the top-floor boardroom of the Mal

ny table. He wore a pitch-black suit, his pos

r. was patched in via a secure feed from his hospital bed.

nst the polished wood. The rhythmic

ll directly impact the restructuring of the family trust," Cas

stiffened. They

s ago has been moved into the final, irrevocable filing stage thi

asped, turning to each other in sho

o the armrest of his wheelchair. "Caswell! Ha

. He saw the medical staff swarm his grandfather. A flash of raw agony crossed his eyes, but he forced it down

am doing this because Hayden Cu

most seasoned, cutthroat board members s

a trembling finger at the screen, his mouth o

on the video feed, swarming the ol

ert total dominance over the panicked room. "I will leverage my personal shares t

lization to the camera did Caswell stand up. Ignoring the shouting executives, he turned

tate, Athena sat in the glass sunro

lly bound to inform her the moment the board was notified. The message was brief, devoid of emotion, yet the implications w

tightened around the delicate porcelai

cly humiliate her in front of the entire board? To announce the bas

e through. He had torn up the script. He had broken the grandfather

p and walked briskly up the stairs to the m

dragged a large, silver Rimowa suitcase down fr

worth of jewelry Caswell had bought her for public appearance

photo on the nightstand-a sterile, posed shot for the med

d made her hot and agitated. She needed to wash the

ned the shower on full blast, and

master bedroom swung open. Caswell strode in, bringing

ion file from the bedroom safe to coun

in the code. His mind was racing. He hit the wrong nu

his nerves, making him even more agitated. He clenched his

om door cl