rinkled and spotted with age, moved with a slow, deliber

soft, tearing rasp of paper. Javon ner

wax seal on the first page, and he stopped. His breath caught. His fingers

eaning forward impatiently. "It's just s

. His voice boomed with an authority no one had heard from him in years.

room. The board members who had been firml

Grandfather's will was read three years ago! A

mile on her lips. She leaned forward, her hands b

were. This," she tapped a finger on the document in front of Horatio, "is an irr

ause was brutally simple. Upon Adelina Alexander turning twenty-five years of age and returning to a positi

is company to a mentally unstable runaway!" He lunged toward Horati

uch Handy. He simply moved into his path, a human wall of silent, immovable muscle. He met Handy's eyes with a look so devoid of emotion it was ter

For a man of your stature, Han

handed it to Horatio. It was a confirmation of the trust's validity, issued by

tood up, his posture straight and proud, and bowed his head slightly

he old guard had just r

strings had been cut. He stared at Adelina, hi

the CEO's chair where he sat. She looked dow

ing into fists at his sides. For a mom

echoed throu

s Montblanc pen on the table.

f him. Humiliated, he pushed himself

-backed leather seat. It f

e resonating with newfound power, "I am assuming

pportunistic board members began to applaud.

mask of pure hatred. "You'll run it into

as a winter sky. "Perhaps," she said softly. "But

in her spine. And deep within his own gaze, hidden behind a wall of practiced indifference