“Arthur Vance,” I said, my voice barely a draft.

“Who is that?” Marcus asked, leaning closer over the edge of the mahogany table.

“He is my mother’s estate planning attorney,” I said.

Marcus blinked, his gaze shifting from the screen to me, then back again.

“He handles all the private holdings for her family trust,” I added.

Just then, Derek walked over from the main table, carrying two fresh glasses of sparkling water.

He set one down in front of me and noticed the silence between Marcus and me.

“What’s going on?” Derek asked, looking down at the laptop.

His eyes scanned the document, and he stopped mid-breath.

“Is that Vance?” Derek asked, his voice dropping an octave.

“It is,” I said.

“Why is Arthur Vance trying to buy out our seed investors?” Derek asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down quickly.

“He isn’t,” Marcus said, tapping a key on his keyboard. “He is acting as the sole trustee for a Delaware entity called Blue Ridge Capital LLC.”

“And that entity has been cold-calling your initial angels for three days,” Marcus explained.