“That is not true,” I said.

“The grants, the laboratory space, the initial introductions to the board at Solar Reach,” she listed them off, her fingers curling into a fist.

“Do you think they cared about your papers on silicon cells?”

“They cared about our capital,” she said.

I looked at Derek.

He was standing near the door, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, refusing to meet my eye.

“Is this what you want, Derek?” I asked him.

“To build your career on a forced endorsement?”

Derek shrugged, his shoulders tense beneath his tailored suit jacket.

“It’s just business, Sarah,” he said softly.

“The investors need to know the family is aligned.”

“We are not aligned,” I said.

“You are launching a fund that invests in diesel-backed transition grids.”

“It goes against everything Solar Reach stands for,” I said.

Helen stepped between me and Derek, blocking my view of my brother.

“I do not care about your little solar panels, Sarah,” she said.

“I care about the family’s standing in this valley.”

“If you humiliate Derek publicly, you humiliate all of us.”