He still didn't speak. But the look on his face was answer enough.
Elena pushed her chair back and stood.
"Where are you going?" William asked.
"To the Voss family."
The table erupted.
"Elena." William's voice was hard. "Don't. Those people do not mean well."
"Dad, I'll be fine. I just want to speak to his father. Explain our side. Maybe he will listen."
"Listen?" William stared at her. "Elena, you know exactly why all of this is happening. It is because you turned Drake down. Walking into that house without being willing to accept him will only pour fuel on the fire. Don't even consider it unless you are ready to change your answer."
"That is the only thing that fixes this," Clara said. "And you know it."
"Dad. Auntie." Elena looked at them one after the other. "I hear you. But I still want to try. We are all human beings. Maybe his father will see reason." She picked up her bag. "I am going to explain things calmly. That is all I am asking for."
William exhaled slowly. "Then don't go alone. Take your bodyguard. And if anything feels wrong — anything at all — call for help immediately."
"Who exactly are the Voss family?" Alexander asked. "Are they really that powerful?"
"Heartless is a better word," Robert said. "When they decide to come after you, they don't stop. That is why Drake walks around thinking he can take whatever he wants. His father has built connections that reach far beyond this city."
Alexander considered that for a moment. Then he said, "In that case — leave it with me. I'll take care of it."
The room turned on him at once.
"Take care of it?" Nadia's voice rose. "Did you not just hear a single word that was said? These people have influence everywhere. What exactly do you think you have that will make them back down?"
"I understand you want to help," Robert said, and his voice was genuinely kind. "But I say this with respect — this situation is beyond what one person can manage alone."
Elena shifted her chair back fully. "Dad. Grandpa." Her voice was soft but settled. "I need to go. I'm sorry — tonight was supposed to be for all of us and I hate leaving like this." She looked at Nadia. "Let's go."
The room wanted to stop her. But her mind was already made up and every face at the table could see it.
Nadia stood. Andrew stood and followed.
Alexander stood too.
"Young man." Robert looked up at him. "You're leaving as well? Stay — finish the meal with us. You saved my life today."
"Please, just let him go," Margaret said. "He has no place in this family's business."
"Shut your mouth." Robert's voice came out quiet but final, and the table went still. "Shut your mouth and don't be ungrateful." He looked at Margaret steadily. "This young man has something that all the powerful people you are so impressed by will never have. Remember that."
Margaret turned her face away without a word.
Alexander looked at Robert. "You are right to say that, sir," he said quietly. "But she is also right that I should go." He gave a small, respectful nod. "Thank you for everything." He left before Robert could call him back.
Robert watched the door close. Then he turned to Margaret slowly.
"Why are you like this?" His voice was tired now, not angry. "Do you want to put me in an early grave?"
"And where do you think you're going?" Margaret asked as he pushed back his own chair.
"Enjoy the meal." He stood. "I am done."
"Done?" Her voice went up. "This entire dinner was arranged for you."
"Grandpa, everything tonight was for you," William said.
"Yes — all of this was because of you," Mark added.
Robert looked at the table. The food. The glasses. The faces. "I don't think we are doing this for me at the right time," he said quietly. "Not when my own wife would have preferred to arrange it after I was already gone." He set his napkin down. "My guest has left. There is no point to this meal." He walked out.
The room sat in silence.
"Me?" Margaret said after a long moment. "He is putting this on me?"
"Grandma, don't take it to heart," Clara said softly. "He doesn't mean it."
Margaret said nothing.
But inside, her mind was already moving. Alexander was the problem. A stranger with no name, no family background, no future worth mentioning — and somehow Robert had welcomed him to this table as if he belonged here. Before her husband got any further ideas about pushing Elena toward this nobody, she would find a way to remove him. Quietly and completely. The Carter name had been built through the right connections, the right marriages, the right choices. She was not going to stand by and watch one lucky outsider drag everything they had worked for back down to nothing.
Outside, Alexander was heading toward his car when Nadia stepped directly into his path, arms folded.
"And where exactly do you think you're going?"
Elena cut in before he could answer. "Please — head home for tonight. Come to the office tomorrow morning and I'll get you properly set up." She reached into her bag, pulled out a card, and held it out to him. "Take this. There is one million dollars on it. Consider it payment for everything — from the first day we met, and for what you did for my grandfather today."
Alexander looked at the card. He took it slowly.
Nadia's eyes went wide.
Then he reached out, turned Elena's hand over gently, and placed the card back into her palm. He closed her fingers around it and let go.
"I don't need it," he said. "And I'm not short of money. Go handle your business. If you ever need me, call." He turned and walked to his car.
Nadia stamped her foot on the ground, her face tight. "Disgusting," she muttered under her breath.
Elena stood and watched him go.
Something about him had never added up — not from the very first day. He had saved her twice without being asked. He had brought her grandfather back from the edge of death using nothing but a single strand of her hair. And now he had handed back one million dollars without blinking, the same way he had the first time they met — like money was something he had long since stopped thinking about.
One thought said he was exactly what he claimed — an ordinary man putting on a brave face after being looked down on all evening, too proud to admit he needed anything.
Another thought said something else entirely. Something she wasn't ready to name yet.
"Elena." Nadia's voice pulled her back. "Please don't tell me you are standing out here developing feelings for a country bumpkin."
"Stop joking," Elena said. She turned, got into the car, and pulled the door shut.
The car moved off into the evening.
But her eyes stayed on the road ahead for a long time without really seeing it.