“The courts will take thirty years to untangle who owns what.”

“Your child will be an adult by the time a single dollar clears the Callahan estate.”

She stepped closer, her shadow falling over me.

“You think you can survive on court-appointed allowances?” she asked.

“My lawyers will appeal every motion, delay every hearing, and drag your name through every tabloid in the country.”

“By the time the first judge sits down to look at your case, you will be drowning in legal debt.”

“You will have nothing left to buy formula, let alone pay for a lawyer.”

I felt a cold sweat on the back of my neck.

The terrace felt too large, the canyon below us too empty.

“You’re protecting a criminal,” I said.

“Julian Vance is a thief.”

Victoria’s face didn’t change.

“Julian is a name on a birth certificate,” she said.

“The Callahan name is what matters.”

“The markets open in sixteen hours.”

“If the public finds out Tyler is an imposter, the stock plunges forty percent.”

“I am protecting the livelihood of ten thousand employees, Natalie.”