“I will explain what has happened and my reasons,” he began as each settled ever so slightly in their seat, as if readying for a story. Nikolas took a deep breath, and began.
“Six months ago, through independent channels, a man contacted me about an urgent matter. After much debate, we agreed to meet in London late one evening at a Cassadine owned and operated hotel for one hour.”
Nikolas took another breath before continuing in a clear, precise fashion. “The man was Archer Cassadine.”
“I had already been aware of him and a security detail had done a full background search as expected. Definitively, he was proven to be Grandmother’s youngest son. He brought one item only with him to the meeting.”
Nikolas retrieved the file that had been sitting on his desk. He hesitated, only slightly, before opening it. Within, was clearly a picture of a woman and a few pages, ostensibly regarding the woman. Nikolas brought the picture and pages from around the desk and stood in front of the group once more.
“He asked for 3 things: a senior board member position, CEO of Cassadine Technologies, and a full family pardon for his mother.”
Sabrina was the first to react to this news. A grumble of ire and disbelief and a quick headshake, but nothing more.
Nikolas looked down at the picture and then looked up. His brow furrowed ever so slightly as he deliberated how to speak what was on his mind in the clearest way possible. “I did not agree to his terms at the time, but instinctively, I knew I would acquiesce.”
“Wait.”
Nikolas paused as Andresj leaned forward. “Apologies for interrupting, but how were you able to conduct all of this without Cassadine security being involved?”
Nikolas inclined his head, knowing that this would come up. “I did not use Cassadine security for this project.”
A look flickered across Andresj’s face at such a statement. Was it anger? Frustration? Andresj had always sheltered his features better than Nikolas and despite their closeness, even Nikolas on occasion, had a difficult time reading his brother.
“Cassadine security is my purview and it is the only facet of Cassadine Industries that is not controlled by you, the Prince,” Andresj replied in a voice that was deceptively calm. “Is this why you chose an outside source?”
Nikolas allowed a beat to pause before answering. “Yes. I knew commanding security staff to keep silent would be a fruitless endeavor. They report to you and only you and I had already decided to keep this from every Cassadine, including my own wife.”
“So then, you did not reach out to Interpol or the WSB or CTU or any other government controlled entity, as they all have ties to this family,” Andresj continued. The eyes in the room flicked back and forth between the two men as though they were witnessing a tennis match, or rather, a duel of sorts. The implications of Andresj challenging Nikolas at such a moment spoke volumes.
“Correct.”
Andresj leaned back in his chair. “You chose a complete outsider for this family task.”
Nikolas’ gaze sharpened. “He is not an outsider to me. I trust him implicitly.”
Understanding fell over the room but Nikolas paid no attention to it as he looked at his younger brother, willing their bond heal the look of blind pain on Andresj’ face in the few moments that passed before he regained control of his composure.
A ghost of a hollow smile passed his lips. “You asked Lucky.”
The family as a whole considered Andresj, above everyone else, to be the faultless gentleman, the family peacemaker and according to Sabrina, practically perfect in every way. Filled with a quiet, unassuming dignity and endless patience, it was good reason that he had been the likeliest choice as Nikolas’ right hand in running Cassadine Industries and the family as a whole.
Yet it was clear, despite never being discussed, that Lucky Spencer was a source of discomfort for Andresj. Whether it was the fact that he was Luke’s son and not to be trusted, or the more uncomfortable notion that Nikolas might be drawn to Lucky through the bond they shared via their mother.
Or perhaps, it was an even greater fear that Andresj refused to even consider, yet somehow, permeated whenever the topic of Lucky came up.
That Nikolas felt a stronger kinship to Lucky than he did to Andresj.
It was a foolish, childish fear that Dre dismissed the moment it arose, but the fact that it continued to come up again and again spoke less to the antagonizing presence of young Spencer and more to the relationship between Andresj and Nikolas.
“Yes. I asked Lucky. May I continue?” He and his brother would continue this conversation, but at a later time.
Silence fell over the room as Nikolas paused once more. Unspoken questions lingered in the air, but the family knew to wait, however difficult it was, for Nikolas to finish his explanation.
His dark eyes met those of Stefan. The older man gave his son, the man he had loved from the moment of creation and had brought up alongside Andresj, a nod of encouragement, as any devoted father would his child. The gesture gave Nikolas the courage to place the important piece before the family.
