The Disgraced Husband Is the Septamillionaire Heir

Chapter 4

"Mr. Mitchell, I must object—" Madison Harper began, her voice sharp as she rushed forward.

The slap echoed through the marble lobby like a gunshot.

Madison's head snapped to the side, her hand flying to her reddening cheek. The entire crowd gasped in unison, some people actually stumbling backward in shock.

Sebastian Mitchell's hand was still raised, his face twisted with fury. "You dare speak?"

"Mr. Mitchell, I—I was only trying to protect—"

"Silence!" Sebastian's voice cracked like a whip. Then, to everyone's absolute astonishment, he turned toward Caden and bowed deeply at the waist, his arms at his sides in a gesture of profound respect.

"Mr. Pierce," Sebastian said, his voice thick with emotion. "Please accept my sincerest apologies. This inexcusable treatment—the disrespect you've endured—it's unforgivable. I take full responsibility."

Caden waved a hand dismissively. "Handle it however you see fit. I'm going upstairs."

Without another word, he walked past Sebastian toward the private elevator. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, everyone pressing themselves against the walls to give him space. Caden didn't look at any of them as he stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut.

The moment he disappeared, Sebastian's expression transformed from apologetic to absolutely livid. He turned to face the lobby, his eyes sweeping over every single person who had witnessed the scene.

"Madison Harper," he said coldly. "You're fired. Effective immediately."

"What?" Madison's face went white. "Mr. Mitchell, please, I was just doing my job—"

"Your job?" Sebastian's laugh was harsh. "Your job was to manage my schedule and screen visitors with discretion and intelligence. Instead, you insulted, threatened, and ordered security to assault the owner of this company."

The lobby erupted in whispers.

"Owner?"

"Did he say owner?"

"That kid?"

Madison's legs nearly gave out. "Owner? But—but you're the CEO, you—"

"I work for him," Sebastian said flatly. "As does everyone in this building. As do you—or rather, as you did." He turned to the security guards. "You two. Fired. The receptionist—fired." His gaze swept across the crowd. "Everyone who laughed, everyone who made comments, everyone who participated in humiliating Mr. Pierce—I want your names on my desk within the hour. You're all terminated."

"Please!" Madison grabbed Sebastian's arm. "Please, Mr. Mitchell, I have a mortgage, I have bills—I can't lose this job! I'll apologize, I'll do anything—"

Sebastian yanked his arm free. "You should have thought of that before you decided to play gatekeeper with the man who signs my paychecks. Pack your things. You have until the end of the day to clear out your desk. One minute past five PM, and you'll be hearing from our attorneys. I'll make sure you never work in this city again."

"No, please—" Madison's voice broke, but Sebastian had already turned away from her.

He faced the crowd, his expression deadly serious. "Let me make something absolutely clear to all of you. That young man you just saw? Caden Pierce? He is the true owner of Marvelous Group. Every dollar this company makes, every decision we execute, every success we achieve—it all belongs to him. I am merely the caretaker, managing his assets until he chose to return. And today, he returned."

The silence was deafening.

"If anything like this ever happens again," Sebastian continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "if I hear about anyone disrespecting him, questioning him, or treating him as anything less than what he is—you can all pack your bags and get lost. Am I understood?"

A chorus of "Yes, sir" rippled through the lobby.

Sebastian nodded curtly, then turned on his heel and headed for the private elevator, leaving behind a lobby full of shocked, pale-faced employees and one sobbing secretary.

By the time Sebastian reached the top floor, Caden was already standing in the CEO's office, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city sprawling below. The office was enormous—sleek modern furniture, abstract art on the walls, and a desk that looked like it cost more than most people's cars.

"You came back," Sebastian said, his voice filled with genuine emotion as he entered. "After all these years, you finally came back."

Caden turned, a slight smile on his face. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I knew you would. I just didn't know when." Sebastian practically bounced on his feet like an excited puppy. "This is incredible! We should celebrate! I'll arrange a banquet—something grand, befitting your return. We'll invite all the major players in the city, make a statement—"

"No."

Sebastian's enthusiasm deflated slightly. "No?"

"No banquet. No announcements. No fanfare." Caden's expression grew serious. "I'm not here to make a social debut. I'm here for answers."

"The letters," Sebastian said immediately, his demeanor shifting to business mode. "You want to know about the letters."

"Yes. What did you find?"

Sebastian's expression turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, Caden. The letters were extremely old—the paper was degraded, the ink faded. We had to bring in specialists, use advanced imaging technology. Out of the dozen letters you left with me, we've only managed to successfully decipher one."

Caden's jaw tightened. "One? That's it?"

"I'm afraid so. The others are still being processed, but it's slow work."

"Fine. What did the one letter say? Get to the point."

Sebastian shifted his weight, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, it's... it's rather unusual."

"Sebastian."

"It's a marriage contract."

Caden blinked. "A what?"

"A marriage contract," Sebastian repeated. "Apparently arranged by your parents before the fire. You were betrothed as a child."

