“You are awake,” I said, the reality finally sinking in. “You are actually awake.”

“I have been conscious for three days,” he said. “I had to wait. I had to know who in this house was still loyal.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“Because Jason watches your every move,” Ethan said. “If you had changed your behavior, he would have noticed.”

He tried to shift his weight, but a sharp spasm of pain crossed his face, and he sank back into the pillows.

The monitors beside his bed remained quiet, the volume turned down to a faint, rhythmic hum.

“My grandmother thinks I am gone,” Ethan said, looking up at the ceiling. “She wants to protect the family name, and Jason has convinced her that the board will revolt if she does not hand over control.”

“She told me I have to sign the witness forms by eight tomorrow morning,” I said.

“Because at nine, the lawyers arrive,” Ethan said. “My grandmother will sign the official declaration transferring temporary control of the entire Thornton empire to Jason.”