Richard looked at Nathan, his eyes gleaming with a calculating light.

“You have a choice to make, son,” Richard said.

“The security team is waiting.”

“They will escort Emily off this property, and she will never return.”

“And what about me?” Nathan asked, his grip tightening on the ledger.

“You stay,” Richard said.

“You sign the final papers, take control of the Whitmore Group, and forget this girl.”

“And Lily?” I cried out. “She is his daughter!”

Richard did not even look at me.

“A child can be provided for quietly, Nathan,” Richard said.

“But she cannot inherit the empire.”

“You will have everything you ever worked for.”

“All you have to do is let her go.”

Nathan stood perfectly still, the altered trust document clutched in his hand.

I watched his face, searching his eyes for any sign of hesitation.

The silence in the small vault was suffocating.

The red light continued to pulse against the wet stone walls.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound came from Richard’s pocket.

His phone was ringing.

He pulled it out and looked at the screen, his eyebrows furrowing.