~Narrator’s~

“A man who can’t make hard calls has no business leading a legacy like this.”

The room stills.

The silence inside the boardroom is deafening. The kind that cuts through buttoned suits and shiny watches and prestige.

Jennie’s hand freezes on her notepad. Her gaze lifts slowly from the scribbled numbers, rising like a storm just waiting to break. The board table stretches long and cold, lined with suits and judgment, but it’s the sneer curling on Mr. Henrick’s mouth that stings.

Leo sits two seats down from her. Still. Calm. But his jaw clenches.

Reo is further down the table. His fingers are locked together, his elbows off...