Chapter 64

**Summer's POV**

The next day at work, the sharp click of familiar footsteps made me look up from my computer screen. Alexander was heading straight for my desk,his face tight with barely contained emotion. My stomach clenched as I recognized that look - it never meant anything good.

"You yesterday..." he started, his voice carrying an edge I'd never heard before.

I kept my expression professionally neutral despite how my pulse quickened. "Did you need something?"

"You didn't come home last night!" His voice rose slightly, drawing curious glances from nearby cubicles. "Running around all night - do you have any idea what people will say? A young woman like you..."

"Excuse me?" I set down my papers carefully, figting to keep my voice steady. "Since when do I need to report my whereabouts to you?"

Alexander's face darkened as I stood to leave. He caught up in two quick strides, grabbing my arm. "Summer! Where were you last night? It was Brandon, wasn't it? That bastard - do you even know what kind of person he is? How could you just spend the night with someone like that? Have you thought about what people will say?"

"Enough!" The word burst out. My mind flashed to Brandon - his quiet strength, the way he always seemed to appear when I needed him most. "He's not the kind of person you think he is." I said firmly.

"Summer, how could you disappoint me like this?" Alexander's eyes were wild with something that looked unsettlingly like possession. "How could you do this to me?" Before I could react, his hands shot out, grabbing my shoulders with bruising force. The world tilted as he shoved me into the empty elevator,my back hitting the wall hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs.

"Let go!" I gasped, fear and fury warring in my chest. "Alexander, you've lost your mind! Let me go!"

He pressed closer, his cologne suddenly suffocating. "Tell me the truth -did you sleep with him? Answer me!"

Terror gave me strength. I thrashed against his grip, managing to land a stinging slap across his face. "Look at who I am! I'm Summer, not Victoria.If you want to go crazy, go find Victoria!"

The mention of his fiancée's name had an unexpected effect. Instead of backing off, he suddenly wrapped his arms around me in a crushing embrace.

"Summer, I'm sorry," his voice turned sickeningly sweet. "You know you're the one I really love. Victoria... that was just a moment of weakness.She seduced me.Summer."

"Let go," I could barely breathe through his grip. "Let go or I'Il scream."

"Go ahead," his tone turned ugly. "Scream. And I'll tell everyone how you're still in love with me, how we were together first. Summer, I know you're angry about Victoria, but you have to understand-she has Capital Corp shares. I had no choice. But once we're married and those shares are mine,I'll divorce her. Then we can be together." The words hit like physical blows. With strength born of desperation, I drove my knee up between his legs. The moment his grip loosened, I lunged for the elevator buttons. "You don't love me anymore, is that it?" He wheezed, still managing to catch my wrist, "So you've fallen for that thug instead?" "He's not a thug." The defense came automatically. I took a deep breath.meeting his eyes steadily. "And go fuck yourself."

\---

My phone's shrill ring felt like an ice pick through my skull. I stared at the screen for long moments before finally answering.

"Why did it take so long to pick up?" Elizabeth's sharp voice carried its usual note of displeasure.

The familiar tone sent a lance of pain through my chest. No matter how many times she proved otherwise, some small part of me still couldn't understand how she could treat her own daughter like this. Victoria got all her maternal warmth while I... I got this.

"I was working," I managed, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice."Did you need something?"

No matter how much I resented her, I couldn't change the fact that she was my mother. That truth was carved into my bones, impossible to excise.

"Come home!" The command in her voice hadn't changed since my childhood. "Don't forget, this is your høme. Your grandfather has been so good to you..."

"I'm busy." I cut her off, unable to bear another lecture about family duty.

"Busy?" She scoffed. "What could you possibly be busy with? You're just an employee. Listen carefully - if you don't come home today..."

"Then what?" A bitter laugh escaped me. "If you'd shown even a fraction of the concern for me that you show for Victoria, maybe I wouldn't dread coming home so much." "What are you implying?" Her voice turned deadly soft. "That this is my fault? Summer, I'm warning you - if you don't come home today, you'll regret it."

Ice crystallized in my veins. "What could I possibly have to regret?"

"Those videos of you and Charles Windsor are right here."The satisfaction in her voice made me want to throw up. "Think carefully about what you might regret. Come home. Now."

My voice shook despite my best efforts. "I'm your daughter too! How could you do this to me?"

"There is no 'how could I." The casual cruelty in her voice felt like knives in my chest. "Capital Corp needs funding, and Charles is willing to provide it. If you still consider me your mother, come home. Otherwise, these videos go public. Your choice."

Her voice softened to something almost maternal. "You should understand - Charles is the third son of the Windsor family. They're far more powerful than the Taylors. If you become his woman, everything the Windsors have could be yours. I've arranged everything for you. One day you'll thank me for this."

The mask of maternal concern made bile rise in my throat. But those videos in her hands were a ticking time bomb. Elizabeth would do anything for Victoria - if she gave those videos to my sister... I couldn't even imagine surviving that kind of humiliation.

"Fine," I forced the words past numb lips. "I'll meet you. But not at home." "Perfect." The satisfaction in her voice made my skin crawl.

The moment the call ended, my legs gave out. I slid down the wall,staring blindly ahead as the world spun around me. "Miss Taylor!" Amy's worried voice seemed to come from very far away."Are you alright?"

I forced my lips into something approximating a smile. "I'm fine.Everything's fine."

Back at my desk, my trembling fingers found Brandon's contact in my phone. I stared at his name for long moments before changing the contact to simply "Bran."

The first call went straight to voicemail.

*Maybe he's in a meeting?* I tried again immediately.

My fingers shook as I hit redial for the third time. The phone felt impossibly heavy in my hand as I waited, praying to hear his deep voice instead of another voicemail message.

*Please pick up. Brandon, I need you...*

But only silence answered.