“Tell Moran his debt is now due.”
The man took out his phone.
Gary’s mouth opened.
Caden faced him fully.
“You fired her for refusing to be humiliated.”
“I fired her for insubordination.”
“You embarrassed a grieving woman, disclosed her private medical history, and followed her into an alley to finish what you began in public.”
Gary glanced around at the customers.
Nobody looked away.
“You have misunderstood—”
“No,” Caden said. “I understood you immediately.”
Gary’s voice dropped.
“What do you want?”
Caden looked at Elena holding Isla.
“The diner.”
Gary laughed once.
Then saw Caden was serious.
“That isn’t how business works.”
“It is how debt works.”
Caden turned away from him.
The dismissal was complete.
Elena stared.
“I don’t want the diner.”
“I didn’t say it was for you.”
“What are you doing?”
“Removing a problem.”
“You can’t buy every building where someone is cruel to me.”
“I can buy this one.”
“That’s insane.”
The corner of one man’s mouth moved before he forced it still.
Caden did not react.
Isla had begun to fall asleep against Elena.
Luca reached through the stroller rails and touched the hem of Elena’s shirt.
She crouched while holding Isla, letting both boys reach her.
Their crying faded.
Caden looked down at them.
For one second, the power around him fell away.
He was only a father watching his children find comfort he had not been able to give.
“How did you get them?” Elena asked.
His gaze rose.
The question hardened everything again.
“Not here.”
“Were they adopted?”
“No.”
“A surrogate?”
“Yes.”
Elena’s breath caught.
Caden saw it.
“The clinic?”
He did not answer quickly enough.
Elena’s arms tightened around Isla.
“What clinic?”