A Rose Among Ashes

Ryan's POV

The Montenegro family library is filled with people I really do not care about. Their voices carry into the air, pinched faces, hurrying lips, narrowed gazes – the loudest this space has been since the death of my father.

I turn to the windows, leaning forward slightly. The clouds are gathering. It won't be long before rain patters to the earth. I hope it doesn't trap them all in here. I can't deal with them for an hour longer.

The door squeaks open suddenly, and the room is immediately plunged into silence as David, the family lawyer, saunters in. His shoes tap lightly against the marble floor as he crosses the space, walking past the whole family and settling into the seat that once belonged to my father.

A muscle works in my jaw, but in that split second, I feel warm, slender fingers on my arm. My girlfriend, Luciana.

She shakes her head subtly. "Not here, Ryan."

David's eyes fall on her. "The will reading is meant for family only."

"I am family," she murmurs, leaning further into the couch. "Or do you want to contest that?"

David looks like he is about to say something, but he decides against it, moving instead to the black briefcase in his hands. In another minute, he retrieves a folder and flips to the first page.

"The late Montenegro has assigned all rights to me to read his will today, and hence, everything in this document stands. If you have issues with it, you can take it up with the court, but I assure you that it was written and signed in the presence of two witnesses."

And then, he looks sternly at my mother, seated at the opposite side of the room. "Shall we begin?"

David starts with the formalities, reading every line and going into details about the properties and assets owned by my father. I allow my mind to trail away, because I am aware of every penny. I have been from a tender age.

As his only son, my father made it a point to teach me everything I needed to know to run the chain of companies. But we had our differences. My father and I.

After what feels like an eternity, David finally calls my name, and even the silence in the room deepens. I scoot to the edge of my seat, looking up at David.

He clears his throat noisily before his lips move again. "To my son, Ryan Montenegro, you have grown to live below your potential. It is what I term a reckless life, and I would like to see some responsibility in you now. For this reason, the ownership of the companies goes to you."

A smile stretches on my mother's face, but mine remains the same. Stoic and expressionless. I know my father. He would not have given me his whole legacy if there wasn't a catch to it.

As if on cue, David flips to the next page. "But this is only dependent on a condition."

The air in the room stills.

"If Ryan Montenegro, my first and only son, fails to marry within one month of my death," David continues. "Control of the Montenegro Conglomerate will be transferred to my nephew, Xavier Montenegro."

"That's a joke, right?" My mother's voice carries through the room. "I mean, my husband couldn't have possibly written that."

"There's still more," David murmurs. Of course. He is going to make me suffer from being called the CEO.

"If you get married without having a child within the first two years, the company's ownership shares will go to my nephew, Xavier Montenegro. This is to ensure that the marriage is real and strong, and to continue the Montenegro line."

My eyes take in Xavier, sitting comfortably with a smug look on his face. He leans in to his mother and whispers something.

The grins on their faces throw me off balance, but if there is one thing I have learned from my late father, it is the fact that you never let your enemies know when you are displeased.

"Is that it?" I mutter, rising to my feet. David looks up at me, his eyes bearing that gleam of surprise. He expected me to do something more. Maybe lash out at how ludicrous the will is. But I expected it.

"Yes, Sir."

"Great, then." I turn to my mother. "I have to get to the company now. There is a meeting scheduled with some investors tonight. Just in case Xavier takes over as CEO, I need him to meet the finances of the company in great shape."

It is meant to be a jab, but my foolish nephew nods in agreement, his wide smile almost bursting his face open.

Rolling my eyes, I move to my mother, leaning to plant a chaste peck on her cheeks. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"What about Luciana?" She whispers, her eyes on my girlfriend.

"She said she has an outing with her friends tonight. I'll see her at home."

I pull away and walk out of the mansion that ceased to be called home ages ago, waiting out on the curb as my bodyguard brings the car over.

"Sir," he says as he gets the backseat door open.

"Thank you, Thomas."

Out in the dense traffic, Thomas regards me from the rearview mirror. His lips part and close repeatedly.

"I heard what happened in there."

"Damn!" I breathe. "News sure does travel fast."

"What do you plan on doing?"

I shrug. "There is no way Xavier is getting the company. Not after all the rumors circulating."

"There was nothing about that in the will?"

I shake my head. "My father isn't bold enough, even in death, to declare to the whole city that the young man he parades as his nephew is actually his firstborn son. And even if Xavier doesn't know that, I do."

Thomas takes a sharp turn, going at full speed. "If he does, he would know the CEO seat is actually his to take."

"There is no way on earth I am giving out the Montenegro Conglomerate to an ex-convict. Xavier is...."

A girl with long brown hair runs out into the open from nowhere, and Thomas hits the brakes hard, pushing me forward. She halts in that split second, panic and dread filling her eyes before her feet give way underneath her.