughter voiced the question weighing on all their minds. “I'm just afraid she'll say no. I haven't even dared to bring it up with her.”
"The way things happened when you came back—we sent Claire off to the countryside in such a rush. People must've thought we were heartless.”
"We did raise her all these years, and there's history and affection there, but she's bound to have her own thoughts."
"If we go begging for her help, she might agree, but let's be honest-she'll probably never forgive us for it."
Cindy frowned, worry all over her face. What if Claire refused? Would they really just go bankrupt?
"What are we supposed to do? She's already mad at me about everything that happened before, and she's upset with Mom too..." Cindy's anxiety was real now. If the family went under, what kind of heiress would she be? She'd probably be worse off than Claire in the end.
After all, Claire had pocketed money from selling that prized antique pillow and now held the deed to a mansion that looked like something out of a magazine. Cindy couldn't help but feel envious—okay, jealous. All she had in comparison was a regular apartment-and technically, it still belonged to her older brother.
Octavia had promised her a fancy penthouse eventually, but let's be honest: compared to Claire's inheritance, it just wasn't the same.
"Mr. Clark's son must be something special. I just wonder if Claire would even consider him..." Cindy mused. In her mind, a man with an international education and a pedigree like his was the ultimate status symbol-a total catch.
He had to be more than a good fit for Claire.
But then, it seemed odd: why would someone from a family like the Clarks even look
at a girl who'd grown up an orphan out in the countryside? Was it really just because Claire had been top of her class? Who picks a daughter-in-law just for her test scores?
know
"We don't know if she'd accept him or not," Octavia said, still clearly troubled, her eyes darting toward her son. "Honestly, ngy biggest worry is she's still holding onto resentment from before-that she'd say no even if she wanted to say yes." .net
She gave Lance a side-eye, as if daring him to stay silent after everything that'd been said.
Sure enough, Lance couldn't hold back any longer. "Don't go to her about this. She'll never agree there's no point."
"We did our worst before. Now we can't blame her for turning her back on this family."
"Dad just wants me to marry Mabel, don't you?" He let out a sharp breath. “Fine. I'll
call her tomorrow and whatever her family wants, I'll agree to it. All of it."
He was throwing himself on the chopping block, no holding back.
Octavia shot a look at her husband.
Latham scowled, voice gruff. “Don't be ridiculous. What do you mean you'll agree to anything? What if Mabel's family expects you to be a - lapdog? What if they insist you take her name just to spite us?"
Lance let out a short, cold laugh. "Then I'll take their name."
“It's just a name. It doesn't mean I'll stop being your son."
Latham immediately recognized the tone—a son lashing out, angry and hurt.
He just frowned in silence.
Taking the wife's family name? That was absolutely out of the question.
Still, if Lance really did marry Mabel, they could go with Latham's original plan have two kids, one for family. Best case scenario, Mabel might agree to four children, then both sides would get two.
Latham, as always, was running the numbers—visualizing a dynasty where their grandchildren would inherit both empires, ensuring the James bloodline controlled every cent.