[POV: Sofia Lanka]

"Why are you hesitating, Sofia? The ink is already touching the paper, and every second you waste is another second your children are left without a protector in this world."

Leo’s voice was like a serrated blade, cutting through the heavy, stagnant air of the concrete cell. He leaned over Sofia’s shoulder, his breath warm against her ear, smelling of expensive tobacco and the metallic tang of adrenaline. Sofia stared down at the documents, the legal jargon swimming before her eyes. The Monroe Group, the shipping lanes, the private equity—everything Jack had built was being siphoned away into a void labeled the Meristate Syndicate.

"If I sign...