llotine. Every meeting, every phone call, and every polite family dinner was a countdown t

ny, affordable office space downtown, and bought a ticket to a new coast. I was ready to tr

ible to ignore the inevi

the archives. Instead, his gaze lingered, slow and analytical, tr

n usual," he commen

, my voice flat. "I won't be

ng his phone. "Pa

where I'm not constantly waiting

t mine. For a moment, a confusing, raw emotion flickered in their dept

ning. "Mother will handle your severance. Just be discreet. The last thing the

d sweep under the corporate rug. The encounter only fortified my reso

ormed into a crystalline landscape of ice sculptures, silk draping, and security g

ostentatious. I watched the scene below: the powerful investors, the rival CEOs, the politicians, all circli

nds, her smile brittle and fake. The moment of the announcement was approaching. A hush

not just the prosperity of the Thorne name, but its future. I am delighted that my son, Jason, will be

r, weren't on her. They were scanning the crowd-past the CEOs, past the

of our connection dissolved. I saw the turmoil in his eyes, the stark difference b

in, forcing a smile that was brittle but real. It wa

s parting as if to say something-to me, across the

at. "Jason, son, the floor is

om his father. The room held its breath. This w

e, and she held out her h

fted his head, his blue eyes flashing, and spoke into the microphone,

erger," Jason said, his voice dangerously low, the word "merger" dripping wi

by a look of bewildered panic. The crowd shift

lated on the balcony. He raised his hand, not

gh the speakers, making every single person in

ed bird desperate to escape. What was he d

his grip on t

n his jaw as he realized he was using the wrong language, the wrong

everything else. Stephanie sh

locked on mine-no longer cold, but burnin

declared, his voice ringing with a terrifying con

tage, making a beeline t

r leaving mine as he started up the steps, "I need to mak

to reject

... reject me a second time? My mind reeled from the unexpected, cruel twist. Was he

t through the chaotic silence from the main entrance. The voice was heavy wi

your chance,

e midnight-blue wool. He was tall, broad, and exuded an aura of wealth th

ur time

predatory, and familiar-glued to my face. The man who had hel

trapped between the CEO who just publicly rejected two wo