“He did stop it,” I said. “You have thirty minutes before the federal authorities freeze everything you own.”

“You think you can survive without me?” Preston sneered. “You don’t know how to run this company.”

“My father built this company,” I said. “I know exactly how to run it.”

“I am boarding a flight, Claire,” he said. “If you try to block me, I will drag your family name through every tabloid in this city.”

“The family name is mine, Preston,” I said. “Not yours.”

I hung up the phone before he could reply.

My hands were shaking, but my mind was completely clear.

I pressed the button for the lobby and waited for the elevator doors to close.

The digital display on the wall showed the time: 2:10 PM.

Twenty minutes remained before the automated system would release the funds.

Twenty minutes to save my family’s legacy.

The elevator car began its descent, the soft hum of the cables filling the silence.

I stared at my reflection in the polished metal of the doors, barely recognizing the woman looking back at me.