The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 264

Chapter 234: Sebastian plan

Sebastian pov

The car door clicked shut, cutting off the cool night air. I stood on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, completely frozen, My daughter was gone. The red taillights of her car moved down the dark street, turning the corner until they disappeared completely.

My chest felt tight, I could not breathe.

Clains

I looked down at the expensive fabric of my suit jacket. My shoulder was slightly wet. That was where she had rested her face. That was where she had held me.

Goodbye, Dad.

The words repeated in my mind over and over. She had called me Dad. She did not say Sebastien. She did not say Mr. Marchetti. She had looked at me with those beautiful eyes-the exact same eyes as her mother, Elaine-and she had claimed me.

A hot tear spilled over my eyelid, rolling down my cheek. I did not wipe it away. I let it fall. I had spent years carrying the heavy weight of grief for a woman I could not save.

I had lived with the quiet agony of thinking Elaine had simply stopped answering my letters, never knowing she had passed away and left a baby behind.

My poor, sweet Bella had been raised by cold, hateful people who treated her like property. Yet, she had just looked at me and given me the greatest gift of my life. She called me her father.

My throat let out a raw, broken sob. I pulled out my handkerchief with a trembling hand and pressed it against my eyes.

The tears came fast now, heavy and unstoppable. I was a billionaire. I was the Chairman of the Marchetti Group. I ruled over banks, real estate, and fashion houses across the continent. People feared my name and respected my power. But in this quiet moment on a dark street, none of that wealth mattered. I was just a father who had finally found his lost child.

I stood there crying for several minutes, letting years of regret wash out of my soul. I cried for Elaine, who died alone. I cried for Bella, who had to fight the world by herself to build an empire from nothing.

After a long while, my breathing slowed down. I wiped my face completely, tucked the handkerchief back into my pocket, and took a deep, steady breath.

The grief was still there, but a new, fierce protectiveness took its place. She was my firstborn. She was my blood. I was going to spend the rest of my days making sure nobody ever made her cry again.

I walked toward the edge of the sidewalk where my driver was waiting patiently beside the black luxury sedan.

He opened the back door for me without saying a single word. He knew better than to comment on my appearance.

I slid into the leather seat and pulled out my phone. My fingers are steady now. I unlocked the screen, pulled up my contacts, and tapped the number for my private pilot.

1/3

<Chapter 234 Sebastian plan

The phone rang twice before a professional voice answered.

“Good evening, Mr. Marchetti. How can I help you?”

“Are we ready for departure?”-1 asked, my voice direct and clear.

Clum

“Yes, sir,” the pilot replied immediately. “The private jet is fueled, fully prepared, and waiting on the tarmac. The crew is standing by. We can clear for takeoff as soon as you arrive at the airport.”

“Excellent,” I said. “I am done for the meeting. The dinner concluded ahead of schedule. How soon can we fly?”

“We can file the flight plan and have the wheels up within forty-five minutes of your arrival at the terminal, sir. Where are we routing tonight? Are we returning directly to the corporate headquarters in Lyon?”

“No,” I said, a small, dry smile touching my lips as I remembered my conversation with Caleb over dessert. “Change the destination. We are flying to Paris first. I need to pick up my youngest sort, Enzo.”

“Understood, Mr. Marchetti. Routing changed to Paris. We will prepare the cabin for arrival.”

your

“Thank you. I am on my way to the airfield now.”

I hung up the phone and leaned my head back against the soft leather headrest. I stared out the window as the streetlights of the city flashed past in a blur of gold and white.

1

My mind immediately went to my two sons, Olivier and Enzo. Olivier was twenty-three, sharp, and stubborn. He had spent his entire life preparing to inherit the Marchetti empire, raised with the belief that he was the center of my world.

Enzo was twenty, artistic, and emotional. He had already spoken to Bella, and he had loved her instantly. He had even let my five-year-old grandson, Tom, scold him about a dinosaur book.

Olivier was not going to handle this well. He was territorial, and his mother had passed away recently. He would see Bella as a threat to his inheritance, a stranger coming out of nowhere to take what belonged to him.

He did not understand that Bella did not need our money. She was already the Iron Empress. She had built Hart Worldwide into a massive tech and investment empire all on her own. She did not want my crown; she just wanted a family.

ľ

I needed to gather my boys. I needed to bring them together and explain the truth before we all went to Lyon to show Bella and the children the old corporate building.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify