Once the silence became deafening, Diana stood up from the sofa. Her eyes roamed over the room, finding purchase on her own child nestled in a stranger's arms. Lily was such a useless creature. No matter how they taught her, she never learned. If Diana hadn't suffered from the pains of birthing her and then done a DNA test to make sure the girl hadn't been exchanged at birth, she would have sworn this child wasn't hers.
She looked away, sickened. She couldn't stand looking at that thing. Before, the girl could at least be used as a threat to Gale, but it seemed that her usefulness even in that regard had expired.
Pathetic creature. Giving her life had been a mistake.
"Let's go." Besides Ashton, the stupid girl also struggled to her feet. "Not you," Diana sneered. "Stay with that hanger on if you care so much for her. Useless piece of—"
"Diana," Ashton stopped her.
She gave him a look, then turned away. It wasn't as if they hadn't used this tactic of the bad and the good guy before, but what was the point in playing in front of a child? Or that background decoration? Ashton was just wasting his energy.
Outside, they boarded their car and told the driver to take them home. While sitting in the back, Diana looked over at Ashton. "You think he's serious?"
Her husband's expression changed, dropping the amiable mask he wore so often. His eyes narrowed, and she could see anger brimming deep inside him. "He himself thinks he's serious."
There was only a slight distinction between the two, but it meant all the world. "We can't let him die," she muttered, turning away.
If Gale died, their family line would come to an end. Both she and Ashton came from lineages dating back to before settlers came to America, but both their families had been about to die out when they came of age. They had worked tirelessly to rebuild a joint empire, to create a power no one could resist, and yet…
Yet their own son threatened to undo all of it. Wasn't that a sick twist of fate? They created a genius in business that could rival the two of them put together, but instead of appreciating all their hard work, the punk actually wanted to destroy everything.
"He has no right to do that to himself," Diana hissed, her hands forming into fists. Her long nails bit into her skin, but she didn't care. "We created him, we made him who he is today! Who does he think he is to throw it all away?"
Ashton took her hands and uncurled them. "Don't hurt yourself over him." He kissed her palms, and she smiled with a touch of derision at his actions. Neither of them had ever cared about each other besides appreciating the other's ability to scheme, so such actions were just a game for them, a test of sorts.
"Are you done?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow, and Ashton grinned, pulling away.
His expression soured soon, though. "The problem is that he has leverage against us, but we don't. Who could have thought that he'd use his own life as a hostage to threaten us."
"We should have." Diana looked at the small red marks on her palms from the nails. "We taught him to use any means necessary. If the prize is worth it, going all-in isn't that crazy."
Deep within, she admired her son's tenacity. When faced with an opponent he couldn't defeat, he actually found a way to strengthen his position to the point that they had to go on the defensive. Without any consideration, he cut off his connections one by one until nothing moved him besides the end goal.
Gale knew about the inevitable end for Dioscuri, but he didn't bat an eye. They had made sure to be around when he received the news, yet they saw no reaction. He just read it as any other kind of gossip, and even joked about it later with his 'friends'.
The company meant nothing to him, and Kyro seemed to share the same fate. Neither of them could move Gale.
Diana had searched for some women Gale might have liked, but none were anything more than one night stands. He had some other friends, but it wouldn't be worth the trouble to attack them when even Kyro's fall meant nothing.
And there was little else Diana and Ashton could do. They interfered with his parties a few times, but he just found other places to go. In such a large city there were thousands of parties going at the same time. Even if they shut them all down, Gale would just start one himself. It wasn't like he lacked the money.
"We outsmarted ourselves. He should have never been released from his leash." Ashton took out his tablet and made a few notes.
"Stupid. If we hadn't, what would he have done when we died? We're not immortal and someone that's not a tool will have to take care of the family." Diana turned to him with a frown. "We'll have to give Lily to him."
"What for? He doesn't care anymore," Ashton muttered, not even rising his head. "Pretty sure we'll find him in the hospital tomorrow."
Diana grabbed the tablet from him, feeling like hitting him with it. The man was smart, but he could hold a grudge like no other. Even against his son that was their only link to the future.
"Stop acting obtuse. Lily is his end goal. If we play our cards right, we might still get him back for the price of that useless waste of space."
"We'd be compromising."
"Do you have a better option?"
Ashton stared at her for a while, then took his tablet back. "I'll draw up the documents."
"Good."
Diana clicked the microphone on and told the driver to turn back. While Ashton played with his documents, she was going to fight another battle. There was no way Gale could refuse her offer, even if he had inherited his father's tendency to act stupid when emotion took him.