“Nathaniel, you were our attorney.”

“You swore an oath to protect this family.”

Vale looked her in the eyes, his expression grave.

“I swore an oath to protect the estate of Arthur Sterling,” Vale said.

“And I swore to protect his rightful heir.”

“You threatened to destroy my career when I questioned the first probate filing, Miranda.”

“I kept the duplicates because I knew this day would come.”

Julian set the ledger down on the desk.

He looked at his mother, his face pale under the library lights.

“Why did you tell me the original trust was dissolved, Mother?” Julian asked.

“You told me we had to restructure the entire business to save it.”

“I did what was necessary,” Miranda said, her chin lifting slightly.

“Your father was a dreamer, Julian.”

“He wanted to give away our control to people who had no part in building this empire.”

She glared at me, her eyes dark with hatred.

“To people who do not understand what it takes to run a city like Chicago.”

“He would have ruined us,” she said.

“He would have left us with nothing.”