e were all at the dinner table, a formal affair that felt more like a corporate board meeting than

fork. "Their new line of processors is going to revolutionize the market. I' ve

worthless in six months, taking the Thorne family fortune down with it. I remembered the headlines, the bankruptc

smirk played on his lips. "What' s the matter, Eleanor?" he asked, his voice dripping with condescens

e looked at me, expecting me to stammer a

e placed her hand on her husband' s arm, her gaze firm. "Julian,

ir hostility. She had seen me at the hospital with my mother. She h

my chance. "It' s not that, Mr. Thorne," I began, my voice even.

m companies with more stable, long-term supply chains. Companies focused on industrial automation, not consumer e

ement. You wanted to protect your family' s name. I want to protect my mother

but in market trends that affect it. In exchange, after one year, you will grant me a quiet divorce, along with a s

ed despite himself. But Julian j

was ruined. Now you want to play business guru? This is just another pathet

e in his eyes was blinding. He was so certain of his own superiority, of his father' s genius, that he could

ine," I said, my voice devoid of all emotion. "Beli

eep into my bones. I had offered them a way out, a path to avoid the ruin I knew was coming, and

ardens. The air was cool, but I felt a burning sense of despair. I had failed. I couldn' t save them

be to save myself and my mother. I would bide my time, gather my resources, and when the Thorne empire inevitably crumbled, I w