Aaron did not flinch; he just stared at her with a grim, knowing smile.

“And now you want to throw away the upcoming merger for the sake of dead men,” she said.

“The Whitaker alliance is the only thing keeping our shares valuable.”

She lunged again, her fingers clawing at the top page of the file.

The paper ripped.

A corner of the yellowed autopsy report tore away in her hand.

She spun and threw the fragment directly into the open flames.

The paper caught instantly, curling into black ash.

“Stop it!” I shouted, pushing her hand away as she reached for the rest.

Ethan stepped between us, his hands raised.

“Mother, don’t,” Ethan said, his voice trembling.

“Get out of my way, Ethan,” she commanded.

“This is your future too.”

“Do you want to marry a girl with nothing, from a family disgraced?”

Cassandra looked at Ethan, her eyes wide with a desperate, silent plea.

“We can burn them all,” Cassandra whispered.

“We can say Aaron stole them and made them up.”

Colonel Whitaker finally spoke, his voice heavy.

“It is too late for that, Cassandra,” he said.