“Everyone in this room is aware that Stavros Cassadine is not my biological father. He has no heirs that survive him. Cassadine law states that power falls from father to eldest son. When the coup happened, there was so much discord within the family, it was decided that I was to remain, officially, as the heir to Stavros and the clear channel on who would ultimately lead this family.”
None of this was news to those in the room. Alexis flicked her gaze to her older brother, the ache of what he’d done, to deny her birthright, still present after all these years. A warm hand took hers and squeezed it. Without looking, she knew it was Marcus, reading her movements and thoughts perfectly. She turned, giving him a small, shaky smile.
“However, before I turned 18, I was informed that my father is Stefan and that Andresj is my brother, and not my cousin.” Nikolas’s brown orbs rested on his closest confidante. “We have always considered each other brothers.” Despite the earlier unrest, Andresj gave a quick nod in agreement.
“A plan was formulated, to be implemented over the course of several years. It was to officially legitimize every Cassadine child born out of wedlock, including Matvei. We would also grant equality to all female Cassadines as well, in the inevitable eventuality of an heiress. Stability was desperately needed within the family and it would prove difficult to attempt to make such radical changes so quickly after the coup. So we waited until I took partial control of the family on my 21st birthday.”
Nikolas looked down at the picture again, studying it carefully. “We were legitimizing children, so that when the time came, we could announce who I truly was without disruption. With Stavros having no heirs, power would fall to Stefan. Stefan would automatically decline, and the power would fall to his eldest child.”
His voice softened. “I wanted nothing more than to call Stefan my father. To call Andresj my brother. For my children to know their Uncle Andresj and Grandpapa Stefan. I wanted the lies to be done, to no longer be known as the son of Stavros.”
Nikolas’s voice clipped with the last three words, his voice tight, with a slight tremor as he reigned in his emotions and for a few brief seconds, the burden he carried his entire life was plain on his visage for everyone to see. Alazne paled, but kept her hands firmly in her lap, knowing that to rush to him and comfort him was not what Nikolas wanted right now.
“Everything was falling into place and we had planned to make the announcement six weeks after the wedding. Everything was in place,” he repeated as he fingered the photo once more.
“So legitimizing out of wedlock children was an olive branch, correct?” Alexis had tried to wait but her mind raced and her legal blood would not stay quiet. “Create harmony in the family so when you announced that you yourself were illegitimate, the rules had already been changed to allow you to keep control of the family.”
It was not a challenge, but rather a statement of fact.
“Yes,” Nikolas replied.
“And if after announcing your own illegitimacy, if the extended family revolted, they would be rejecting their own access to Cassadine trusts, entitlements and the pretty medallion.” Alexis offered a wry grin. “You were appealing to their security and vanity. To support you is to support them. It’s a good move.”
“Until Archer Cassadine came to you six months ago and gave you that picture.” This time, it was Jack’s voice that spoke up.
“Yes,” Nikolas said again. “It could change everything.” He paused. “It will change everything.”
“Who is in the picture Nikolas?” Stefan’s voice was gentle, a lilt of knowing sadness etched in his visage as he gazed at his eldest son. A prickling sensation began at the nape of his neck, a feeling he knew all too well. He was reminded of Macbeth in that moment.
Nikolas looked around the room once more, at the people he loved and who in turn, loved him. The ones who had always and would continue to stand with him, supporting him as a Cassadine and their Prince. This was where he presented the part of the story that none of them knew a single whisper about.
He took a step towards Stefan and held the picture out for his father to take. Stefan looked down and studied the woman in the picture.
“I’m so sorry Papa,” Nikolas whispered.
“Nikolas?” Sabrina’s voice quavered with emotion. “Who is she?”
Nikolas blinked, the tears sliding down his face.
“Her name is Athena.”
A tempest seemed to roar through Stefan, as the name alone elicited a reaction no one in the family had ever witnessed before. His lips parted and a feral moan hissed out, as though life itself was draining from within. His hands began to shake, but he clutched the picture as though it was a lifeline. He drank in the face of the cruelest turn by Helena. It was surely her final act of vengeance upon him and the family that shunned her. He barely heard the next words Nikolas spoke. He already knew them.
“She is alive. She is your daughter. She is my twin. She wants the Empire.”
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