Page 95 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal

"I need to find her," I said abruptly as I realized what had to be done. "I need to tell her the truth."

I didn't stop to wait for his response. I was already moving toward the door when my phone rang.

The caller ID made my blood freeze. Viktoria. After weeks of silence, she was contacting me directly. My instant thought was to tell her to buzz off, so I swiped to answer.

"What?" I answered without pleasantries.

"Elena's been in an accident." Viktoria didn't sound like herself. Fear dripped from every syllable. "Lu, She's at Northwestern Memorial. You need to come now."

Viktoria hadn't used that name in a decade or more. I knew it was bad. My blood ran cold. "How bad?"

"It's really bad, baby. She's unconscious. She needs us. The doctors…" Her composure cracked slightly. "Just get here, Lucian."

The line went dead, and I stared at the phone in disbelief. Elena. My beautiful, stubborn daughter who'd finally started letting me back into her life…

Fear wrapped around my heart and mind and adrenaline surged in my body.

"What's wrong?" Daniel was beside me, staring at me in concern.

"Elena. Car accident. I have to—" I couldn't finish the sentence, couldn't acknowledge the possibility that I might lose her just when we'd started rebuilding our relationship.

"Go," Daniel said firmly. "I'll handle everything here."

I rushed toward the elevator, my mind racing between Elena lying unconscious in a hospital bed and how badly I wanted to go to Tessa.

The irony wasn't lost on me—just when I'd found the courage to fight for love, life reminded me how quickly everything could be taken away.

29

TESSA

The Christmas lights strung around the conference room sparkled as Jamie and I hung silver garland across the windows.

Christmas music played from her phone, attempting to shift my mood to holiday-cheer mode.

It wasn't working.

In two weeks, Cross Capital would hold its annual Christmas gala in this same room—the same event where everything had started with Lucian twelve months ago.

"You're quiet today," Jamie observed, stepping back to assess our work. "More so than usual."

I forced a smile, adjusting a strand of lights that didn't need adjusting. "Just tired. The holidays always make me reflective."

"Reflective about…?" Jamie knew there was more to the rumors about Lucian and me than anyone let on, but she'd been a kind enough friend not to ask or stir up more gossip about it.

When I broke down crying last week, she managed to mop up my face without prying too much, and I led her to believe it was about the mentorship ending.

But she probably had deduced it was more. She was just too nice to say it.

How could I explain that my "mentorship" had become the greatest love of my life and the source of my greatest heartbreak? That the man who'd opened my mind to possibilities I'd never imagined was now a stranger I passed in hallways?

"The mentorship ending," I said, but I choked back some tears. "When I transferred to the CFO's team, Mr. Cross had to stop mentoring me. Mr. Mercer is good, but not the same." Pinning this all on the sudden hole created in my career gave me an excuse. It was fragile, but true.

"That must have hurt. You always seemed so passionate."

Passionate. If only she knew how deeply that word applied to everything about my relationship with Lucian. "Yes, I'm a nerd," I told her, forcing a chuckle to swallow my own grief. "I get passionate about math." She elbowed me playfully, and I heard someone clear their throat behind us. Both of us turned to see Daniel standing there.

"Tessa, could I speak with you for a moment?" His tone was professional but kind, and I followed him to a quiet corner of the room while Jamie continued hanging ornaments.