The Enigmatic Alexander Chase

Chapter 3: Master Caspian

“I’m sorry, but you seem to have made a mistake. I’m not who you’re looking for,” Alexander said firmly, his voice cold and unwavering.  

The elderly man with the white beard took a step closer, his gaze filled with something between relief and disbelief.

“Master Caspian, even after ten years, I would never forget your face,” he said, his tone reverent, as if addressing royalty.  

Alexander clenched his jaw. “My name is Alexander! Now get lost.”  

The old man’s eyes softened with a mix of sadness and understanding. His name was Geoffrey, and he had once served as Caspian’s butler. Time had added lines to his face, but his loyalty seemed unshakable. 

Geoffrey studied Alexander carefully, noting how different he looked from the young master he had once known—thinner, his hair slightly disheveled, and his demeanor hardened. But the eyes, Geoffrey thought, those eyes told the true story.  

“Master Caspian,” Geoffrey said with a small, hopeful smile, bowing his head slightly. “I know it’s you. You cannot hide from me.”  

“I told you already, my name is Alexander!,” Alexander retorted, his voice sharp.

“The Caspian you’re looking for is long dead."

Geoffrey hesitated but pressed on. “But, Master Caspian… you’re needed back at home.”  

Alexander’s expression darkened, anger and disbelief flashing across his face.

“I’m needed!?” he repeated bitterly. “You mean by the same family that threw my mother out onto the street like she was trash?”  

Geoffrey’s face fell. “We’re… I am… truly sorry. If I could have helped her, I would have. But her banishment was beyond my power.”  

Alexander let out a cold, humorless laugh.

“Oh yes, my dear father. Tell me, did he send you to drag his ‘bastard son’ back home? Or is he too ashamed to acknowledge me even now? Does he even know you’re here?”  

Geoffrey looked down, his voice heavy with sorrow. “Your father… is dead.”  

Alexander froze, the wind momentarily knocked out of him.

For every sentence Geoffrey had uttered, he’d had a retort ready, but this news hit him like a blow.

His father—dead? It was a strange feeling, a complex tangle of hatred, bitterness, and… something else he couldn’t quite name.

He had wished for years to confront the man who had made his mother’s life a living hell. Now, that chance had slipped away.  

“How did he die?” Alexander managed, his voice strained. He caught himself and shook his head. “You know what? I don’t even want to know. Just leave.”  

Geoffrey’s voice was quiet but persistent. “Master Caspian…”  

“My name is Alexander, and I am not your master.” His eyes were like steel as he stared Geoffrey down.

“And the next time you call me that, I swear I’ll cut out your tongue and feed it to stray dogs.”  

A flash of pain crossed Geoffrey’s face, but he nodded, bowing his head. He had spent years searching for the young master he’d once served, but he now realized that the Caspian he had known was long gone.  

“Very well,” Geoffrey said, his voice a mixture of resignation and sadness.

“I apologize for the intrusion. Here is my card, should you wish to reach me.” He handed Alexander a small card with his contact information.  

Alexander snatched the card and turned to leave, but Geoffrey called after him.

“Your mother!!… What would she have wanted you to do?”  

Alexander stopped, his back to Geoffrey. He didn’t turn around, but his voice was filled with anger and sorrow.

“After what he did to her, she would have wanted me to kill him myself.”  

Without another word, he walked away, leaving Geoffrey standing alone in the rain, holding onto a memory of a young boy who no longer existed.  

 

---

 

As Alexander walked through the dim streets, he tried to shake off the encounter, but Geoffrey’s words echoed in his mind. “Your mother… what would she have wanted you to do?”

His mother.... The one person who had shown him unconditional love, who had shielded him from the cruelty of the world, until she herself became a victim of it.

He stopped walking and looked up at the cloudy sky, raindrops beginning to fall and mix with the shadows of his memories.  

 

.....

 

The old man was right. In the past, a past too distant and painful to remember, he used to be Caspian Alexander Chase, heir to the Stellar Nebula Conglomerate, one of the world’s wealthiest families.

His future had been bright, his life mapped out with luxury and privilege. But it all crumbled when his mother was banished from the Chase family, cast out without a second thought.  

Alexander left his life and searched for her, desperately and angry. And when he finally found her, she was in a hospital bed, battling cancer.

By then, he had little left, having exhausted his funds in his search for her. That was when he met Luther Lockwood, Seraphina’s father, under an unusual circumstance.

Luther offered him a deal: he would cover all of his mother’s medical bills if Alexander agreed to marry his daughter, Seraphina.  

Desperate to save his mother, Alexander had accepted. Thanks to Luther, his mother lived for three more years. But those years passed quickly, and he lost her in the end.  

Since then, he had cut all ties with the Chase family, vowing never to return, to live his life as Alexander Chase and bury Caspian Chase forever.  

 

---

 

Lost in thought, Alexander realized he had reached home. The sight of Seraphina’s car in the driveway told him she was back. He barely had time to take off his shoes when a sharp slap struck his cheek.  

“How dare you humiliate my daughter in front of Lady Lockwood, you worthless rat!”  

It was Caroline, his mother-in-law, the constant thorn in his side. Caroline had never accepted him as Seraphina’s husband and blamed him for everything wrong in her daughter’s life. To her, Alexander was a disgrace, a stain on the family’s reputation.  

“Mother!” Seraphina’s voice cut through the tension as she rushed over to pull Alexander back.  

“Why do you keep defending this gutter trash? Do you realize he’s bringing shame upon us? You deserve better, Seraphina! When will you listen to me and divorce him?”  

“Mother, I’ve told you a thousand times—I will never divorce Alexander.”  

“And I will not rest until you come to your senses”, Caroline snapped.  

“Mother, it’s late. Alexander and I need to get some rest. I have a busy day tomorrow,” Seraphina said firmly, leading Alexander into their room.  

 

---

 

Inside their bedroom, Seraphina sighed and looked at him.

“Thank you,” Alexander muttered.  

She raised an eyebrow, her expression softening.

“You’re welcome. But, Alexander, would it kill you to keep that sharp tongue of yours under control?”  

He smirked slightly. “Understood.”  

“Good,” she said, settling into her side of the bed.

 “Okay, do you need me to get your wardrobe choice," Alexander replied, confused.

"I said 'you,' not 'me,' I wasn’t invited, I was only asked to extend the invitation," Seraphina clarified.

"What? On whose invite?" Alexander exclaimed in disbelief.

Who would invite him to a banquet?

“Jacob Harrington” Seraphina replied.

“What!!” Alexander exclaimed in disbelief. Why would the King of Diamond himself extend an invitation to him?

Alexander’s eyes widened. “What?! Jacob Harrington? The King of Diamonds?”  

Seraphina nodded. “Yes. And apparently, he specifically requested your presence.”  

Alexander lay back, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. Why would the most powerful man in the diamond industry want anything to do with him?