The sun had dipped below the western limestone ridges, painting the Texas sky in violent shades of bruised purple, fiery orange, and deep indigo.

Inside the ranch’s cavernous, fire-lit study, the atmosphere was all business.

While Lily slept soundly in a nursery suite upstairs under the watchful eye of a trusted female security operative, Adrian and I sat across a massive oak desk lined with multiple monitors, secure laptops, and encrypted satellite communication links.

Standing behind us was a brilliant young cybersecurity expert named Chloe—a twenty-four-year-old prodigy Adrian had flown in via private helicopter from Austin just an hour after our arrival.

“We’re routing through three separate proxy servers in Zurich and Singapore,” Chloe reported rapidly, her fingers flying across her mechanical keyboard with blinding speed. “If the Prescott Group board’s internal security team tries to trace our ping, they’re going to hit a brick wall of dead ends.”

Adrian leaned back in his leather chair, resting his chin on his steepled fingers. “Status on the financial trail leading to Ethan Walker?”

“Got it,” Chloe grinned triumphantly, hitting the enter key with a sharp click. A detailed financial ledger flashed across the central monitor. “Ethan didn't just get a promotion. Three weeks ago, exactly two days after you walked out on him, Elena, a shell corporation registered in the Cayman Islands—directly tied to Prescott Group’s primary legal counsel, Victor Vance—transferred one hundred and fifty thousand dollars into a newly opened offshore account in Ethan’s name.”

My breath hitched in my chest.

One hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That was the price tag put on five years of my life, my trust, and my dignity.

“He sold me out,” I whispered, the bitter realization tasting like acid on my tongue. “He didn't just cheat; he actively conspired with my grandfather’s corporate executioners to drive me out of the country so I’d be too broken to claim what’s legally mine.”

“And they thought they had executed the playbook to absolute perfection,” Adrian said, his voice dropping into a lethal, glacial register. He turned to Chloe. “I want that wire transfer flagged, intercepted, and legally frozen under federal anti-corruption statutes before the banks close in the morning. And I want Victor Vance’s personal communications subpoenaed through our federal contacts in Washington.”

“Consider it done, Mr. Prescott,” Chloe replied, pulling up a secondary window. “Shall we also draft the formal legal declaration establishing Mrs. Morales’s uncontested claim to the sequestered voting shares?”

“Not yet,” Adrian smiled grimly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Let’s let the board sweat a little longer. Let them think their shadow game is still working. We’ll strike when they least expect it—right during the quarterly shareholder meeting in three days.”

I looked over at Adrian, amazed by the effortless, commanding power he wielded. But beneath the corporate strategist, I saw the weariness that had first caught my attention on the plane—the heavy burden of a man who constantly fought wars in boardrooms and shadows to protect his legacy.

“You haven't slept in over twenty-four hours, Adrian,” I noted softly, interrupting the technical briefing.

Adrian blinked, turning his gaze away from the monitors to look at me. A tired, genuine smile broke across his face. “Neither have you, Elena.”

“Yes, but my biggest crisis today involved a crying baby and a strange request to fake sleep on a stranger's shoulder,” I joked weakly. “You’re dismantling a corrupt corporate board and recovering a multi-million-dollar inheritance before breakfast.”

Adrian chuckled, standing up from his desk and stretching his stiff arms. “Fair point. But I think my shoulder held up remarkably well under the circumstances.”

My cheeks flushed warm, a sudden, unfamiliar flutter of warmth stirring in my chest.

“Go get some rest, Adrian,” I said, standing up as well. “I’ll stay down here with Chloe for a bit and review the beneficiary paperwork.”

“No,” Adrian said firmly, stepping around the desk until he stood directly in front of me. His dark eyes were warm, steady, and entirely focused on me. “We both sleep tonight. The guards have the perimeter locked down. Tomorrow, we take back your life.”