Chapter 116: Losing Control

Catherine was unsettled by Dorian’s behavior. But if she was going to confront him, this was the safest place to do it.

Her family was here, security was here, and this place had so many witnesses. Even if a hospital corridor was the worst place for drama, this was the best place at the same time.

“He was probably worried because I didn’t answer,” she said quietly.

The excuse sounded weak even to her own ears.

Worried men did not make scenes. Worried men did not force security to intervene while her father lay in ICU. This was not concern. This was ego.

William clearly agreed. His expression was darker than she had seen all night. Alexander watched silently, assessing. Maximilian said nothing, but he simply moved half a step closer behind her, near enough that she could feel him.

William noticed and his eyes sharpened slightly. Then, without another word, he reached behind his back and pulled out his gun.

He placed it into Catherine’s palm. “Have this with you.”

The weight was familiar. Catherine looked at it… then at her brother.

“Billy,” she said gently, almost amused despite the tension, “I’m not going to shoot someone in a hospital.”

William didn’t smile.

“And he’s the sole heir of the Blackwood family,” she added. “I’m not starting a corporate war in the hospital lobby.”

She wasn’t a stranger to firearms. She had trained. She knew how to use one. But guns weren’t tools for wounded pride. And somewhere inside… she didn’t believe Dorian would cross that line.

This had to be a lapse in judgment. A crack in his usual control. Yes, nothing else.

William still looked unconvinced. Catherine pressed the gun back toward him. “No.”

She turned and walked toward the elevators. William stood there, jaw clenched, the weapon still in his hand.

Maximilian stepped forward calmly, and without asking, he took the gun from William’s grip. The motion was smooth and deliberate.

He checked the safety in one practiced glance and slipped it discreetly behind his own back. He didn’t say anything. He just nodded once at William.

A silent promise.

I understand. I’ll protect her.

William studied him for half a second. He wasn’t sure how good a city-raised history professor was with a handgun, but something about Maximilian’s eyes and his posture told him that he’d protect his sister.

He gave a single nod in return.

Alexander exhaled. “I’m going too. You stay here,” he told William.

William didn’t argue this time. His shoulders eased just slightly as he watched the three of them head toward the elevator.

Catherine stood at the front. Alexander to her right, and Maximilian stood half a step behind.

The elevator doors slid open. As they descended, Catherine felt that faint tightening again at her wrist.

The bracelet.

She swallowed.

She didn’t want to think about the past for once. This was about a man downstairs who had crossed a boundary, and she would handle it.

When the elevator doors opened to the main lobby floor, raised voices echoed faintly from the entrance.

Security stood firm. For them, the Preston family was closer to a royal family they served and everyone else was an outsider. They didn’t care for their statuses.

And in the middle of it… Dorian Blackwood stood, impeccably dressed, and fairly composed on the surface.

She turned to Maximilian.

“Stay here.”

His head tilted slightly, like a man who had already calculated ten different outcomes and disliked all of them.

“Please,” she added.

That one word did it. He exhaled slowly. He agreed, even if every instinct in him rejected the idea.

Dorian probably deserved a broken nose. Maybe worse. But Maximilian would listen. And if things crossed into real danger… He would end it.

Consequences be damned.

“I’ll give the signal,” Catherine told Alexander quietly.

Alexander nodded once.

Catherine wasn’t naïve. Not after what had happened in Dorian’s office the other day. If her brothers knew the full extent of that incident, this wouldn’t be a conversation. It would be a corporate war.

The Blackwoods sold products. In today’s world, product-based empires were fragile.

They had supply chains, they depended on public sentiment, they too had regulatory pressure. They were easy to destabilize.

She didn’t want that. Not unless absolutely necessary.

She had always chosen diplomacy first. She wanted to talk first, then act.

She took a steadying breath and walked toward him.

Dorian stood near the entrance, arguing with security. His voice wasn’t shouting. But it was raised, his controlled irritation fraying into something sharper.

His hand adjusted the front button of his tailored suit, a nervous habit.

Security hadn’t drawn weapons, which meant he hadn’t crossed that line.

Yet.

William had every right to be furious. No one associated with her should cause a scene in a hospital lobby.

And of course…Phones were out.

A curse of modern times, where foolishness didn’t stay local. Wasn’t Dorian worried of going viral for this?

“Dorian,” she called.

His head snapped toward her.

And immediately, his expression changed.

“Katrina.” He moved toward her.

Security stepped in instinctively, but Catherine raised a hand.

It’s fine.

“You’re fine,” he said, and before she could react, he pulled her into a hug.

Catherine stiffened. But she let it happen.

If a hug would calm him… Fine. But she didn’t hug him back.

His hands gripped her shoulders as he pulled back, scanning her face. “When you didn’t answer… I—” He swallowed. “You’re fine.”

He tried to pull her in again.

This time, she placed her palm firmly against his arms and stopped him. “I’m fine, Dorian. It’s my dad.”

“Oh.” He exhaled, tension draining from his features. “Now I’m relieved.”

Catherine blinked.

Relieved?

Relieved it wasn’t her? Even if he felt that way, how could he say it so plainly?

This was her father.

“How is he?” Dorian asked, tone smoothing into something polite. Almost rehearsed.

“He’s stable,” she replied.

She didn’t want to linger here. The air felt off.

“Phew…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I saw your brother earlier. He wouldn’t tell me anything. I thought it was something else entirely.” His gaze softened again. “When I learned you left Meridon, I came immediately. It was the middle of the night. When I heard you were at a hospital… I…” He swallowed. “I’m glad you’re safe, Katerina.”

She studied him.

Maybe he had panicked. But it was easy to track her jet. She always traveled predictably.

She was home.

Why did he assume catastrophe?

In the end… It didn’t matter.

“You shouldn’t worry about me, Dorian,” she said evenly.

He frowned slightly.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Silence stretched.

She made it clear in her distant tone that had finality.

“I’ve thought about it,” she continued. “For now, I have no plans to work under anyone. Let’s not meet again.”

She extended her hand in a professional and clean way. “You must have a lot of work, Mr. CEO. You shouldn’t waste your precious time here,” she added lightly. “Goodbye, Dorian. Have a good life.”

This was clear enough. Anyone with dignity would understand.

But Dorian didn’t release her hand.

His fingers tightened instead.

His eyes darkened.

“What are you—”

He stopped mid-sentence, as his gaze dropped to her wrist.

To the bracelet…

Color drained from his face. His pupils constricted.

“How…” His voice shifted to panic.

“How did you get this bracelet?”

Catherine felt his grip tighten painfully. Her brows furrowed. He knew it and still held on. That was worse than his hold.

She twisted slightly, trying to free her wrist.

“Dorian,” she warned.

But her mind was already racing. Why would he react like that? How could he recognize something tied to a past life only she and Maximilian remembered?

Behind her, Alexander’s posture changed.

And several steps away…

Maximilian had already moved.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep