Chapter 8
Sebastian did not deny wanting influence.
He denied betrayal.
“I protected the future.”
I stared.
“From me?”
“From uncertainty.”
Same word old men use when a woman controls something they expected to inherit.
I was twenty-six.
Healthy.
Alive.
Not planning succession.
That made Sebastian nervous.
Men who spend their lives near power often fear any future they have not prearranged.
“Miles is hours old.”
“He will not remain hours old.”
“Ivy won’t either.”
His expression shifted.
There.
“Say it.”
He stayed silent.
“Why Miles?”
He finally answered.
“The organization will ask.”
“Ask what?”
“Whether a daughter passes command to a daughter.”
I almost smiled.
“Ivy is not my heir.”
“Exactly.”
He leaned forward.
“You refuse to settle anything.”
Because children deserve time before adults decide which burdens fit their shoulders.
Sebastian hated that.
He wanted predictability.
Male child.
Vale name.
Traditional image.
Something old captains understood.
“And if Miles grows up wanting nothing to do with us?”
He looked almost offended.
“He will be taught better.”
There it was.
Ownership disguised as education.
I looked toward Evan.
His face had gone cold.
He heard it too.
Sebastian continued.
“Seraphina, you know how this works.”
“Yes.”
My voice lowered.
“That is why you lose your chair.”
For the first time, his expression cracked.
“What?”
“No council access.”
He stared.
“No independent crew contact.”
His jaw tightened.
“No authority over Vale protection.”
He stood.
“You cannot remove me over one conversation.”
I looked at him.
“You arranged access to my hospital room.”
Pause.
“You coached my mother-in-law into taking my newborn.”
Another.
“You prepared a male child for political grooming before he had spent a night alive.”
His face hardened.
“You are emotional.”
I almost laughed.
There it was.
The oldest tool.
A woman resists control.
Call the resistance emotional.
I stood carefully despite the pain.
Evan moved to help.
I raised one hand.
Not because I did not need him.
Because I needed Sebastian to see me stand.
“You mistook postpartum for powerless.”
May you like
Silence.
“Do not make that mistake twice.”
