Christabel came face to face with her mother.
Not in a dream.
Not in a memory.
In person.
And the woman she saw was not the woman she remembered.
---
The meeting was arranged by Katerina.
A neutral location. A warehouse on the edge of the city. The kind of place where people went when they didn't want to be seen.
Christabel came alone.
No Damien. No guards. No weapons.
Just her.
And the mother who had abandoned her.
---
The warehouse was cold.
The walls were damp.
The only light came from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Her mother was standing in the middle of the room.
She looked older. Thinner. Her hair was gray. Her face was lined.
But her eyes were the same.
Dark. Cold. Unforgiving.
"Christabel."
"Mother."
"It's been a long time."
"Not long enough."
---
Her mother smiled.
The same smile Christabel remembered from childhood.
The one that meant she was about to be punished.
"You've done well for yourself. The company. The husband. The child."
"I've done well despite you."
"Despite me?" Her mother laughed. "I made you. I shaped you. I gave you the strength to become who you are."
"You abandoned me."
"I freed you."
"You faked your death."
"I needed to disappear. To build. To plan."
"To destroy me."
"To take back what's mine."
---
Christabel stepped closer.
"The company isn't yours. It was never yours. I built it. From nothing. With my own hands."
"With money I gave you."
"With money you stole from Father."
Her mother's face hardened.
"Your father was a fool."
"Your father was a good man."
"Your father was weak."
"Your father loved me."
"Your father loved himself."
---
They stood in silence.
The bulb flickered.
Somewhere in the distance, a train rumbled.
"Why are you doing this?" Christabel asked.
"Because I want what's mine."
"The company isn't yours."
"The company is mine. The empire is mine. Everything you have should be mine."
"And Lena? Is she yours too?"
Her mother's eyes flickered.
"Lena is innocent."
"Lena is my daughter."
"Lena is my granddaughter."
"You've never met her."
"I've watched her. From a distance. She's beautiful."
"You've been watching my daughter?"
"I've been watching my family."
---
Christabel's hands clenched into fists.
"You took a photograph of her. From inside my home."
"I needed to know she was real."
"You threatened her."
"I needed to know you would fight for her."
"I would die for her."
Her mother smiled.
"I know. That's why I'm going to win."
---
Christabel walked to the door.
"I'm leaving."
"We're not done."
"Yes, we are."
"You haven't heard my offer."
"I don't want your offer."
"Then you'll lose everything."
---
Christabel turned.
"What offer?"
Her mother stepped closer.
"Give me the company. Give me the empire. Give me Verona."
"And what do I get in return?"
"You get to keep your family. Your husband. Your daughter. Your life."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll take them."
---
Christabel stared at her mother.
The woman who had raised her. The woman who had abandoned her. The woman who was threatening to destroy everything she loved.
"You're a monster," Christabel said.
"I'm a survivor."
"You're a monster."
"We're the same, you and I. We always have been."
"No." Christabel shook her head. "We're nothing alike."
"We're exactly alike. That's why you've always been afraid of me. Because you see yourself when you look at me."
---
Christabel walked out of the warehouse.
The night air was cold.
The stars were bright.
Damien was waiting in the car.
"How was it?" he asked.
"She's worse than I remembered."
"Did she threaten you?"
"She threatened Lena."
His face went dark.
"Then we end this. Tonight."
"No."
"Christabel-"
"Not tonight. Not like this. She wants us to react. She wants us to be angry. She wants us to make mistakes."
"Then what do we do?"
"We wait."
---
They drove home in silence.
The city was dark.
The streets were empty.
Lena was asleep. The nanny was waiting.
Christabel held her daughter.
Pressed her face to Lena's soft hair.
"I saw my mother today," she whispered.
Lena cooed.
"She's not the woman I remembered. She's harder. Colder. More dangerous."
Lena grabbed her finger.
Held on tight.
"But I'm not afraid of her. Because I have you."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's asleep," he said.
"She's safe."
"For now."
"For always."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about what she said. About us being the same."
"You're not the same."
"She's my mother."
"She's a stranger who shares your blood."
"That's what I told Katerina."
"And now you understand."
---
That night, Christabel couldn't sleep.
She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about her mother.
The woman who had raised her.
The woman who had abandoned her.
The woman who was trying to destroy her.
Damien was awake beside her.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"I'm thinking about forgiveness."
"Can you forgive her?"
"I don't know."
"Can you stop her?"
"I have to."
---
The next morning, Christabel called Sarah.
"I need you to come over."
"What's wrong?"
"I saw Mother."
Sarah was silent for a moment.
"What?"
"I saw Mother. She's alive. She's been hiding. And she's trying to destroy me."
---
Sarah came over within the hour.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were shaking.
"I don't understand."
"She faked her death. Years ago. Because she was angry. Because she wanted to build her own empire."
"And now?"
"Now she wants mine."