Inheritance Redefined

Chapter Nineteen

The elite table on the west patio was the only one with linen napkins, actual silverware, and a view of the courtyard fountain that looked like it belonged in a Roman temple.

Elara sat between Anastasia and Olivia, who were sharing a bag of imported lemon almonds like they were some rare treasure.

Elias dropped his tray onto the table with his usual lack of grace, nodding at Elara in a way that was more acknowledgment than affection. Matteo followed a moment later, phone in hand, half-listening to someone's voice note.

"Okay, I just spoke with Dad. He said he's going to be gone for the weekend. Isabella's joining him." Matteo said as he sat, looking up at everyone around the table. "Lake party. Tomorrow."

Elias glanced up from the protein bar he was eating. "You're announcing it now?"

"Why not?" Matteo said with a shrug. "The table's full enough."

Matteo turned to the table at large. "Listen up. Calviero lake. Tomorrow afternoon. No outsiders. That means don't bring your side friends, your fake friends, or that girl who won't stop texting you. This is for us."

Elias added, "And bring something you can fall into the water in. We're doing the rope swing this year."

Someone from the end of the table asked, "Just us? Or are the teams invited too?"

Matteo didn’t even blink. "Football and ice hockey captains got the heads-up this morning. They're in. The teams are technically elite. Legacy athletes, mostly."

"Meaning," Elias added, "they know how to behave."

Olivia let out a small squeal, and turned to Elara and Anastasia. "Wait, like the lake party? The one that's always on the invite-only stories? With the string lights and the barge and the custom fire pit?"

Anastasia smirked. "Yeah. Last year someone set a marshmallow on fire and tried to sword fight with it."

"That was you," Nikolai said dryly and rolled his eyes at his sister's antics.

"I said tried." She grinned at Elara. "I usually don't go to these things a lot, but now that you're coming…"

Elara blinked. "I didn't say I was coming."

"You will," Elias said, already standing. "You're a Calviero now. It's basically mandatory."

"And don't wear something boring,"  added, grinning. "We need to look so good it makes the LaRue girls cry."

Another guy from the hockey team passed behind them, overhearing just enough to snort. "Don't worry. I heard they're already practicing their fake smiles.

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "Ugh. They always show up like they're auditioning for a perfume ad."

Elara looked around the table, her heart fluttering somewhere between nerves and curiosity.

"Okay," she said softly. "Let's go to the lake party."

---

The sun shimmered over the lake like it had been dusted with crushed diamonds. Hidden behind a tall hedge and a stretch of ancient olive trees, the Calviero lake wasn't marked on any map. But everyone who mattered knew it existed – and knew that only a select few were ever invited here.

Elara stepped onto the stone path in a pale blue bikini and linen shorts, her hair braided over one shoulder, skin practically glowing in the sun. Beside her, Anastasia wore oversized sunglasses and a black cutout swimsuit under a see-through kimono, and Olivia practically bounced in her blush-pink wrap dress, holding a small beach bag as if it were a designer clutch.