Chapter 8 - Gavin Thought Reid Would Choose Blood
Reid met Gavin the next morning.
No crowd.
No fountain.
No Callie.
Just the two cousins in Reid’s library.
Gavin arrived calm.
Too calm.
“I assume you’ve cooled down.”
Reid almost laughed.
“No.”
Gavin sat anyway.
“What happened last night got out of hand.”
“You pushed my wife into a fountain.”
“She was blocking me.”
“You called my daughter someone who needed to learn her place.”
“I was angry.”
“You planned it.”
That finally altered Gavin’s face.
Only slightly.
Reid continued.
“Maisie heard you rehearsing.”
Gavin’s jaw tightened.
“She’s six.”
“Yes.”
“You’re building accusations around a child.”
“No. I’m checking a child’s statement against adult behavior.”
Gavin leaned back.
Then used the weapon he trusted most.
Family.
“Your father would be disgusted by what Callie has done to this family.”
Reid looked at him.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The dead man you keep hiding behind.”
Gavin’s expression hardened.
“Charles knew families like ours survive because people understand roles.”
Reid stayed quiet.
Gavin mistook silence for permission.
“Callie has been dismantling relationships she doesn’t understand. Inviting people back who were excluded for reasons. Challenging seating. Challenging traditions. Turning private disagreements into moral crusades.”
“Reasons?”
Gavin spread his hands.
“Compatibility. Reputation. Stability.”
Reid almost admired how smoothly prejudice became administration in Gavin’s mouth.
“You mean people you didn’t like.”
“I mean people who created friction.”
“So you removed them.”
“I kept events functional.”
“And Callie threatened that.”
“Yes.”
The word came before Gavin realized he should soften it.
Reid leaned forward.
“You lied to her using my name.”
“I tried to stop conflict before it reached you.”
“You lied to me about her using hers.”
Gavin’s frustration surfaced.
“Because neither of you understands what happens when everyone gets equal access to everything.”
That was it.
Not greed.
Not romance.
Hierarchy.
Gavin truly believed families required gatekeepers.
And he believed he was one.
Reid asked quietly:
“Did you think I would choose you over my wife and daughter?”
Gavin looked almost offended.
“I thought you’d choose your family.”
Reid stared.
“Callie and Maisie are my family.”
Gavin’s expression revealed something deeper than arrogance.
Disbelief.
He had never fully accepted it.
Not because of blood.
Because Callie had not been born into the network Gavin considered legitimate.
And Maisie, although Reid’s daughter, was being raised by Callie.
In Gavin’s mind, that contamination mattered.
Reid stood.
“You’re done managing any event connected to this family.”
Gavin rose too.
“You don’t get to erase fifteen years because your wife is offended.”
“No.”
Reid opened the library door.
“I’m ending fifteen years because now I understand what you did with them.”
Gavin left furious.
But as he crossed the foyer, he turned back and said something Reid would remember.
“You think Callie won.”
Reid did not answer.
Gavin smiled coldly.
“She doesn’t even know who taught me the list.”
May you like
Then he walked out.
For the first time, Reid wondered whether Gavin’s system had begun before Gavin ever controlled it.
