chapter 21.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Legacy I Choose

Damien

The Wolfe Holdings boardroom hadn't changed.

Same obsidian marble table. Same panoramic city view. Same old men in tailored suits who measured power in assets and headlines.

But he had changed.

He wasn't here for stocks or mergers.

He was here for his family.

"Gentlemen," Damien said coolly, buttoning his jacket. "And Mother."

Veronica raised a brow. "This is not a family reunion, Damien."

"Isn't it?" he replied, glancing down at the packet of press statements she'd prepared. "You want a narrative? Fine. Let's give them the truth."

There were murmurs around the table. Tension laced the air like static.

"I'm not hiding Liam. I'm not ashamed of my son. If you want to release a statement, do it. But it'll be one I approve. One that says this company stands behind its CEO—and the family he chooses."

Veronica's mouth tightened. "You're making a mistake."

"No," Damien said. "The mistake was ever thinking I had to choose between power and love. I don't."

He slid the final version of his press release onto the table.

Black-and-white. No sensationalism. No scandal.

Just the truth.

And Liam's name spelled clearly: Liam Alexander Wolfe.

---

Ava

She waited in the lobby, heart pounding like war drums.

She didn't know what Damien would say behind those doors—but she knew what it could cost him.

When the elevator finally dinged, he stepped out—tie loose, jaw set, eyes on fire.

"I told them everything," he said.

Her heart dropped. "What did they say?"

"Doesn't matter," he answered. "They don't get to decide who I protect."

Then he handed her a folder.

She opened it slowly.

Inside was a legal custody agreement—joint, clean, with her name beside his, equal and binding.

And under that?

A personal letter. Handwritten.

> You gave up everything to protect Liam once.

Let me give something up to protect you now.

No secrets. No running. No boardrooms. Just us.

—D

Ava looked up.

She didn't speak.

She just stepped forward… and wrapped her arms around him.

Tight.

Safe.

Whole.