For a moment, Caden just stared at him. Then he laughed—a short, disbelieving bark of laughter. "You're joking."

"I wish I were."

"A marriage contract? From when I was a kid?" Caden ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. Okay, that's... fine. Those things don't hold up anyway. It's probably null and void by now. Let's just pretend this conversation never happened and—"

"It's already too late for that," Sebastian interrupted.

Caden's hand froze mid-motion. "What do you mean, too late?"

"Master Aldrich found out about the contract."

"How did he—never mind. Of course he did." Caden pinched the bridge of his nose. "And?"

"And he was... quite pleased, actually. He decided to honor the arrangement himself, on your behalf. He contacted the head of the other family personally."

The color drained from Caden's face. "He did what?"

"He promised them that the marriage would be honored as soon as you came down from the mountain. Which you have. So technically, the engagement is now active."

"WHAT?" Caden exploded, fumbling for his phone. "That meddling old—I'm calling him right now. How could he do this without even discussing it with me? Do you have any idea what this means? I've spent ten years living under a false identity, staying off the radar, making sure my enemies couldn't track me. And now he's just—what, broadcasting my existence to random families? Handing them my address on a silver platter?"

Sebastian caught Caden's wrist before he could dial. "Wait. Calm down. It's not as bad as you think."

"Not as bad? Sebastian, this compromises everything—"

"Master Aldrich arranged the engagement using your current identity," Sebastian explained quickly. "Not your birth name. As far as anyone knows, you're just Caden Pierce, a talented young man who trained under the legendary Master Aldrich. Your real connection to the old Pierce family remains hidden."

Caden paused, his phone halfway to his ear. "He... he used my cover identity?"

"Exactly."

Caden lowered the phone slowly. "Okay. Okay, that's... actually smart. Still infuriating, but smart." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Fine. So, what family am I supposedly engaged to? And wait—they actually agreed to this? Some random family just accepted an engagement proposal from a stranger because my teacher asked?"

Sebastian's chest puffed up with pride. "Of course they agreed. The moment they heard you were Master Aldrich's prized disciple, his star pupil, they accepted without a second thought. The man's reputation is legendary. Being associated with him is worth more than gold."

"Great," Caden muttered. "So who are these people? What family?"

"The Montgomery family," Sebastian announced, his smugness evident. "One of the most prestigious families in the city. They can't quite match my—er, your—wealth, of course. But they're old money, very well-connected, highly respected in social circles. A noble household, if you will."

Caden froze. "The Montgomery family?"

"Yes. Richard Montgomery is the head of the family. He has three children—two sons and a daughter. The engagement is with the daughter, naturally. Her name is—"

"Vivian," Caden whispered, his face going pale. "Vivian Montgomery."

Sebastian blinked. "How did you know that?"

Caden's vision went dark. His legs felt weak. The room seemed to tilt sideways as the realization crashed over him like a tidal wave.

The Montgomery family. The illustrious, prestigious Montgomery family. The same family whose eldest daughter he had slept with this morning. The same woman who had thrown his business card in the trash, threatened to destroy him if he ever spoke about what happened, and walked out treating him like he was some kind of con artist.

"Oh my God," Caden breathed.

"Are you alright?" Sebastian asked, concerned. "You look like you're about to pass out."

"The Montgomery family," Caden repeated slowly. "You're telling me I'm engaged to Vivian Montgomery. Of the Montgomery family. That Vivian Montgomery."

"Yes. Do you... do you know her?"

Caden's eye twitched. Then twitched again. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. No words came out.

"Caden?"

"I slept with her," Caden finally croaked out.

Sebastian's eyebrows shot up. "You what?"

"This morning. Last night, technically. She was drugged by kidnappers. I saved her. Had to... had to neutralize the aphrodisiac. And then this morning she woke up, threw a glass at my head, called me a rapist, threw your business card in the trash, threatened to destroy me, and walked out." The words tumbled out faster and faster. "And now you're telling me I'm engaged to her? To HER?"

Sebastian stared at him for a long moment. Then he started to laugh.

"This isn't funny!" Caden snapped.

"Oh, but it is," Sebastian wheezed, clutching his sides. "It's absolutely hilarious. You saved your own fiancée without knowing it, slept with her, got threatened by her, and now you have to—" He dissolved into another fit of laughter.

Caden sank into the nearest chair, his head in his hands. "I'm going to kill Master Aldrich. I'm going to climb back up that mountain and strangle him with my bare hands."

"Look on the bright side," Sebastian said, wiping tears from his eyes. "At least you two have already... consummated the relationship?"

Caden's glare could have melted steel.

"Too soon?" Sebastian asked.

"Way too soon."

Caden leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. Vivian Montgomery. His fiancée. The cold, indifferent woman who had looked at him like he was dirt on her shoe. The woman who had thrown away his olive branch without a second thought.

His eye twitched again.

"This is going to be a disaster," he muttered.

"Probably," Sebastian agreed cheerfully. "But at least it won't be boring."

Caden groaned and covered his face with both hands. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could almost hear Master Aldrich laughing.